The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette., May 28, 1910, Page 387, Image 7

About The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette. (Starkville, Miss.) 1910-1920

Image provided by: Mississippi Department of Archives and History

                
and may possibly save material in
a future purchase. Home-made gar
ments often bear the ear-mark of
poor cutting. The irregularities of
seams and twisted gores quickly show
that the directions plainly given on
all patterns, “Lay the goods on the
pattern so that the warp threads run
In a line with the straight perfor
ations,” have not been adhered to.
Perhaps this is so because the bed
too often must serve as a cutting
table.
Don't Be Afraid to Baste Too Much.
The difficulty of putting garments
together after they havo been cut
properly Is often due to undue haste,
lack of cnre In details. The appar
ently simple act of basting is of
chief importance, particularly In the
making of a waist. One need never
be afraid of basting too much. Econ
omy of material, and possibly of
time. In cutting may be practical, but
extravagance in basting is Justified
by the finished product. Good sewing,
good pressing, well finished ends and
corners, lightness of touch, which
holds the work without apparently
touching it. thus giving to the finish
ed garment a fresh look—all these
are Important considerations.
Garments often bear a careless,
home-made look because they had not
been treated to thorough, effective
pressing. Smooth, even seams, thor
oughly pressed, havo much to do
with the success of the work.
A successful garment depends
upon the skill with which the worker
uses the tools of her craft, as well as
the power of selection of whnt Is
beautiful, tasteful and appropriate.
Those who wish to be economical
never adopt extremes In cloth, color,
or make. Extreme fashions nre never
lasting, nnd they are often rendered
hideous by poor copyists. Periods of
beautiful, dignified costume have
been periods of beautiful needle
work. The Introduction of the sew
ing machine, the great flood of fac
tory-mado embroideries and lnces.
have supplanted too largely the
simple hand-done decorations of ait
earlier period. No place Is this con
trast so marked ns In the clothing of
babies nnd small children where
there Is frequently a violation of all
that Is really comfortable, health
ful nnd beautiful.
Some Neglected Opportunities.
Now, that I am In a city. I wonder
why when I was In the country I did
not appreciate Its numerous advan
tages more why I did not drive nnd
ride horseback; why I did not learn
to swim; why l did not make better
use of the fruits nnd vegetables and
other good things that 1 let go to
waste, things that 1 realise now
mean money.
For example, only yesterday the
Atheneum Hotel here advertised for
two gnllons of home-made fig pre
serves. offering a fabulous price.
Well, thnt set me thinking. Why
didn’t 1 preserve some of those figs
nnd sell them to hotel people? Why
don’t you do It, nnd coin money?
Why didn't I make gallons of fine
unfermented fruit Juices to sell? Why
didn’t I gather more swamp lilies for
Decoration Day, nnd take them to the
soldiers' graves myself?
When I look buck over all those
lost opportunities some of the gold
enest. according to Charles Lamb. I
shall ever have 1 can but wonder
why I didn't see them.
SINCERE.
Said the bibulous gentleman who
had been reading birth and death
NtutlatlcH: "Do you know, James,
every time 1 breathe, a man dies?”
"Then,” said James, "why don’t
you chew cloves?"- The House
keeper.
MRS. F. L. STEVENS, OUR HOME CIRCLE
EDITOR
We feel sure that thousands of the housekeepers and home
makers who read the Home Circle will be glad to get ac
quainted with the lady who has *
K/W1M il_V _ _ 90
ccuuin^ artic
/es /or // this year. Therefore,
without her knowledge, we are
printing her picture.
It is a source of great grati
fication to us to be able to feel
that we are making the Home
Circle Department as interest
ing and helpful to the country
housekeepers as these house
keepers husbands and brothers
tell us the rest of the paper is
to them, and we regard our
selves as fortunate in securing
Mrs. F. L. Stevens for this work.
Distinguished as a writer of
rural school text books, as a
speaker at farmers’ institutes
and as a student of the pro
blems of domestic science and
home economy, Mrs. Stevens
is giving to The Progressive
Farmer and Gazette readers
the fruit of years of earnest
study and of practical work in
the hnme.
We shall keep on trying to
make this department brighter and better, and we wish the help
of every reader in this endeavor. We want it to be vitally help
ful to every housewife who turns to it, and suggestions, ex
periences and inquires will always be heartily welcomed. In
short, we wish every reader to feel that it is her special de
partment, and that its one mission is to help HER. May we not
count on your help in making it such? For if it is this, it is a
success; if not, no matter how clever or entertaining it may
be, it fails, in our opinion, to be what it should.
MARK TWAIN AS AN AGRICUL
Tl'RAL EDITOR.
How the Humorist Made a Farm
I*a|N*r Interesting During the Reg
ular Kditor’s Absence.
Murk Twain never really edited
a farm paper, but he wrote a story,
just the same, telling of an imaginary
experience along this line.
The editor of the paper was sick
and wanted a vacation. Mark agreed
tu till his place while he took a rest,
and the editor jumped at the ofTer.
Of course, being a humorist, the
new editor had to be funny, so he
handed out to his readers such valu
able misinformation as this:
■’Turnips should never be pulled;
it Injures them. It Is much better
to send a boy up and let him shake
the tree.”
"The guano is a fine bird, but great
care is necessary in rearing It. It
should not be Imported earlier than
June or later than September. In
the winter it should be kept in a
u»mi nliii't* where it can hatch out
its young."
"Concerning the pumpkin.—This
berry Is i\ favorite with the natives
of the Interior of New England, who
prefer It to the gooseberry for the
making of fruit cake, and who like
wise give it the preference over the
raspberry for feeding cows, as being
more filling and fully as satisfying.
The pumpkin is the only esculent of
the orange family that will thrive in
the North, except the gourd and one
or two varieties of the squash. But
the custom of planting it in the front
yard with the shrubbery is fast going
out of vogue, for it is now generally
conceded that the pumpkin as a
shade tree is a failure.
But just at this time the old editor
came back, and his grief was great.
He is supposed to have talked to his
substitute in the following language:
"This is a sad business—a very
sad business. There is the mucilage
bottle broken, and six panes of glass,
and a spittoon and two candlesticks.
But that is not the worst. The repu
tation of the paper is injured—and
permanently, I fear. True, there
never was such a call for the paper
before, and it never sold such a large
edition or soared to such celebrity—
but does one want to be famous for
lunacy and prosper upon the infirm
ities of his mind? My friend, fts I
am an honest man, the street out
there is full of people, and others are
roosting on the fences, waiting to get
a glimpse of you, because they think
you are crazy. And well they might.
Your editorials are a disgrace to
journalism. Why, what put it into
your head that you could edit a
paper of this nature? You do not
seem to know the first rudiments of
agriculture. You speak of a furrow
and a harrow as being the same
thing; you talk of the molting sea
son for cows, and you recommend the
domestication of the polecat on ac
___ a. _ m u. _ i_a..»_ _ « . .
v \/uuv ui uo yiaj luiucoa auu us m
cellence as a ratter. Ah, heavens
and earth, friend! If you had made
the acquiring of ignorance the study
of your life you could not have grad
uated with higher honor than you
could today. I want you to throw up
your situation and go. I want no
more holiday—I could not enjoy it
if I had it. Certainly not with you
In my chair. Oh! why didn’t you tell
me you didn’t know anything about
agriculture?”
Mark could only say that if he had
been let alone he could have increas
ed the circulation of the paper 20,000
in two weeks. “And I have given
you the best class of readers that
ever an agricultural paper had—not
a farmer in it nor a solitary indi
vidual who could tell a watermelon
tree from a peach vine to save his
life.”
Anything that trains one for his
work is education.
Don’t Forget Our Good Resolutions.
Are we keeping in mind our "re
solves” for the improvement of the
home,—a bathroom if possible, an
added convenience or two in the
kitchen, more attractive home
grounds and a clean back yard? We
may not be able to accomplish all
these things, but the season is here
when some of them may be under
taken, at least. The season is pos
sibly too far advanced to make a
beginning toward a lawn, but much
of the objectionable rubbish may be
removed and vines may be planted
ab6ut the front porch. There is
nothing more attractive for porch
decoration than the Virginia creeper
that grows wild in our woods.
Counting the Cost.
“So you want to marry my daugh
ter, do you, young man?”
"Y-e-s, s-s-i-r.”
"Well, can you support a family?”
“H-how many are there of you,
s-sir?”—St. Louis Star.
America's largest School of Bookkeeping. Short
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2 large buildings. 20 teachers. 215,000 in equip
ment. Positions secured. Fill in and receive free
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Is a Monthly Home Magazine devoted to all
that Is of interest to the Mother, the Girls
and the Home.
This is one of the very beat publics- ONE ;
tions of its kind, sells at 80c per year. YEAR
All who have had it speak of it in the F R EE
highest terms.
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man, get The Mother’s Magazine for your wife
or mother. If you are a woman, insist upon
having The Mother’s Magazine.
A Chance to Help Your Neighbor
YOU KNOW your neighbors should read the
interesting and helpful articles which The
Progressive Farmer and Gazette gives its read
ers in each issue. Their boys will be interested
in the Boys’ Corn Club Prizes. Ask one of
them to give you a six months subscription,
they will thank you for starting them reading
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Magazine.
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Progressive Farmer and Gazette,
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