The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-04-07
A COMPETENCE: HOW BEST or-
 TANNED,
BY FANNIE L. FANcHER.

There is no gainsayiDg the fact th.t large salaries, or extensive faciliti,s for money making, will not always insure to man a competence. What his future material condition will be depends not so much upon what le receives as upon what he saves. Thus the difference between individuals who become independent and those remain ing dependent through life, represents the difference between careful saving and reckless spending. Some would become rich upon what others throw away, and many reckless housewife. with spoon, throws out all that her partner can, with shovel, throw in. When remonstratiDg with a young housekeeper for throwing away a fuil plate of sliced bread, she said s'Why. it will be so dry, and Charlie won't eat dry bread!" That she could util- ize it in any other way, she had not thought; neither did it occur to her that she cut less of this "staff of life 5 Much less did she comprehend the fact that she was throwing away more than the flour which had been pro- vided her. l ceased to wonder that her weeks supply of butter was six pounds-double the amount which sufficed me for family of five-when l saw her sausage swimming in it's melted depths. When children came to increase the demands upon the fathers salary, abject poverty stared them in the face. Another vonn0 wife and housekeeper of my acquaint- ance would scrape her butterplates till they were almost clean; also her bread pan, till not vestige of dough remained; every bread -crumb was utlllzed-and mark the contrast! a ten thousand dollar home is now hers.
 Many of Americas great enterprises are but the result of utilizing waste products. The thrifty gardener en- riches his soil with the dressing given him by the improvident neighbor. The Celt fattens COW or pig with the slops wasted at other back doors and many chttonier in the city fishes out snug little fortune from waste bar rels and gutters. There is scarcely anything in house that cannot be turned to account, sooner or later, no matter how valueless it may appear at the moment. Often, the want of a thing is more than its worth.
 In natures laboratory there is no waste. In the numberless transforma- tions and combinations of things. nothing is lost, or considered value less. When man initiates nature in this respect, he invariably increases his substance. Corporations and con- panles amass fortunes through the ap- pllcation of genius and inventive tal- ent to what is looked upon as refuse. SaWdust, which was once cast into streams, blocking up their channel, is now extensively used in manufactnr- ing oxalic and formic acids, paper. gun-cotton, volatile oils and blasting powder.
 It has also been proved serviceable Tor curing hams, polishing jewelry, cleaning furs, and for the preservation of ice, for summer consumption, there is nothing better. Ivory dust, iron filings, coal dust, sea weeds and bones, are now turned to good uses. The dead body of horse, which owners were formerly in haste to put out of sight, is now used for various pur- poses. The mane and tail are used for hair cloth, sieves, bow strings and brushes. The hide is converted into leather for cart harness, for boots and shoes, for strong collars and base balls. The hoofs are used for combs, horn work, glue and hartshorn. Oils and fats are rendered from the flesh. The stomach and intestines make servicea- ble strings for musical instruments.
 Buttons, toys, knife handles, domi- noes and rulers are made of the bones, and the residue is then burned into bone black, for refining purposes. Some parts of the bone. black are burned white, for the assayers to use in testing gold. Other portions of bone black are converted into phos- plates, which prove an invaluable remedy in wasting pulmonary dis eases.
 Before the discovery of celluloid, the teeth were used in lieu of ivory.
 Ingenuity and economy of this char acter have but to be practiced in our household affairs, in order to obtain or insure competence, however large or limited our incomes.-L0dies' Home Journal.