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 s.e.xes have a tendency to approach, and each a.s.sumes the qualities of the other.--Victor Hugo
[814 MOTHERS" REMEDIES]
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 b.u.t.ton 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 ma.s.s 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 G.o.d"s best gifts.--Thomas Hughes.
Baby"s Nose.--But the most pliable of baby"s features is the nose. By gently ma.s.saging 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 ma.s.sage 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 Circ.u.mstances.--In all our reasonings concerning men we must lay it down as a maxim that the greater part are moulded by circ.u.mstances.--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 G.o.d 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 b.u.t.tERS. CANNING. JAM JELLIES. PICKLES. CHAFING DISHES.
By EDNA GERTRUDE THOMPSON,
Director of Domestic Science Department, Thomas Normal Training School, Detroit, Michigan.