328 
American Agriculturist, November 10,1923 
Efficient Method of Modern Farm Lighting 
The Advantages of a Carbide Plant Described—Recipes and Patterns for the Fall 
T HINK of the amount of work saved 
on a farm by the installation of a 
modern lighting plant! The saving of 
labor alone should make it worth while 
for every country family to have one, 
but in addition, good lights play a very 
important part in providing a livable, 
contented home for both the young 
people and the older folks. The solid 
enjoyment such a convenience gives 
cannot be measured in terms of dollars 
and cents. 
It is because I have experienced this 
blessing myself—after, I admit, some 
doubt as to whether the installation 
“would pay”—that I feel as though I 
wanted to urge every farm family to 
invest in a modern lighting plant. The 
carbide gas plant is one of the least 
expensive and the most successful meth¬ 
ods of lighting farmhouses and out¬ 
buildings; indeed, I have talked with 
many who after trying various other 
systems, come back to the carbide gas 
as the best and most practical from the 
standpoint of an all-year-round, dollars- 
and-cents proposition, as well as from 
the viewpoint of the small amount of 
labor involved and the extremely soft 
and pleasant light this type of gas 
gives. 
Since in spite of the many such plants 
in successful operation, some farmers 
seem not to understand its principles, 
it might be well to explain the “work¬ 
ings” of the acetylene or carbide plants. 
Pei'haps it is because they are so very 
simple that people feel there must be 
some “trick.” A generator is placed in 
an outdoor sunken well. The carbide 
goes in that; water is added, and this 
generates the gas. It is piped into the 
house and there lighted in the modern 
chandeliers and single fixtures. Since 
the well is at a good distance from the 
house, there can be no danger. Then, 
too, the gas has such a characteristic 
odor that any leak is instantly de¬ 
tected and the individual fixture can be 
shut off—although as the gas is non¬ 
asphyxiating, there is never the danger 
which comes from the usual escape of 
gas. 
Carbide Lighting Never Unsightly 
The pipes need be laid only a few 
inches beneath the surface of the 
ground, enough to prevent them from 
being bent if heavy loads are driven 
over. The covered well is far from un¬ 
sightly, and may be further concealed 
by bushes or flowers, if the housewife 
has a garden. 
The day of coal-oil lamps is past 
and there is no excuse for poor lights 
in country homes. Think of the hours 
from the rural districts to the better 
lighted cities. The toll taken in poor 
eyesight is another count against the 
lamp, for though excellent ones are ob¬ 
tainable, all too many have been far 
too feeble for steady use at night. 
It is especially 'here that the acety¬ 
lene is a boon. No light is softer, yet 
it is amply strong, and our fixtures il¬ 
luminate the entire room. We find we 
can read, study or sew at night with 
far less fatigue than with either oil- 
lamps or the more glaring electricity. 
Inverted globes throw the light down, 
and plain ones, we find, are more satis¬ 
factory than the frosted type. 
Cooking and Ironing Attachments 
Any farm woman who cooks for a 
good sized family depends largely upon 
her big kitchen stove for her regular 
cooking. But a thre^-burner gas pl^te,’ 
placed on a zinc-covered shelf by the 
fuel range and on a level with it, is 
a great “overflow” help and can be de¬ 
pended on largely in summer. I have 
found that, by using a gas oven, I 
didn’t need to start a fire in the range 
on the hottest days. The heat can be 
regulated, and is more satisfactory 
than either an oil or a gasoline stove. 
We have a zinc cover to fit over the 
top of the burners. This helps keep 
them clean and makes a convenient 
shelf when the gas is not in use. 
I know that some of my neighbors 
use the hot plate very little, but I 
believe that it is worth getting ac¬ 
quainted with this cooking attachment. 
A one-burner gas plate in the bath¬ 
room is a step saver for the house¬ 
wife, particularly if therO are little 
children or invalids in the house. 
Then too, there is the sad iron at¬ 
tachment, often easier to use than the 
hot range. One of my neighbors tells 
m% that she finds that for some reason 
the carbide-heated iron does not scorch 
her clothes as readily as does the other 
type. This is probably a matter of in¬ 
dividual opinion, but the sad-iron at¬ 
tachment is, in any case, a valuable 
one for the woman who does a good 
deal of pressing. 
It is not the wife only who profits 
by the carbide system, for it provides 
good lights on the porch, in the barn, 
the garage, poultry house and any 
other outbuildings where lighting is de¬ 
sirable. The farmer may visit the 
garage without the dangerous lantern; 
he can “speed up” his hens and get 
more eggs by intelligent use of acety¬ 
lene gas fixtures in the hen houses. 
With the outside wells, there need 
be no fear of danger or fire.' No open 
passing stranger. For the well-lighted 
home encourages sociability; and to it 
men and women, and young people too, 
instinctively turn for their good times 
Three-burner gas plate on shelf back of range. A tin or zinc cover 
converts it into a convenient shelf 
that have been spent in filling, trimming 
and cleaning lamps, to say nothing of 
the steps getting and collecting them 
from the different rooms! The carbide 
plant furnishes a blessed relief from 
soiled, sticky hands, the smell of oil 
and the eternal vigilance required by 
the old-fashioned single lamps. 
It is not just the convenience that 
we value. Certainly people in the 
country are as much entitled to good 
lights as their city relatives! Poor 
lights have played their part—and a 
bigger one than many suspect—in driv¬ 
ing young people and their elders too 
flame, of course, should be taken near 
the generator; if anyone is so foolish 
as to experiment, however, the rest of 
the family will not pay the penalty! 
The ordinary caution observed around 
any possibly explosive substance should 
be second nature by now to the man 
who handles gasoline, dynamite and 
inflammable oils of any sort. 
What a pleasure it is, when driv¬ 
ing in the country at night, to come 
suddenly upon a farm home illumi¬ 
nated like one in the city! It fills one’s 
heart with cheer and be it said, is as 
cheering to the neighbor as to the 
The Porch Light 
and social affairs. If for no other rea¬ 
son than this, the expenditure for a 
good lighting plant is one which no 
farm family should grudge. It pays 
dividends in physical health and in the 
greater contentment and happiness of 
every person within the home.— Ger¬ 
trude Vaughan. 
IN SWEET POTATO TIME 
N OT all farm housewives know that 
sweet potatoes can be used to a 
wholesome advantage, in a number of 
delightful dishes. If the family are 
unusually fond of sweet potatoes, try 
those delicious recipes given below: 
Sweet Potato Muffins , 
Sift together 1% cups flour, 4 tea¬ 
spoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon 
salt. Then add 1 cup cooked mashed 
sweet potatoes with 1 cup milk or 
water. Beat in an egg and finally add 
2 tablespoons melted butter, partly fill 
well-greased muffin pans and bake in a 
quick oven. 
Southern Sweets 
Clean 5 good-sized sweet potatoes 
and boil rapidly until soft. Remove 
from the fire, peel them, and cut them 
into slices half and inch thick. Place 
in a well-buttered pan, sprinkle with 
salt and % cup brown sugar. On each 
slice, place a tablespoon butter and 
over all, squeeze the juice of half a 
lemon. Brown in a quick oven. 
Sweet Potato Souffle 
Wash well, then boil 6 large sweet 
potatoes. When done, scoop out the 
pulp and pass through a vegetable 
strainer. Add 1 cup milk, 1 well beaten 
egg, 2 tablespoons butter and V 2 tea¬ 
spoon grated nutmeg. Pour into a 
well-greased pan or mold and bake 
until brown. 
Mashed Sweet Potatoes 
Boil the usual quantity of sweet 
potatoes in their jackets, till soflh 
Drain them, set in the oven, for five 
minutes to dry .out. Peel them and 
mash, season with melted butter, pep¬ 
per, salt and paprika. Moisten with 
a little sweet cream, beat well, then 
turn them into a buttered baking dish. 
Boil three tablespoons sirup, with a 
tablespoon butter for three minutes. 
Pour it over the potatoes and place 
them in the oven. Bake until brown. 
Fluffy Sweet Potatoes 
Pare and boil enough sweet potatoes 
for the meal until tender in just enough 
water to cover them. Drain, but not 
entirely dry and mash them. Add 
enough sugar to taste, and beat in 
enough butter to make them fluffy and 
light. Heap lightly in pretty dish and 
serve. —Pauline Carmen. 
I find your patterns very good and 
just as satisfactory as those costing 
much more.—M rs. H. P. S., New York. 
TWO STUNNING DRESSES AND A SCHOOL FROCK 
16??' 
No. 1899 a smart little one- 
piece dress which is very easy to 
make and will give excellent ser¬ 
vice for school wear. It is cut in 
sizes, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 years. 
Size, 8 . requires 1% yards material 
with 414 yards of braid. Price 
12c. 
No. 1900 is especially adaptable to the full or mature figured woman. The pattern 
cuts in sizes* 36, 38, 40, 42* 44, 46, 48 inches bust measure. Size ^6 requires 314 yards 
54-inch material with % yard contrasting. Price 12c. The embroidery pattern 
No. 668 costs 12c extra. The dress is greatly enhanced by handwork in gay colors, 
but is perfectly suitable with only the contrasting material for trimming. 
No. 1903 is a smart dress for informal wear. The skirt is made from two pieces 
and the blouse from one. Embroidery supplies the only decorative note, but this style 
would be equally charming with no trimming. Cut in sizes 16 years, 36, 38, 40, 42 and 
44 inches bust measure. Size 36 requires 3% yards 40-inch material with 6% yards 
of binding. Price 12c, stamps. The embroidery pattern No. 657 cost 12c extra. 
To Order: Write name, address, pattern number and sizes very clearly; 
enclose proper remittance in stamps or coin (wrap coins carefully; stamps 
are safer) and mail to Pattern Department, American Agriculturist, 461 
Fourth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 
What 10c Will Buy: A copy of our big Fall and Winter Fashion Book. 
More than a pattern catalogue, it is really a dictionary of style. You need 
one to consult for dozens of dressmaking purposes, 
copy—add the amount to your order. 
It is only 10 cents a 
