The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1884-10-09

Ys
The landlord pays the water bill for
the whole building, and as we do not
burn gas we have no gas bills. The
oil that we burn costs us thirty cents a
month in the winter, and, of course,
much less than that in the summer I
Go my own housework, and therefore
we save the servants wages and what
the servant would waste AS for fuel,
we use ten tons of coal year, the av-
erage cost of which last year was about
$3.50 ton, brought into the building.
That makes seventeen or eighteen cents
day. 81
''Fell him about the provisions, /" said
the husband, with chuckle.
81 am coming to that part of the
story" said the little woman, with
threatening glance at her husband.
Then addressing herself to the silent
guest, she said: edward makes
great deal of fun about my buying the
provisions for our table. because [ will
| never let the cost of what we eat go
| above a certain amount each week. If
we have an extra good dinner one day
| we practice a little self-denial for the
rest of the week. Some days we do not
eat any butter, other DAYS we go with
out milk, and in warm weather we only
have meat once in four or five days.
How much do you think it costs me a
week to supply our table? Please give
a rough guess
80, about twelve or fourteen dol
lars, promptly answered the newspa-
per man, making what he thought was
q low estimate.
''I spend four dollars week, and no
more, for provisions u replied Mrs. r.,
with an emphatic toss of the head. This
dinner to-day is extra, because we have
company, but shall not allow it to in
crease the aggregate cost of our food
for the week.
That's so, she WON'T" groaued Ed
| ward. Tomorrow there will be moth
ing bnt herrings, soda crackers and
| cold water on the table,
Il resent that imputation,n said the
young wife, laughingly. Edward
knows that we always have plenty of
good, wholesome food. In fact, we
are obliged to have it, for both he and
| / exercise great deal each day, and
| then our baby is two years old, and she
has a ravenous appetite. [ know that
to persons who have kept house it will
seem almost incredible that a family of
three can be well fed on sixty cents
worth of food each day. We could not
| get along on what sixty cents would
buy if | should purchase my supplies
from day to day. But go to market,
sometimes twice a week and sometimes
once week, and buy enough to last
two or three days or week, as the case
may be. Flour buy by the bag, and
sugar ten or twenty pounds at a time.
| make my own bread, cakes and
pastry, and | have learned how to dress
up fancy little dishes out of the simplest
kind of fare. We have ham quite often.
One ham will last us q long while, vet
we do not get tired of it, because there
are dozen different ways of preparing ii
for the table. Whenever [ buy roast
OF beef we have it in many different
forms. / can get q good roast at my
butchers for one dollar, and that will
last us three or four days We will
have from that single piece meal oi
roast beef, a meal of stewed meat with
potatoes, platter of cold meat with
pickles, and perhaps some good beei
soup. We eat good deal of oatmeal
cracked wheat, holniny and rice. Such
food is not only nourishing. but it costs
but little, and can be served in great
variety of WAYS. Fried hominy and
sirup or rice pudding makes avery nice
dessert. BY the way, shall ask youl
opinion of some of my rice pudding a:
soon as you have finished your beef an6
. potatoes. +"
The pudding was served few min
: utes afterward, and it was truly de
licious compound.of rice and egg ant
sugared frosting.
Snow let me do sum in addition, :
} said the husband, taking out his pencil
after the meal was over. ''My wife
says that we pay forty cents a day fol
rent, sixty cents a day for provisions
eighteen cents day for fuel and abou
one cent a day for oil; that makes jus
one dollar and nineteen cents. Is there
anything else9''
80, yes" exclaimed the wife, ''thert
is Kate, the washerwoman; [ pay hel
one dollar and twenty-five cents week
which is about eighteen cents a day
"Well, that brings our necessary ex
penScS, HOb lncldulng cIOlnlng, up u
S1.37 day." continued the young
man, putting on thoughtful air. Ml
salary, as you say, is about S2.73 day
Last year we saved nearly $270, whicI
is trIile more than seventy-three cent
day. Take that out and it leaves u,
Just about 81 a day to live on. We hav,
already accounted for $1.37. What be
comes of the restp'
I'VE spent about $3.50 for clothin,
last year, ! suggested the wife. 'sYor
had that 1925 suit and your summer sui
which cost SO, and | had dress anC
my new cloak, which, with what the
baby had to have. and shoes and hats
for all of US brought the whole amount
/ up to nearly S150."
/ "That makes about forty cents dav
to be added to the S1.37, making in ali
/ $1.79 Of our 50. There is twelve cents
a day or little over $43 yet to be ac
counted for. That, suppose we car
put down for incidentals. y
The young wife nodded her heaG
aflirmatiyely, and the newspaper mar
asked, with some surprise, whether il
was possible that the S43 would cover
a whole years expenses for two per