Chapter 96

What! grieve that time has brought so soon The sober age of manhood on? As idly might I weep, at noon, To see the blush of morning gone. --Bryant.

Mouth Breathing.--Little ones who habitually breathe loud or snore in their sleep may be troubled with an adenoid growth.

Family.--A happy family is but an earlier heaven.--Bowering.

Obedience.--Prompt, unquestionable obedience in children seems to be a thing of the past, is the criticism of a recent writer, who adds: The up-to-date mother no longer tells her offspring that they must do or leave undone certain things because it is right. She enters into elaborate explanations and they need no longer blindly obey. This is not the wise preparation for the adult life. Unless we have taught our children the necessity for life's discipline, which they cannot at the time understand, it will make them rebellious and fail to work out the peaceable fruits of righteousness.

The Value of a Laugh.--A laugh is worth a hundred groans in any market.--Lamb.

Sanitary Drinking Cups.--Supply the youngsters on going to school with folded paper cornucopias which come in sealed packages for a small sum. These are used for drinking cups instead of those found in public places. Teach the children to make these useful little drinking cups from clean white paper, and there will be no danger of contracting disease from a drinking cup used by everyone who passes.

Easy to Misjudge Men.--Every heart has its secret sorrow which the world knows not, and oftimes we call a man cold when he is only sad.--Anon.

Night Petticoats.--Night petticoats for baby have sleeves. If no petticoat is worn, then an extra short jacket is provided in the coldest weather, for most babes sleep best with hands and arms uncovered.

A Bathrobe.--A large Turkish bath towel makes a nice bathrobe for a baby or small child. Use white cotton curtain cords for the girdle and make the hood of the Turkish face cloth. This little robe is very serviceable and convenient, and is easily laundered.

An Easy Task.--It is easy finding reasons why other people should be patient.--George Eliot.

Money to Children.--Instead of paying children for doing work let them understand that they have little duties that they must perform, but give them money at intervals. Teach them the value of money and the principles of saving.

[NURSERY HINTS AND FIRESIDE GEMS 813]

Be Discreet.--Thy friend has a friend; thy friend's friend has a friend, therefore, be discreet.--Anon.

Methods of Cooking Eggs.--If you find that your baby, who is just beginning to eat solid food will not eat soft cooked eggs, and there are many who do not like them, try scrambling them until they are well done. If not found palatable in that form make an egg custard. A baby usually enjoys this and receives the same amount of nourishment that he would if the egg were cooked in any other way.

Politics and Veracity.--Politics and veracity have the same number of letters, but there the resemblance ends.--Anon.

Songs and Story Telling.--It is an unusual child indeed who does not delight in listening to story telling or bright little songs at bedtime and the nurse who is much with children will do well to treasure up all such material that comes in her way. Being used to children and having a sincere love for them makes one's work much easier, as even very little children seem to know instinctively who their real friends are and to be more easily controlled by them.

Friendship.--Two persons cannot long be friends if they cannot forgive each other's little failings.--Bruyere

Harsh Commands.--Can a parent who habitually speaks to his children in tones of harsh authority, and gives his commands to them in a manner of an officer addressing refractory troops, expect that they will feel for him the affection that they would give to one who took the trouble to draw out their better natures by loving treatment? The above is a question to be considered by parents who govern wholly by "authority."

Maidenhood.--No padlock, bolts, or bars can secure a maiden so well as her own reserve.--Cerantes.

Baby's Sleeves.--When baby's arms grow too large for the shirt sleeves, while the body of the shirt is still large enough, purchase a pair of infant's white cashmere hose. Cut the feet off and overcast neatly into the armholes; putting in a little gusset under the arms is necessary to enlarge armhole. The leg of the stocking makes the sleeves and the top fits nicely around the little wrist,

Reading.--To read without reflecting, is like eating without digesting.--Burkc.

Princess Skirt.--For long skirts, both flannel and white ones, the princess skirt adds to comfort of the body; no bands or fullness around the body or neck. Cut the material same as for princess slip, coming narrow on the shoulder and low neck back and front, and to flare at the bottom, which may be finished as desired. The flannel ones add to warmth, having flannel to neck baby needs no little jackets,

The Two Symptoms of Love.--The first symptom of love in a young man, is timidity; in a girl, it is boldness. The two sexes have a tendency to approach, and each assumes the qualities of the other.--Victor Hugo

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Securing Covering at Night.--If a delicate child has a habit of kicking the clothes off at night and so contracting chills, it is a good plan to sew a large button to each corner of the coverlet and attach a long tape loop to each corner of the bed. When fastened this will keep the bedclothes securely in place, however much the child may toss in its sleep.

Honesty.--Socrates being asked the way to honest fame, said, "Study to be what you wish to seem."

Amusing Baby.--A simple device for keeping the baby amused and happy is to fasten at intervals upon a broad, bright ribbon the toys of which he is most fond, suspending the ribbon above the bed upon which he lies, within reach of his little hands, by securing one end to the head of the bed and the other to the foot. He will then entertain himself by the hour pushing the toys back and forth, and watching them swing above him.

Prominent Ears.--Prominent ears should always be corrected in childhood by putting a thin cap on the child at night.

Disappointing a Child.--A day in a child's life is equal to a week in ours; so think twice before you condemn a child to a whole day's disappointment or unhappiness.

Baby's Veil.--Baby's veil, which should only be used in cold or windy weather, may be either a Shetland veil or made of bobbinet.

Sweaters.--There are cunning little sweaters exactly like those made up for older children, which come in sizes to fit an eight-months old baby.

Wild Flowers.--Every garden should contain a few wild flowers. The busy mother will find that they grow without care if proper soil is provided and will bloom where there is too much shade for other flowers. March brings forth the lovely hepatica, and wild phlox or sweet william soon follows. Next comes the wild geranium cranes bill, but as its petals fall rapidly, it is not as effective as sweet william, which will be a mass of delicate bloom for five weeks or more. The trillium or wake robin is another desirable flower, and wild violets thrive where the cultivated kind will not grow. The Indian turnip or Jack-in-the-Pulpit is an interesting plant and a curiosity to many who never ramble in the woods to see it in its native abode. All of these bear transplanting and are satisfactory as garden plants, but choose sweet william if you wish the most desirable for color, fragrance and duration of bloom.

Making Friends.--Blessed is the man who has the gift of making friends, for it is one of God's best gifts.--Thomas Hughes.

Baby's Nose.--But the most pliable of baby's features is the nose. By gently massaging this feature every day with the thumb and forefinger a tendency to broadness may be promptly subdued. The bridge should be gently pressed between the fingers in the course of an upward massage movement.

[NURSERY HINTS AND FIRESIDE GEMS 815]

Flowers.--They are wreathed around the cradle, the marriage altar, and the tomb.--Mrs. L. M. Child.

Bed Time.--One little chap was constantly being deceived as to his bed hour, which was 7:30 o'clock. He could not tell the time, and his mother or nurse would tell him that it was bedtime when in reality it was only seven o'clock. He would look puzzled and only half convinced as his reason told him it could not be that late; but he had no choice but to obey. It would have been far wiser to set seven o'clock as his bed hour and to have stuck to it.

Little Minds.--Minds of moderate calibre ordinarily condemn everything that is beyond their range.--La Rachefoucauld.

Tea and Coffee.--Don't give your two-year-old child tea and coffee to drink. What if she does cry for them? The crying will harm her far less than the drink.

FOUR THINGS.

Each man has more of four thing than he knows. What four are these? Sins, debts, fears and woes. --From the French.

Sanitary Care of Baby's Bottles.--To wash and cleanse baby's bottles satisfactorily, have a good stout bottle brush; make a strong suds of hot water and soap or soap powder; wash the bottles thoroughly, using the brush, then rinse several times, using the hot water and borax, and drain. Before using bottles, always rinse again with hot water. With this care there should be no trouble with sour or cloudy bottles.

Moulded by Circumstances.--In all our reasonings concerning men we must lay it down as a maxim that the greater part are moulded by circumstances.--Robert Hall.

Forming Habits.--The trouble with most bad habits is that they are so quickly formed in small children. The mother relaxes her care for a day or two, and a new trick appears, or the work of weeks on an old one is undone. What is true of physical habits is equally so of the moral habits. A tiny baby of a few months old knows very well if the habit of loud crying will procure for it what it wants, and if not cheeked will develop into the irritable whining adult we are all acquainted with. Habits of disrespect, of indifference to the rights of others, of cruelty, may all be irresistibly formed or dispelled in the first few years of life.

[816 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

Chains of Habit.--The diminutive chains of habit are seldom heavy enough to be felt, till they are too strong to be broken.--Samuel Johnson. Unique Table Protector.--Many mothers prefer to bring their young children to the family table on ordinary occasions when there are no guests. At the same time they dislike to mar the appearance of their table with the tin waiter which is usually set before the children to protect the cloth against the depredations of dropped bread and milk. A clever device for this purpose is made of two oblong pieces of butcher's linen sewed together in the form of a case, with an oilcloth interlining. The linen is hemmed neatly so that it looks like an oblong napkin, and while it protects the cloth and the table it protects the table underneath; being white, like the cloth itself, it does not spoil the looks of the table. When soiled the oilcloth is slipped out and wiped off with a damp cloth, and the linen case goes with the tablecloth and napkin. Several of these cases will be needed, for the ordinary enterprising baby, but one piece of oilcloth will be sufficient for a long time.

Banish Tears.--Banish the tears of children; continual rains upon the blossoms are hurtful.--Jean Paul Richter.

Folding Bathtub.--The thing most desired by a young mother in these days is a bathtub for the baby made of sheet rubber that is attached to a campstool foundation. It can be folded up and put out of the way when not in use, and it telescopes into a small bundle when one wants to travel.

Flowers.--Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul into.--Henry Ward Beecher.

Correct Length of Clothes.--In making long clothes for the baby it is well to remember that the correct length for long dresses is one yard from the shoulder to the hem. The petticoats should be made the same lengths as the dresses, or perhaps a half inch shorter.

Life.--A pendulum betwixt a smile and tear.--Byron.

[DOMESTIC SCIENCE 817]

DOMESTIC SCIENCE DEPARTMENT.

The Theory and Practical Methods of Preserving Foods. MARMALADES AND BUTTERS. CANNING. JAM JELLIES. PICKLES. CHAFING DISHES.

By EDNA GERTRUDE THOMPSON,

Director of Domestic Science Department, Thomas Normal Training School, Detroit, Michigan.

Theory and Practice of Domestic Science.--Domestic Science has come to be considered one of the most important factors in our public school education of today. We have just awakened to the fact that our daughters should receive training in those things which will best fit them for housewives and mothers. While many of our girls are earning their own livelihood, the majority ultimately settle into homes of their own. Many girls have an excellent opportunity to get the training they need as homemakers from their mothers, but many of the children in this country lack this home training. There are two reasons for this neglect on the part of the mothers: first, the mother may not know how to do these things herself; and, second, she may be a wage-earner and of necessity cannot train her daughter.

Its Moral Influence.--In the early life of the child it is susceptible to influences which may be brought to bear upon it, and if the homemaking instinct is instilled early much is done toward moral growth of the child. The public school is expected to develop the child along these lines and consequently the cookery class, together with the class in housekeeping, has a mighty influence toward developing noble women. All the home duties are developed and made a pleasure and not a duty to the child, so that the home is looked upon with favorable eyes.

There is an old saying that "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." This contains much more truth than it would seem on the surface. Investigators who have made careful research into the divorce question, which has assumed such large proportions, state that if women knew more of the science of home making there would be fewer homes broken up. What man or woman either would not be utterly discouraged to come home day after day to poor meals and untidiness everywhere, conditions which in time bring poor health and disease. The public school aims through domestic science to teach the importance and dignity of being a good housewife.

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Economy of Domestic Science.--Then again, domestic science makes a plea for recognition on the ground of economy. Many times debt and trouble come to homes, not through lack of sufficient funds, but through lack of knowledge on the part of the dispenser of the funds. One of the principles which domestic science emphasizes in its teaching is to show how some of our cheaper foods furnish more nutriment to our systems than do some of our more expensive articles of diet. With this fact thoroughly established and understood domestic science tries to develop new and simple methods of cooking such foods and of making them attractive and appetizing. It is a well-known fact that it is not the amount of food we eat but the amount that we digest that gives nourishment to our bodies, and it has been proven that food that is not attractive and palatable to us gives only one-half the value to our bodies as when it is made attractive and palatable.

Greatest Food Value from Proper Cooking.--Then also students along this line of study have discovered that some of our common foods lose much of their value to us through improper cooking and preparation.

If we are going to prepare food and use it as part of our diet, why should we not obtain the most of its value? Is that not true economy? For an example of this fact let us take eggs, one of our most common articles of diet. We commonly cook eggs to harden the white, or albumen, so as to make them more palatable. One common method of doing this has been to boil them. Through experiments it has been proven that boiling makes this albumen so hard to digest that our bodies get practically no value from it. The newer method advanced proves that the same results can be obtained by cooking eggs in water which is kept just below the boiling point, and eggs cooked this way are easily and readily assimilated by our bodies. Why should we not endeavor then to give to our bodies food so prepared that it gives the most nourishment. To take another example,--when salt is added to vegetables it draws out from them into the water their mineral salts and any proteid which will build tissue for us. In most vegetables the cooking water is thrown away so that much of the value of the vegetable is lost. Why should we not try to devise a method of cooking which will save for us this food value? Salt is added for flavor only, so why cannot the salt be added a short time before the cooking is finished so that it will not have time to draw out the food value?

[DOMESTIC SCIENCE 819]

How to Save in Cooking Meats.--Again we cook different kinds of meats in different ways. Perhaps you think these different kinds of methods have simply come down to us through the ages. It is, however, interesting to know that our mothers probably developed these methods through thought. Tough meats, we know, require long cooking, but do we know why? The fibers and tissues have become strong through constant use on the part of the animal, and to be of use to us must be softened, so we cook tough meats long and usually with moisture to accomplish the softening. Tough meats are our cheap meats, but have you stopped to consider that they contain more nourishment than our tender meats. As has been stated, the tough meats are the parts of the body of the animal most used and consequently have been developed and nourished. Why not learn how to cook these pieces which give us more nourishment, and which are cheaper, in such a way as to be attractive and palatable? This is what the Domestic Science Course in our public school aims to teach our girls so that as housewives they can get the most value for the least money and be economical and intelligent buyers.

Our Winter Supply.--From an instinct, which ought to be common to all of us, in time of plenty we lay something aside for the time of need. As housewives this truth comes home to us, especially in the summer when we have an abundance of fruit which, without care, would soon become worthless. By reason of which fact we have developed methods of canning, preserving, etc., which at the present time have become so advanced that we can retain a very large share of the original color, flavor and shape of the fruit.

Preserving Foods.--All food products, on exposure to air, undergo certain changes which unfit them for use as food. It was once thought that these changes were due to oxidation, but they are now known to be caused by minute living organisms present in the air, in the water, in the ground and in the food itself. To preserve food two things are necessary; first, to either kill or render harmless those organisms already present; and second, to exclude others from entering. The first we usually accomplish by cooking, and the second by sealing. In order to live these organisms require three conditions; first, a particular temperature; second, a certain amount of moisture; third, the right kind of food. By taking away all or anyone of these requirements we may stop the growth or, in other words, we may preserve the food. For example: with the familiar method of cold storage the factor of temperature is removed; in the drying of the fruits and vegetables the factor of moisture is removed; by salting the factor of food is taken away.

The fruits and vegetables, commonly preserved in the home, are divided into five classes:

l.--Canning. 2.--Jellies. 3.--Jams. 4.--Marmalades and Butters. 5.--Pickles.

[820 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

CANNING.--Under this head there are four common methods:

1. Steaming.--By this method the fruit is put into the sterilized jars, the jars filled with boiling water and the covers loosely set on. Then the jars are set on small blocks of wood in a pan of cold water. Cover this pan and let the water come to a boil and boil for 15 minutes. Remove the jars and fill them with boiling water, if necessary. Seal tightly. Small berries, such as strawberries and raspberries, retain their color and are especially good done in this manner. Whole tomatoes done in this way are especially attractive for winter salads, and corn will keep indefinitely.

2. Boiling in Syrup.--This is the common household method of preserving fruits, such as peaches and pears. A syrup is prepared of sugar and water, into this the fruit is dropped and cooked until soft; it is then put into sterile jars, sufficient syrup added to fill jar and the jar then sealed.

3. Preserving.--This is the same as boiling in syrup, except that equal quantities of sugar and fruit are used. Small fruits such as berries are usually done in this way.

4. Cold Water Process.--This is a simple and easy method to use, and is especially desirable for vegetables such as rhubarb. Great care must be taken to use only perfect fruit, because in this method of canning bacteria are merely excluded, not destroyed, and if any are present in the food there is nothing to prevent it from spoiling. If fruit is over-ripe, or not perfectly fresh one of the other methods, such as boiling or steaming, is preferable.

To Can by the Cold Water Process.--Pack the fruit in a sterilized jar; pour over it water which has been boiled and cooled, seal your jar and keep in a cool place. Sometimes a solution of salt and water is used in place of pure water. When salt water is used food will need to be freshened by being allowed to stand in cold water for some time before using. Vegetables, such as beans, put up in this way are very similar to the fresh product.

Utensils.--Among the utensils most necessary for use in preserving foods in the home are scales, measuring cups, porcelain or agate ware sauce pans; earthen or agate ware bowls; silver, agate or wooden spoons; an agate colander; small dipper and funnel; new rubbers and perfect covers for the jars.

To Sterilize Jars.--Wash the jars, fill with cold water, place them on rests, such as small blocks of wood on the bottom of the kettle or boiler and surround them with cold water. If blocks of wood are not obtainable the jars may be wrapped in brown paper to prevent them knocking against each other. Be sure the mouths of the jars are uncovered. Heat gradually until the water boils, boil 15 minutes or until ready to fill them. Sterilize the covers of the jars also, and dip the rubber bands in boiling water just before using.

[DOMESTIC SCIENCE 821]

Directions for Filling Jars.--Remove the jars from the boiling water--the handle of a wooden spoon is good to use in removing them. Wring a cloth out of hot water and place it on a plate, put the jar to be filled on the hot cloth, put a silver spoon in it,--silver being a good conductor of heat absorbs the heat from the fruit and lessens the danger of breakage. Fill the jar with fruit and then add enough syrup or boiling water, as the case may be, to fill the jar to overflowing. Run a silver knife or spoon down the sides of the jar to allow any enclosed air to escape; add more syrup or water, if necessary. Put on the sterilized rubber and seal tightly.