Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 June 1908 — FOR THE HOUSEWIFE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FOR THE HOUSEWIFE

A Jolly Making Hint. It Is quite difficult to arrange the jelly bag when making jelly so that It is easily managed A very good plan is to hem the edge of the bag over a large embroidery hoop. Sew a tape firmly to the boop by which to hang It when put to drain. With this arrangement the hot fruit may be poured without spilling and there, is no danger of the bag slipping or burning oneself. A jelly bag should always be made witli a point or angle at the bottom to insure the maximum of pressure. Waterproof Wall Covering. The best way to make a tinted wall waterproof is to first use a tinting materia) that Is natural cement with no gule on It, one that will not require a glue size on the wall. After this natural cement is applied directly to the plaster, thoroughly coyer It with water enamel, and then, after the water enamel has dried In. give it a thorough coating with any good varnish. This will make a perfectly Impervious wall which steam, water or heat will not affect.—Success. Frocklo Lotion. The following formula is a harmless and mild freckle lotion: Borax, thirty grains; potassium chlorate, 120 grains; alcohol, one-half dram; glycerin, one dram; rosewater enough to make three ounces. Apply with a solft sponge several times a day. But remember one Iron clad rule, and paste It In your hat if necessary—never wash the face with soap and water either before going out In the wind or sun or after coming In. Always use cold cream at such times. Sewing Scissors. By a recent invention of an Illinois woman It is now possible for dressmakers and tailors to cut a piece of goods and baste it at the same t.me. This wonderful piece of mechanism I* attached to an ordinary pair of shear* in a very simple manner, forming a combined cutter and baster. The sewing mechanism operates with the movement of the shears, basting the fabrics as they are cut. During the operation of cutting the shears move forward on the fabric, the length of the basting

stitch depending upon.the extent of the forward movement of the shears at each step of the cutting. The mechanism consists of a needle and looper, with a spool carrying the thread attached to the shears. As the shears are closed the needle descends, and when the shears are opened the needle rises, a stitch being thus made. Customarily the fabrics will be placed face to face, and as the shears are operated to cut the desired pattern the needle and the looper baste the fabrics. For Too Curly Hair. Too curly hair, although the poor straight haired girls cannot imagine it, is distressing. If the hair is dry, this preparation will make it smooth aud combable: Scentless castor oil, two ounces; cocoanut oil, two ounces; oil of rosemary, one ounce; oil of jasmine, one-half dram. Slightly heat the oils to mix them. Pour into a bottle and shake for five minutes. This is the recipe of a famous beauty specialist. Smothered Perch. Clean and carefully dress as many large white perch as are needed. Put a thin slice of fat salt pork on each fish and cover with a thin layer of finely chopped onions. Arrange in baking pan that can be covered, put into the oven aud bake slowly. Just before the fish are done season well with salt and pepper. Pour over the fish hot cream or milk with plenty of butter. Ice Cream Without Cream. Scald five teacupfuls of milk in rice boiler and thicken with heaping tablespoonful of cornstarch, into which put a lump of butter the size of a hulled walnut. Boil one cupful of milk and one cupful of sugar together and thicken with the yolks of two eggs. After the mixtures are cool mix, flavor and add the atlfiSy beaten whites of two eggs and freeze. Old Fashioned Bcrapplo. Two pounds of beef, two pounds of pork; stew until meat falls from'the bone. Let get cold, take out bones, salt and pepper to taste. Leave plenty of liquor around it. Put on the fire again and when boiling hot stir in meal until thick enough to press. Put in a long, slender pan that will make nice slices and mold. When cold, fry. To Keep Oranges. A Florida method of keeping oranges well into the summer is to fill a box with clean dry sand, set in a cool, dark place and bnry the oranges in it, taking care that they do not touch one another. If the box is kept free from dampness the fruit will appear as fresh and good in August as when freshly gathered. ‘ r . 'X- •»

Those who during the past six or seven wet years have located on farms west of meridian 99—and it makes little difference whether the latitude be North Dakota or Texas—would do well to post up on the Campbell system of dry farming or any other plan where by the moisture in the subsoil may be drawn on to the best advantage and made available for the growing crops. It has been desperately dry In the sections referred to, and It is more than likely to be Just as dry again.

As showing that the sale of some of the common products is often governed a good deal by whim and caprice, it IS Interesting to note that In the. matter of eggs those colored brown bring 2 or 3 cents more per dozen on the Boston market than do the white, while on the New York market the reverse is the' case. In London the preference is strongly for the brown colored, With the result that white eggs shipped to this market are stained a brownish tint by immersion in a coffee solution.

There are some people today who take considerable stock in the alternation of a sqple* of seven wet and seven dry years, as finds Illustration in the seven fat and seven lean years cited in Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream. In the opinion* of the folk referred to. last year was the last of a series of seven In which there was abundant moisture, while the present is the first of a series of seven dry years. It will be Interesting to keep track of things the coming season and to note whether this prophecy comes true.

Bunt, or stinking smnt, has caused a considerable loss to the wheat growers of certain sections of Nebraska during the past year. Not only the varieties of spring wheat, but the Turkish Red, supposed to be smut resistant, have been affected. In some cases the loss seems to have been only Blight, while in others a loss of 15 cents per bushel in the sale price of the cereal has been reported, with no account made of the added loss from a redaction in yield. The plan recommended for keeping the smut In check Is a treatment of the wheat to be used for seed with a formalin solution in the same manner that it is used for oats or potatoes.

The government crop reporting bureau in a pamphlet Issued early in April giving the condition of winter wheat on April 1, 1908, states that the average condition of tbe crop over the country Is 91.3 per cent normal as against 89.9 per cent on April 1, 1907, and SC.2 per cent, the average for the preceding ten years. The bulletin contains tbe further interesting Information that of the total crop of winter wheat grown in tbe United States Kansas leads with 19.1 per cent, Indiana follows with 8.9 per cent, while Illinois grows 7.7, and Nebraska fallows close with 7.6 per cent

If the men folks were compelled to do tbe work about the house for a few weeks, there would be a whole lot of homes where there would be immediate plans set afoot for better sink conveniences, something more adequate In the way of a supply of soft water than a twelve inch board and a barrel and the location of tbe pile of wood for the c<M>k stove under cover and in closer proximity to the kitchen door. These alterations and Improvements would simply be in keepffig with the use of Jbe hayfork, the manure spreader and the dozen and one devices that are employed on almost every farm for the simplifying of the outdoor work.

Ottawa Root Beer. One ounce each of sassafras, allspice, yellow dock and wintergreen, half an ounce each of wild cherry bark and coriander, quarter of an ounce of hops and three quarts of molasses. Pour boiling water on them, macerate twenty-four hours, then filter and add half a pint of yeast or one yeast cake. Add four gallons of water Ready to use in twenty-foUr hours. Insanity, or lack of mental balance takes a queer turn with some individuals. An instance that comes to mini Is that of a central lowa farmer o( Whom we beard jibe other day whose idiosyncrasy crops out in an unwUllngness to sell any of the hay or grain which he grows in large quantities on his farm of a thousand or more acres. He builds comfortable bouses for hi* many tenants, most of whom are, as a result of a queer preference on tneir landlord’s part, childless and middle aged, but ail over his place are to be found rotting stacks of hay and grain, cribs full of mildewed corn and other things to correspond. A few hogs and cattle are raised and sold, but not enough so that the owner could be called a stock raiser. The man In question is known all over his county as the farmer who never sells his stuff. While queer, he is perfectly barm less.

CUTS AND SEWS.