Don’t you think it would be better to devote a whole number later on to
the subject of what women can do for their native towns or districts?
They have organized in a great many places and there are several national
societies devoted to civic improvement. The members either do things
themselves, or use their influence to secure good local laws to bring
these things about. It is surprising how much they accomplish.
The field is a large one and covers many things—beautifying public
squares and streets, making front and back yards attractive, improving
the schools and school-yards, securing parks for the people, making
better the towns’ sanitary conditions, establishing dinner-clubs for
factory girls, pushing the right kind of legislation for the community,
planting trees, flowers and grass, establishing traveling or stationary
libraries, starting church or public lecture courses, public baths,
hospitals, suppression of smoke and other nuisances such as overhead
telephone wires and ugly advertising boards—oh, there is no end to
what can be done! Of course, no two communities need just the same
improvements and town and country have different problems, but wherever
you live you will find something that can be made better. And we women
can do it! “A revolutionizing power as to all that changes the ‘order of
one day’ lies in feminine hands, through the use of what is distinctly
hers,” says that wise woman who, under the name of “C,” writes those
splendid articles called “Home Thoughts” for the New York _Post_.
All this isn’t a matter of theory. These things _have been done_ in
many places. And why shouldn’t woman be able to bring about public
improvements? More than half the population of the United States are
women. In many places we can vote. Everywhere we wield a great influence
over those that do vote. And surely we have brains enough.
To my mind, local women’s clubs organized for some such purpose as this
are a good deal more worth while than women’s clubs organized merely for
self-improvement. Work for the improvement of others—that is the best
way to improve yourself. Be a citizen as well as an individual. Women’s
literary and current events clubs are good institutions when they don’t
try to do foolish things or make us neglect our home duties, but these
same clubs might do the world, and the members, too, greater good if they
would also turn their attention to helping the whole community to better
things.
But to return to that Nebraska letter. I suggest that we keep it till
our July number and devote that whole issue to the question of women and
civic improvement. I hope that every one of you who has done any work
of that kind, or seen it done, will write to the Department and tell us
about it. Remember that the July number comes out June 25 and that the
letters should reach me about three weeks before that time. Write now.
_FLOWERS FOR JUNE NUMBER_
June is a month of flowers, how will it do to devote the June number to
them? That is a very big subject, so we’d better narrow it down a little.
Suppose we consider only the ornamental flowers common to our gardens,
woods and fields. Let us all contribute something as to the care and
raising and nature of them.
We will not “study botany,” as they do in school and college, but,
besides collecting information on planting, watering, repotting etc., we
can get a very good bird’s eye view if what flowers _are_. Nearly all of
us have probably raised flowers or seen them raised, but there are enough
interesting facts about them to fill a hundred numbers of our Department.
Let us try to collect as many interesting facts as possible so that we
can have a broader knowledge when we see them or work with them in the
future.
We will not include the plants or trees that bear our common fruits and
vegetables. This is a subject by itself and perhaps we can take it up in
some later number.
Though we are going to confine ourselves to our common flowers and
plants let us get a general idea of where they belong in the vegetable
kingdom—in regard to ferns, mosses, mushrooms, sea-weeds, lichens, etc.
For instance, which of these is the nearest relative to the asparagus—the
oak, the fern, the lily, the mushroom or the rose? The question isn’t
important to us in itself, but a very little effort will enable us to
understand the general arrangements of the plants so that it will be an
added pleasure all our lives.
What _is_ a plant? What is it composed of? What does it eat? Drink?
Breathe? What are the leaves for? The roots? The flowers? Why do plants
differ so among themselves? Why does one grow from a bulb, another from
fine roots? Why is the seed of a maple put in that peculiar little case
you crunch under foot on the pavement?
Oh, there are lots of “whys”! The nice part of it is that it is all very
simple, after all. We can find out a great deal with very little trouble.
There are plenty of easy books on the subject, nowadays, and a good many
people who know about plants. Many of you know all these things, and
more, without asking.
The things suggested in the last paragraph _are_ important to us if we
are raising flowers. If you raise flowers you are a flower-nurse and a
flower-doctor. How can a nurse or doctor do much for a patient unless she
knows what the patient eats, drinks and breathes, and what the various
members and organs of the patient are for?
Where did our flowers originally come from? Are they all native to
America? If not, how did they get here? Were they always as they are now?
How do plants reproduce their kind? Do all plants have seeds? Do seeds
always grow into plants just like the one on which they grew? If so,
have all the many varieties existed from the first? If not, how can you
get another plant like the parent? Do you know what Luther Burbank, the
“California Wizard,” is doing? Has a seed one parent or two? Where is it,
or where are they? It’s easy to ask questions, isn’t it?
Yes, and it’s surprisingly easy to answer them, if you try. An
encyclopedia will help you, if you consult it. So will an unabridged
dictionary, though it doesn’t say much and is often very technical. Of
course a botany will and there are many “popular” books now that give
you much interesting information. Don’t make a lesson out of it. You may
be able to answer some or all of the above questions without help of any
kind. If not, take a few minutes some time soon and browse around among
some of those books and pick up anything that strikes your fancy. If
there are no books handy, ask your friends. It is as good as a game of
“Authors” any day! If your friends don’t know, you are very lucky. Then
you can do a little observing and thinking on your own hook. That is a
hundred times better than being told or taught.
There is nothing that can be made more deadly dry and tedious than
“botany”: there are few things that can be made more delightful and
interesting than a commonsense study of flowers!
Have flowers played a part in history? What was the “War of the Roses?”
What is the fleur-de-lis, the emblem of France and used so much in
decoration and jewelry? Do you remember the story of Narcissus in Greek
mythology? What other flowers have figured in history? Do you remember,
in our February number, what royal family had the broom flower as their
badge? What is the national flower of Scotland? Of Ireland? Of our
country?
Do we Americans use much taste in making bouquets? What is your idea of a
really beautiful and artistic bouquet? Do you know the Japanese idea of a
bouquet?
Is it healthful to have many plants around you? How do plants keep the
water fresh in an aquarium?
Tell us your best remedies for insects that injure plants? What plants
are best for the house in winter? In summer? Do you know how to make good
window-boxes? Tell us anything you know about plants and their care.
Would your town or district be pleasanter and better to live in if more
flowers and trees were growing in it? What are parks worth to a large
city? But there. I am running into our subject for July!
Are you supposed to answer all those questions? Bless you, no! No one
_has_ to do anything in our Department. We get work enough in our daily
lives—our Department is to afford us a change and relief from everyday
work. It isn’t any the less play because we can profit by it and learn
things from it. And perhaps it will teach us how to turn some of our
daily work into an interesting kind of game (if we haven’t learned how to
do that already) and yet do it better than we did before. The questions
are merely to suggest things for our June number. Pick out a few that
interest you and find out something about them or tell us what you know
already. Mercy, no! You don’t _have_ to! But you’re likely to find a
little of it amusing and pleasant and to add a bit more interest to your
life.
If we only know how, and try, we can make our lives _so_ much more
pleasant for ourselves and those about us! It is very easy. And it
doesn’t take much time or brains or money or anything else, except
“gumption” enough to try.
_For May, June and July_
So for May we will continue our discussion of woman’s interest in
politics; in June, our common, ornamental flowers, wild and cultivated;
in July, what women can do toward improving and beautifying their native
town or district.
_Suggest Future Subjects_
I have asked the printer to put the above announcement at the beginning
of our Department for the sake of convenience. I believe it will be a
good plan to announce our monthly subjects three numbers ahead all the
time, so that we can have plenty of time to think them over in advance,
make suggestions and send in information.
Now, what shall we have for the August number? If there is something you
are interested in or want to talk about or hear others talk about, send
it in to the Department. Do this not only for August but for all the
following numbers. I chose the subject for the first few months in order
to get our plan started. Now I have had more than my share of “chooses”
and all the others are for you to select. It may be that I can arrange
to have a special prize offered each month for the best monthly topic
suggested. I’ll try.
_WHY SHOULD WOMEN BE INTERESTED IN POLITICS?_
There is one answer that is sufficient in itself—Because her daily bread
depends upon politics!
Is there any particular reason why she should go about her daily work
like a mole and pay no attention to the things that make her life hard or
make it easy? Doesn’t she suffer from unjust laws and bad conditions and
profit by just laws and good conditions as much as her husband does, or
her father, son, or brother?
Someone objects that politics is for the man to take care of; housework
is woman’s sphere. That isn’t quite a fair statement of the case. The
man’s part in the care of the family is his business: the woman’s is her
housework. Politics is a third question. Why should the man alone have
this to see to? A good many objections will be offered to this, too, _but
all these objections will boil down to just one thing_—because he _does_!
And that isn’t any reason at all. If you were asked why little children
should work in factories and kill their health and youth, would you
consider “Because they do!” a sufficient or sensible reason?
The men say that when women discuss anything they never get anywhere
because they fail to _define_ the terms they use, and may all be talking
about different things under the same name. I think men make this mistake
about as much as we do, but let’s be on the safe side this time and
define just what we mean by “politics.”
Politics in our country have become so disreputable that we are likely to
feel that having anything to do with them is bad taste or even degrading.
It is natural to feel that way, but is it silly, nevertheless. It is
bad taste, or even degrading, to have anything to do with a notorious
criminal, but _not if you are making him better_ instead of letting him
make you worse! This is particularly true when it is partly _your fault
that he became a criminal_!
Now as to the definition of politics. The Standard Dictionary gives this:
1. The branch of civics that treats of the principles of civil
government and the conduct of state affairs; the administration
of public affairs in the interest of the peace, prosperity,
and safety of the state; statecraft; political science: in a
wide sense embracing the _science_ of _government_ and _civil
polity_.
2. Political affairs in a party sense; the administration of
public affairs or the conduct of political matters so as to
carry elections and secure public offices; party intrigues;
political wire-pulling; trickery.
3. A man’s political sentiments, party preference, or
connection.
The word, then, has three shades of meaning. The third one we need not
bother with, since it merely means any man’s opinion on the things given
under Number 1 and Number 2.
Now let’s contrast Number 1 and Number 2. There are some large words
there, but if we take it a piece at a time we shall at least see that
there is a tremendous difference between the two shades of meaning.
In Number 1 politics means the fair and unprejudiced study of how a
nation should be governed, but in Number 2 politics means _How much can
you get out of it regardless of the general welfare_!
In Number 1 the object is the “peace, prosperity and safety of the
state,” but in Number 2 the object is to “carry elections and secure
public offices”—“party intrigues; political wire-pulling; trickery.”
It is Number 1 we are considering primarily. True, if our daily bread
depends on politics, we are also interested in “how much we can get out
of it,” but we mean by this how much we can get justly and honestly—our
equal share _along with everyone else_. “Equal rights to all, special
privileges to none.”
No, no! I’m not advocating the People’s Party principles just because
I quote one of their watchwords. That motto is not theirs alone, but
that of every honest citizen, no matter to what party he belongs. It is
merely an expression of the principles set forth in the Declaration of
Independence. Whatever I may believe personally, it is no part of my
business to plead the cause of any political party in our Department. We
have nothing to do with parties. Our object is to consider how our nation
is governed and how it _should_ be governed—national, state, county,
township and city governments, under whatever names these divisions may
be called in different places.
We are primarily concerned with definition Number 1. We want to know how
our nation should be governed. After that we will consider Number 2, and
see how it _is_ governed.
Now, considering the awful amount of writing and talking there is about
politics, the infinite number of questions there are to decide, and the
unending difference of opinion on these questions, we can see at the
outset that we can’t decide it all in two numbers of our Department. Nor
in a hundred. We are not going to try to. All we want is an intelligent
idea of the general situation and of our duty in the matter.
What is government at bottom? In the beginning there was no government
or organization of any kind, not even the family organization. Each man
or woman lived his or her own life separate from all others. The first
organization came about when a man and woman decided to live together
and raise children. They soon found that when they had a child to take
care of they could not go on independently of each other as they had
before. They had two things to do—to care for the baby and keep it safe
every minute from wild beasts and other people, and to secure food for
themselves and their child. If they both went hunting for food there was
no one to watch the baby; if they both watched the baby, there was no
way of getting food. They saw that they had to have some _arrangement_.
They had to _divide_ the labor. So the woman tended the baby and the man
went hunting for all three. Each of them gave up a little of the former
independence and received a new thing in _return_—help from another
person. Thus the “family” began. It was the first step towards _society_
and government. They gave up part of their freedom _in return for help_
from others.
People lived by hunting animals and gathering fruits and berries at
first. If a man laid by any food for his family, another man was likely
to take it away while he was away hunting. He found it pretty hard to
have to do anything himself and he at odds with other men. Pretty soon
it dawned on him that it would pay to make some “arrangement” with
those other men. He wouldn’t rob them, if they didn’t rob him. Later he
arranged with a few of them to keep their families close together so that
some of the men could protect them while the other men hunted for all.
In some such way began the “town.” Each of them gave up a part of his
freedom _in return_ for help from others.
When many towns had sprung up these towns began to see they could to
advantage make “arrangements” among themselves (just as individual men
had done) for protection and other purposes. Thus the “state” or country
came into existence. Each town gave up part of its “independence” _in
return_ for help from other towns.
Thus “society” was formed and grew more and more complex. Of course,
I have only sketched the process in a very general way, but the idea
is there. The one point we have to consider is that no one of these
arrangements or institutions—the family, town and state—would be possible
_unless_ every member gave up part of his original freedom _in return_
for help from others. A _bargain_ has to be made. For instance, the
different men and their families each made a bargain with the whole
number to give up part of their freedom, time and energy to the band. _In
return_ each was to receive his share of the freedom, time and energy the
others had given to the band or town. Each man made a _bargain_ with the
town. He owed the town something: the town owed him something.
That was the beginning of government, and that is the arrangement at the
bottom of any government to this day. Every government (town, county,
state or national) is just a bargain between the various individuals and
all of them taken together. Each owes something to all: all owe something
to each.
The point is, in each case, is this bargain a _fair_ one? Does the
individual give up more than he receives in _return_?
In olden times the average individual did give up far more than he got
in return. Often he didn’t get much besides protection against some
other government. Yet for this he frequently had to give up _nearly all_
his freedom, time and energy. A few individuals gained control of the
government and, though they might not contribute as much as the others,
took most of what the others gave for the use of the whole number,
calling themselves kings, or dukes or emperors. The mass of the people
forgot that originally the “government” meant _all_ the people. They came
to consider the few who had gained control of the government as _the
government itself_. That is, they let themselves be cheated out of their
share in it.
Our Declaration of Independence was one of the things that resulted when,
after centuries of misrule and suffering, the mass of the people began
to wake up to the fact that they had been cheated all that time under a
bargain which had originally been fair. They had been giving more than
they got in return.
In an absolutely fair government every individual would receive just as
much as he gave and give just as much as he received. A modern government
is so vast and so complex that it would be hard to measure each man’s
share exactly, but the nearer any government comes to that, the better
and fairer it is. England, for example, comes nearer to that ideal than
does Russia; Russia nearer than Afghanistan.
The chief trouble in Russia is that the mass of the people have to give
more than they receive. A comparative few have gained possession of
the government and each takes a very, very large share of what _all_
contribute, leaving almost no share at all for the majority.
Of course it is almost impossible to trace out just what each Russian
peasant gives up to the government, and what he receives in return.
Without a government of some kind he could not produce or hold anything
except by force against his fellows—land, goods, money, family, all would
be _totally_ insecure. As it is, he does get _some_ security in these
respects. In return he gives practically _all_ his freedom, time and
energy. On the other hand, a Grand Duke may give up to his country hardly
any freedom, time and energy, and yet be rolling in wealth. Something is
wrong. It is not a fair bargain. It is not a good government.
How about _our_ government? Is it a fair bargain?
Modern civilization is very complex. No two men can really give just the
same amount to the common country, since all men differ in ability. But
the country asks only certain things from its individuals. To be fair
the point is to _ask the same from all_. The country gives only certain
things to its individuals: the point is to _give the same to all_. Our
country doesn’t demand military service in time of peace, as do many
other countries. And, in _return_, it doesn’t give us a tremendous
standing army. If it _did_ demand military service, to be fair it would
have to make the demand equally of _all_ able to bear arms. If it _did_
give us a big standing army, to be fair it would have to use this army to
protect us _all_ equally.
If our country taxes certain goods, it must tax them everywhere—not for
one man and not for the next. If there is a tax of one cent on every bale
of a certain commodity, each man should pay one cent for every bale he
owns. If there is a tax of one cent on every dollar, each man should pay
one cent for every dollar he owns.
Is this the case in the United States?
If the Government gives certain privileges to a few men, it should give
the same to all. Is this always done in our country?
Of course all may not always want a certain privilege. It is open to all,
but only a few use it. Is this all that is required of the Government?
Or, since the Government has nevertheless given some of the general fund
to only a few, should these few make some adequate _return_ for what
they have used from the common property? Is this always done in our
country?
Ask yourself similar questions about every case that comes up. What I
have said doesn’t pretend to “explain politics,” but it ought to give
everyone a test or basis to refer everything back to. Ask yourself
whether any law or custom is a _fair bargain_. You can tell well enough
when you deal with the grocer or the milkman whether you are getting a
fair bargain. Try to in these other matters.
But to come back to why women should take an interest in politics. One
reason has been suggested—that her daily bread is affected by them.
Another has been hinted at—that it is partly your fault that politics as
practiced in this country are corrupt (definition No. 2). Since we are to
devote the next number of our Department to this same question, we will
do little now in this issue except suggest reasons and ask questions. I’m
not going to do all the expressing of opinion just because I happen to
have the chance all to myself this month. By next month I hope there will
be letters and opinions from a great many of you.
In some parts of our country women can vote and it is likely that some
day they will do so everywhere. When the country or state gives her
the right to vote does that put her under any obligation to do or give
anything in return for this privilege?
Who gives women (or men) the right to vote—the city, state or country?
Is it fair to give it to some women and not to all? Is it fair to give it
to men and not to women?
Would politics be purer if women took more interest in them? If women
voted?
In those places where women cannot vote what can they do towards securing
good government? Can they do anything through their husbands, brothers
and fathers? Through their neighbors? Through their own children? Can
they do anything through the church? The schools? Last year, when
Philadelphia threw off boss-rule, what was the method that succeeded in
making the corrupt politicians surrender after all other methods had
failed?
Can you tell the Department of any instance where the women have brought
about, or helped to bring about, reforms in town, country, state or
national government even when they were not allowed to vote?
Do you remember the saying that “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the
world”? How much truth is there in it?
If you had a really intelligent idea of politics as they should be and as
they are, would it bring you into closer touch with the men-folks of your
family? Would it broaden your horizon? Would it interfere with household
duties? Would it make you a better citizen? Could you accomplish real
good by having this knowledge?
What is the best way of acquiring an intelligent idea of the subject,
it you haven’t one already? Take the opinion of those around you? Read
weighty and technical books and articles? Read first a very simple book
on civics—on the organization of our Government? Would it be a good plan
to read your boy’s school text-book on this subject?
Can some one point out a few articles in the numbers of this Magazine
which make their point very clear and are easy enough for anyone to
understand? Send the Department the names of a few that appealed to you,
so that some more of us can venture on them. Similar articles in other
magazines which the average woman can grasp without a previous extensive
knowledge of politics or political economy? Books?
Can you decide a question until you have heard both sides of it?
Is it safe to believe all you read, or does it pay to consider when you
read it, who wrote it, what personal or party reason he may have had for
writing it?
Consider your local newspaper. Do you know the difference between the
“set” matter and the “plate” matter and the “ready-print” matter in its
pages? Why is this difference _very_ important in deciding as to the
value of an article in that paper? Who writes set matter? Has he “any
fish to fry” when he writes? Who writes plate and ready-print matter?
Has he any fish to fry? With a little care you can tell these three
kinds of printed matter apart in your local paper. (Ready-print matter
is used only in some country weeklies and dailies and some other small
local papers. It can be “spotted” by noticing what pages of the paper
always have it. Unfold the paper and lay it flat on the floor. If it is
ready-print and has few pages enough to make only one sheet, all of the
pages on one side will be ready-print. There won’t be any local articles
or items in the print. Both ready-print and plate are in different type
from set matter.) If a corrupt man or corrupt men wrote the ready-print
and plate could they wield a vast influence? More than by writing the set
matter? It is well worth thinking about.
Are there many magazines or papers that are not controlled by political
or business interests? How much can you believe in a publication
controlled in that way?
The voters of the country are divided into several political parties.
Would it be better or worse if there were no regular parties and every
voter voted independently?
What is a real democracy? Is the United States a real democracy now? Why?
What is meant by direct legislation—the initiative, referendum, recall
and imperative mandate? Big words, but they stand for things worth
knowing about and having an opinion on. And they are easy enough to
understand. Would these things tend toward real democracy? Have they been
tried in actual practice? If so, have they proved a success? Why? What
effect would they have on the whole party system?
There, I think that is enough questions for one person to ask. Someone is
likely to ask me a question in return—_How_ do politics affect our daily
bread? Well, there are several hundred answers to that. Let’s each of us
suggest for the May number one or more ways that politics (according to
both definition No. 1 and definition No. 2) affect our daily living.
We are not going to try to become experts in politics, but we do want to
have an intelligent general idea of them. It is our _duty_. In our May
number I hope to have many opinions from women all over the country.
[Illustration: _THE INTEREST OF EVERYDAY THINGS._]
We had a glimpse last month at some of the interesting things concerned
in bread and bread-making. The house is full of things we have known so
long that we scarcely think of them except as parts of the daily routine,
but which, if we turn our attention to them, prove veritable mines of
information, history, travel and even romance.
_Sponges_
A sponge is the skeleton of a very, very, tiny animal, or rather of a
colony of thousands of such animals that live under water. When the
little animals die they leave behind them this network of elastic fibers
that they have built up. For a long time it was thought that sponges
were plants, and even now scientists know really very little about
these little animals. You have noticed how many kinds of sponges there
are. These different varieties are caused partly by differences in
temperature and chemical composition of the water and partly by the fact
that there are more than one species or variety of the animal itself.
There is no need to enumerate all the kinds of sponges from the fine,
soft ones used in surgical operations to the big, coarse ones used for
washing carriages. Nearly all the sponges inhabit salt water and the
best ones come from the Mediterranean, particularly the Levant or that
eastern part of the Mediterranean bounded by Syria, Asia Minor and the
Holy Land and Egypt. Others are found in the waters around Florida and
in those near Australia. The sponges are secured by means of native
divers. In some places these men work all day long from sunrise to sunset
through six months of the year, resting during the winter. The work
is, of course, very hard and few of them reach old age. Often they are
treated with inhuman cruelty by their employers and many are killed by
sharks. Particularly in Florida there have been attempts made to raise
sponges artificially, but though it is easy to secure the spawn of the
tiny animals and succeed in getting them to attach their little colonies
to stones, coral or other objects under water, the sponges never reach
any considerable size and are commercially useless. They have also tried
to propagate them by cuttings or slips, but here arises the difficulty
of making the cuttings attach themselves to other objects, which is
necessary to their development. And the little animals themselves, they
go right on very quietly drinking in water and getting all they need
from it—air, food and drink—whether they are off the coast of Europe,
Asia, Africa, America or Australia or in a little glass aquarium being
looked at through a microscope by a dried-up old man with spectacles and
side-whiskers. And we use the sponges.
_Maize_
The right name of what we call corn or Indian corn is maize. The word is
derived from the Spanish word _maiz_, which comes from the native Haitian
word _mahiz_. Corn in Europe means what we call wheat. Maize, or corn,
like all our grains, belongs to the big Grass Family and is a native of
America. Most of our other grains come from Europe and Asia, just as we
ourselves did. It probably came from the table-lands of Mexico and Peru
and has always been the chief food of the Indians. It was introduced into
Asia, southern Europe and northern Africa and spread quickly and widely
for a while. However, the climate was not hot enough for it in Europe and
it is not raised there very much now. The English generally consider it
fit only for animals and rather turn up their noses at us for eating it
ourselves. The only time I ever saw any offered to an Englishman he was
very polite about it but managed to avoid eating even a single mouthful
from the nice, tender ears. Other nations are horrified at seeing
otherwise well-bred Americans pick up a roasting-ear and gnaw it off
the cob, and it must be confessed that it does look pretty bad unless a
person is careful to hold it with only one hand and bite it off daintily.
Many Americans who travel in Europe miss it terribly and one woman
confessed to me that her chief reason for coming home was just to get
some real American corn once more. I understand, though, that the English
look on our popcorn very differently. It is said that two New England
spinsters introduced it over there a number of years ago and their little
stand rapidly became so popular that they amassed a very considerable
fortune and lived happily ever afterwards. We use sweet corn not only on
the cob, for fritters, puddings and so on, as corn-meal and for stock,
but extract from it whisky, starch and glucose sugar. Besides sweet corn
and popcorn the common kinds are flint and dent. Sweet corn gets its name
from the large quantities of sugar in it. Popcorn pops because it has
a great deal of oil and this oil explodes when sufficiently hot. Corn
varies in color from white to black, but most of it is yellow or white.
Like wheat, Government experts and other scientists in this country,
Canada and elsewhere have been experimenting with corn for years and by
cross-breeding and selection (about which processes I hope the Department
will receive some interesting contributions for our June number) they
have vastly improved the old varieties and produced many new ones.
When I was a child I remember being much impressed on being told that
you never, _never_ could find an ear of corn with an odd number of
rows in it. Maybe you can, but I never have been able to, and, as that
advertisement says, “there is a reason.”
Can someone tell us for our June Department? You may have heard the story
of the Southern planter before the War who offered to give freedom to
any slave who could find an ear of corn with an uneven number of rows.
None of them could, though it is easy to believe they hunted a good deal,
until finally another white man showed one of the slaves how he could cut
a row out of an ear when it was very young so as to leave no mark when he
presented it and demanded his freedom. The master kept his word and the
slave went free.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: _VARIOUS HINTS._]
It was almost equally hard to award the prize for the best general
suggestion or recipe sent in. After some careful deliberation, it seemed
that, all things considered, the free subscription this month should go
to Alicia E. Storm, of Plessis, N. Y., though we hesitated, especially
between this and Mrs. Richardson. A little later I hope to be able to
send a little souvenir to _everyone_ who sends in a contribution and
doesn’t get a regular prize. In case this plan carries out, as I think
it will, of course all who have contributed before that time will be
remembered. And always there is the gratitude of those who benefit from
your suggestion, and my own sincere thanks and your consciousness of
having helped other women in their daily trials and perplexities.
_Home Talk._
We have no kitchen cabinet, and we keep a small table set for three in
our kitchen, which is not large. The cooking stove, sink, and cupboards
taking most of the room. I needed a small table to use for work and
mixing table. There was a space behind the stove. I bethought me of the
crate in which my sewing machine came. It is just the thing. The table
is just about the right height, and the shelf below is as convenient as
the top. I find that on baking day it helps very much to get everything
one needs before commencing work. I use an earthen mixing bowl. After the
bread and biscuits, I make pies, as the lard is then cold. Then I make
my cakes and afterward doughnuts. It is a saving of time and fuel if one
can bake a variety at once, as in cold weather victuals keep longer than
in summer. A convenience for storing pies can be made by having several
shelves sawed out large enough to hold your tins. One can use laths (four
of them) for uprights, fastening them well at the four corners of the
bottom shelf; then fasten the others about three inches apart. This gives
more space, and keeps pies from being mussed.
Did you ever experience the difference between two neighborly calls? Mrs.
A. relates the latest bit of gossip, making up in insinuations what she
lacks in fact. She talks about her dressmaker, criticizes the appearance
and dress of her friends, and gives you an uncomfortable feeling—thinking
perhaps you will be the subject of unpleasant remarks. Mrs. B. is fresh
and cheery. She asks about your plants, and tells of the growth of her
own—of every new bud. She tells of the cunning things her baby has said,
of the nest her canary is building, of the new book she is reading. She
tells, perhaps, of some ludicrous mistake she has made in her cooking,
laughing at the same. This woman may not be intellectual in the highest
sense, but she is charming. Her call will have made you happy all the
day. We leave the effect of our presence—sometimes for long. So should we
act that no sting of uneasiness be left in the hearts of those with whom
we come in contact.—_Alicia E. Storm, Plessis, N. Y._
_Valuable Pointers_
Every work is easy and pleasant if you go at it as you go to a picnic. In
house cleaning I fix one room at the time. It takes a week, but I have
the most of each day and I do my work better, as I don’t have to hurry.
No confusion in the regular routine of work; one thorough sweeping and
dusting is enough for one day. If the tablecloth is clean enough for the
home folks, it is all right for company. Don’t try to cook a variety of
dishes each day. You won’t hold out so well, and one or two will do as
well, and change them every day. Sheets, towels and some other things
can be used all right without ironing. If you smoothed all the wrinkles
out of all the rough clothes, you might have the wrinkles in your face.
I read and rest some every day. Prepare two dinners on Saturday, and go
to church and Sunday-school. I do have some trouble and everyone does,
but I am always thankful, and my life-work is a delight to me. Let us try
to do all things to the glory and honor of God. Although in the country,
we have one of the best “teachers.” Our children attend, cold or hot,
regularly. They are taught the Sunday-school lesson at school Friday
afternoon.—_Mrs. E. A. Richardson, Thomaston, Ga._
_To Make Sure of Milk Churning in Cold Weather_
Many persons who churn in winter have trouble because butter will not
come if chilled, and are obliged to throw the milk away, or feed it to
the stock. If they will steam, not boil, the milk after milking, they can
allow it to freeze solid and it will churn all right if thawed and warmed
properly. This recipe has been worth many dollars to me, and hope it will
help other women housekeepers.—_Mrs. D. L. Burrows, Gibson, Ga._
_To Polish Nickel on Stoves_
Use stove polish. It is the very best thing. Rub a light coating over it
and polish with polishing cloth or brush. The cloth or brush is generally
sufficient. Only give an occasional coat of polish.—_Mrs. D. L. Burrows,
Gibson, Ga._
_To Clean Iron Kettles_
Boil skim-milk in it and then wash with good soap-suds. Use six quarts
for an eight-quart kettle, and boil and simmer for twenty-four hours.
This will also prevent future trouble.—_Mrs. E. R. Putney, Kansas City,
Mo._
_To Remove Large Stones From Fields_
Make the stone very hot on one side only; pour water on it to make it
crack, and help it along with a heavy hammer. Another way, in the winter,
is to bore a hole pretty well into the stone, fill with water and plug it
firmly shut. The force of the water as it freezes will crack the stone.
Still another way is to make a hole in the direction of the veins or
cleavage of the stone, put in a cleft cylinder of iron, then drive an
iron wedge between the two halves of the cylinder. _L. L. Deweese, Piqua,
O._
_Shoe-Soles_
Melt together tallow and common resin, two parts of first to one of
second. Apply hot—as much as the sole will absorb. Neat’s-foot oil is
good also. These remedies keep the leather soft, prevent its cracking,
and make it waterproof.—_Mrs. N. O. Baker, Jersey City, N. J._
_To Clean Wall Paper_
Take off the dust with a soft cloth. With a little flour and water make a
lump of stiff dough and rub the wall gently downward, taking the length
of the arm each stroke, and in this way go round the whole room. As
the dough becomes dirty, cut the soiled parts off. In the second round
commence the stroke a little above where the last one ended, and be
very careful not to cross the paper or to go up again. Ordinary papers
cleaned in this way will look fresh and bright, and almost as good as
new. Some papers, however, and these the most expensive ones, will not
clean nicely. In order to ascertain whether a paper will clean nicely, it
is best to try it in some obscure corner. Fill up any broken places in
the wall with a mixture of plaster of Paris and silver sand, made into
a paste with a little water, then cover the place with a piece of paper
like the rest, if it can be had.—_Mrs. B. C. Benton, Denver, Col._
_To Clean a Chimney_
Place a piece of zinc on the live coals in the stove. The vapor thus
produced will carry off the soot.
_For a Cut_
Sift powdered resin on the wound, wrap with a soft, clean cloth, and wet
occasionally with water.—_Miss Anna Paisley, New Orleans._
_To Cleanse Sponges_
Wash in a solution of a teaspoonful of ammonia to two quarts of water,
and afterwards in a solution of one part of muriatic acid to twenty-five
of water. Sponges should be thoroughly rinsed, aired, and dried after
every using. Unless they are kept very clean it is not well to use them.
A piece of rough towel or tablecloth hemmed at the edges is much better.
Another way to clean sponges is to steep them in buttermilk for some
hours, then squeeze out and wash in cold water. Lemon juice is also good.
[Illustration: _HEROISM AT HOME._]
_A PRIZE FOR THE BEST TRUE STORY_
Every month the Department will publish a little story of heroism _in the
home_—not any one act of heroism, but the tale of how someone _lived_
heroically, _lived_ self-sacrifice _in everyday life_. It must be _true_
and must be about somebody you know or have known or know definitely
about. _It must not have over 500 words._ The shorter, the better.
_Whoever sends in the best story each month will not only have it printed
but will receive a year’s free subscription to WATSON’S MAGAZINE sent to
any name you choose. Tell your story simply and plainly._
_Please state whether the names and places mentioned in your story are
real or fictitious._ The Department does not print real names in these
stories. Please do not send in stories about someone rescuing another
from drowning or anything like that—we don’t want stories of single acts
of heroism but of lives bravely and unselfishly lived out.
* * * * *
The stories of “Heroism at Home” have begun to come in. We can not
print all of them in this number, but there will be a place for the
others later on. Only one told of a single heroic incident. It was a
brave, unselfish act, but that isn’t what we are going to use under this
head—not things done suddenly, perhaps on impulse or by instinct, but the
kind of heroism that lasts day after day. This one story, too, was told
in verse and though it was good I fear we had better confine ourselves to
simple prose. I hope the writer will send us another good true story in
prose and of heroic _living_.
The prize this month is awarded to “Her Career.” It was very hard to
decide among several stories that told of some very beautiful and useful
lives, so I got others to help me. I imagine it is never going to be
easy to decide which is the very best of the stories each month. How the
stories are told is not considered at all, but the heroic lives described
are very hard to weigh against one another. But I will do the best I can.
_HER CAREER_
No, she never wrote a book, nor went as a missionary to Japan, nor won
a degree in college. She never even taught school, nor belonged to a
woman’s club.
But she has been the inspiration of her family and has radiated blessings
on all she knew.
Thirty years ago she was a dark-haired, dark-eyed bride of eighteen.
They were poor, but they had health and strength and bright dreams of
the future. They built a small log house on the land they had bought on
credit and began to improve it. Their days were filled with hopeful work
and their nights brought rest and refreshing sleep.
But soon a shadow fell across the sunlight that streamed on her pathway.
Her husband began to drink. He was soon a helpless victim of the fiery
appetite and could not go where liquor was without getting drunk.
She was refined and regretted to the very depths of her soul her
husband’s weakness. Sometimes she was righteously indignant, but
she never upbraided him with moral lectures in which she posed as a
mistreated angel, though she often talked it over with him after the
“spree” was over.
Children came. The “sprees” became more frequent and things looked more
gloomy, but she worked tirelessly and trusted everlastingly.
At last the county voted liquor out. This did some good; the temptation
was farther away. But even then he would make several trips a year to
the nearest liquor town and always with the same result. If a neighbor
were going to town at the same time she would ask him to look after her
husband. And when the erring man staggered home she would put him to bed
and cook him something to eat—not always ham and eggs and delicacies, but
the best she had. She never slipped anything in his coffee to cure him
secretly.
And she has almost won. He is not proof against them yet, but the
“sprees” are few and far between.
Six children call her mother—two womanly daughters well married, another
a lovable and accomplished young woman, a handsome son, with his mother’s
wonderfully calm eyes, who detests liquor, and two young girls at school.
A neat white house with green blinds has taken the place of the log
structure. She is a model housekeeper and has always done all her
work—cooking, sewing, washing, ironing, scrubbing, milking, churning,
sweeping, poultry-raising and one thousand and one other things. Besides
this she has tied up sore toes and cut fingers, poulticed boils, applied
hot salt to all manner of aches and pains; doctored mumps, whooping-cough
and la grippe; and successfully nursed measles, pneumonia and fever.
Her face has lost some of its freshness and her hair is turning gray, but
she is still the blessed counselor of her family and she still finds
time to visit and make herself a true, cheerful friend and neighbor.
_HER SACRIFICE_
Miss ⸺ lives in ⸺, Ohio. She was born on a farm where she lived with her
father and mother and two brothers and one sister. The father became
surety for a friend who failed, and it took the father’s farm to pay the
debt. The family therefore left the farm, and moved to the county-seat,
in the suburbs, and in a small house and two lots began life anew. He
rode the country buying stock for other men, kept cows and peddled milk
in the town, kept forty hens and sold eggs, cultivated the lots in garden
produce, and kept the family together. One fortunate result of leaving
the farm, the children were put into the city schools. Miss ⸺ graduated
in the high school, and obtained a certificate to teach. The two brothers
married and left the city. Then finally the sister married and left. Miss
⸺, at the age of 26, was left to care for her parents in their declining
years.
She obtained a position as teacher in the city schools and devoted her
wages to the care of the home, and looked after her parents when out
of school hours. There came offers of honorable marriage, for she was
strong, healthy, comely and attractive. She could not consider them.
Her parents could not do without her. They were declining in strength
and looked to her for the care of the household. She taught on, and
with her wages kept them in comfort. Two years ago the good old mother,
weary of life, departed for the better land. Two years longer the old
father lived, kept the house during the day while the daughter was in
the schoolroom and awaited the sound of her footsteps in the evening
returning from the school. In January he lay on the bed stricken with
a fatal sickness, though unknown to him or her, and while they talked
together as she bent over him he ceased to breathe, and she was left
alone in the world, unmarried, without a home, and the prime of her good
life spent in assiduous care of her parents—at the age of forty years!
All hope of a home and family of her own sacrificed to her sense of duty
to her father and mother! What is to be her reward? Many another has made
a like sacrifice, but how is she to recoup the loss of the fourteen years
spent in their service—the loss of her own home and family and children
and all the sweet consolations of the state of motherhood? Was it not
a heroic life? How few would have met it! Only those who know of her
self-sacrifice will know how to honor her. Her fidelity, so unobtrusive,
will be little noted by the world. But how grand and noble the sacrifice
she has made!
_QUIET COURAGE_
Elizabeth Stanton was born about sixty-five years ago in a beautiful
Southern town. She was the youngest daughter of Judge James Stanton, one
of the ablest jurists of the state.
Few young ladies had superior advantages to Elizabeth, and fewer still
possessed her amiable disposition and strong character. Being beautiful,
accomplished and wealthy, it is no wonder she married the only son of a
millionaire. A few years after their marriage her husband erected the
finest residence in the state. Although built forty years ago it stands
proudly today without an equal in the state.
Elizabeth had everything that heart could wish save one—her husband
was dissipated and grew more so as years came on. But no ear save the
Master’s ever heard her complain and she was always cheerful.
A few years after the Civil War her husband died, leaving his palatial
home mortgaged and his vast estate squandered. Elizabeth was left with
three children and a small amount of money. She gave up her magnificent
home and wealth without a murmur and returned to her old home. In a
few years she married again, a man of fine personality, a scholar and
typical Southern gentleman, one born to wealth and knowing little how to
acquire it. His fortune was like that of most Southern people after the
Civil War. They remained in their native home till their small fortune
was nearly gone. Then they removed to Florida and lived on a homestead,
in a tent with a dirt floor for two years. Elizabeth had never before
lived without servants, never cooked a meal or laundered a handkerchief.
Now she did all her own work, even to the washing, and taught a country
school several months of each year. She found time to visit and elevate
the poor, rough people around her, and never by word did she let them
know she was not of their class. She was greatly admired and beloved by
all who knew her. During these years of hardship she was just as bright
and cheerful and apparently as content as when she trod the marble floors
of her former mansion. She smilingly remarked to me once that she was
glad they had been chastened. It had made her a better woman and was the
means of her husband’s conversion. As fortune always favors the brave,
she did not always live in poverty. In a few years they had a fine orange
grove bearing, and her husband was elected to a high office.
I have never known a more heroic life of any woman. When clouds have
hovered over me I have thought of this brave, beautiful character and it
has been my inspiration.
[Illustration: _RECIPES, OLD AND NEW._]
From a collection of recipes that dates back almost to “War-Time” we
shall give a few every month. Along with them will be given new recipes
of the present day.
_Bread Pudding_
One pint bread crumbs, fine, one quart milk, three or four eggs. Season
and sweeten to taste, then bake. Spread a layer of jelly or jam quite
thick or white of eggs a little sweetened, and brown a little.
_Ginger Snaps_
Three cups of molasses, one cup of brown sugar, two small cups of lard,
four tablespoons of ginger and one of cloves, and enough flour to roll
them out.
_Corn Batter Cakes_
One and a half pints of corn-meal, the same of milk, one half teaspoon of
salt, five eggs beaten together and put in with the corn-meal and milk,
one and a half teaspoons of baking-powder.
_Sponge Cake_
Six eggs, one pint of flour, one pint of sugar, three-fourths of a cup of
water, two tablespoons of baking-powder.
_Pea Soup_
One half peck peas. Take the shells and put on with two quarts of water.
When well boiled take off and put through the colander. Take the water
and pour into it the peas. Let boil until very soft and tender. Take off
and put through the colander again. Take a quart of cream, or cream and
milk, two even tablespoons of flour and less than one ounce of butter.
Put in and let come to a boil. Pepper and salt to taste.
[Illustration: _CHANGING THE DIRECTION_
_Warren, in Boston Herald_]
[Illustration: _Before_ _After_
_DeMar, in Philadelphia Record_]
[Illustration: “_Sh— Sh— You Blamed Ass!_”
_Rogers, in N. Y. Herald_