Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 144, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 June 1916 — Notes and Comment [ARTICLE]

Notes and Comment

Of Interest Worn** Reader*

Reserve Force.

Reserve force is the strength left over after a f/.rson has done his or her work, or that power which may be required to meet emergencies. When a bridge builder constructs a bridge, he calculates how heavy a load it will be called upon to bear, and then makes it, not only strong enough to sustain this load, but a great deal more. None of ns would feel comfortaMe in going over a rail road bridge if it were known that the builder had not made it with a great deal of reserve strength never to be called into use. It is so with our bodies—they have usually considerable reserve power not called out by the ordinary daily tasks we put on them. We admire a woman who has reserve force for all emergencies; we know she can do her ordinary work, whatever it is, with ease, and hold out well in the race of life. But it is much easiei to estimate the’ amount of strength required in-a bridge in a certain place than that in our piuscles and nerves. We can calculate the former by mathematical rules, but not the latter. Mathematics will not tell a woman just how much she can endure with safety, and how much will break down her constitution and ruin her ’health forever; so she will frequently attempt to perform work far beyond what she has any right to do. There is a tendency of our time to push ev erythlng to the limit of endurance. Our suggestion to women whose reserve force is. not great is to husband it well, accumulate it by right food, abundant sleep, and frequent short vacations. Guard it carefully, instead of drawing upon it daily, as so many do who become feverish anxious to accomplish some importai t undertaking.

The sensible and experienced ath lete carefully measures his resource:, and if his race is being a long one. nurses his reserve powers. When ho engages in a race he does not overtax himself at the start, but so regulates his expenditure of energy that he shall have an abundance left fcr the finish. That is precisely whr.t women should do who are engaged in any hard work. Every woman, high or low, who labors daily, is engaged in a long race, which is in pait a test of endurance. She should so measure her pace as to have always at command some reserve power. She should not undertake to do more than she can without undue fatigw , and she will be able to do more, for a short time at least, when occasion requires the extra exertion. Just as we -see the swift runner exhausted before the race is half over, and bea - en by his slower but more enduring competitor, so we see women overtaxing their powers when young, and growing old and feeble while young in years.. It is the reserve power thr.t tells in prolonged contests —the reserve power of muscle, of spirit—for she who exhausts nerself in any kind of effort is unable to withstand the slightest added burden, and succumbs to a force she might easily have resisted if’she had kept her resources well in hand.

Needlework. In making little children’s garments adjust them so that all growing muscles may have free playweights should be suspended from the shoulders and no tight bands or garters should be allowed below or above the knees. Stockings should have elasticity and softness. Hard, thick hose make tender feet. An unusual and decidedly charming pincushion for a desk or writing table can be made from an old silver napkin ring. Wind zephyr until you have a ball large enough to slip into the ring a,nd be quite tight. Cut a circle of soft silk two inches wider n circumference than the opening of the ring and place this over one side of the ball. Now' press this thru the ring until the silk side rises above the edge of the ring. Cut a circle ot cardboard the exact size of the ring and glue it to the button of the zephyr ball so that the ring stands flat on it, and you have a cushion that can be made new in a few minutes when the silk becomes soiled. A cushion made from a can ed wooden ring of one of the many fancy and curious Japanese rings makes a pretty gift for any oner ,

For the Housewife. Here is a fact worth knowing when you cook eggs. A spoonful of flour added to the grease in which eggs are to be fried will prevent them from breaking or sticking to the pan. Pulverized chalk will remove the yellow stain/ in basins or bath tubs caused by dripping faucets. Moisten the chalk with ammonia and scrub the spot with an Old toothbrush dipped in the paste. Cover pillows -with good, strong cot ton cloth. Make same as the slips, only have them fit closer, and a little longer than pillow, with two buttons and buttonholes in them to button them over. They ( not only save the ticking, but cases that have become thin 'cab be used much longer and covers can be slipped off and washed often, which is essential where the pillows are usually taken between the teeth while changing cases.