Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-12-07

! hole in the shuck product. The fact
| is, if the truth must come out, with the
female man the corn shuck appears to be
a perennial. Every night you see him
on the street of our principal cities in
large representation, his lanterns glsam-
ing in every direction like will o. the
| wisps. The small boy in all the varied
shade, of color peculiar to humanity,
! and the larger Hboys,' so-called Gin
days before the war; follow him
around eating his females at six for five
cents or ten cents dozen. The small
boy generally takes q dozen at a sitting.
if his exchequer will admit of 1.-THE
larger "boys,'' ditto, take double that
number. Each female has a we'll de-
veloped corn shucN folded around it
forsooth it wouldn't be female unless
wrapped in shuck. The shuck is not
regarded as edible, therefore the con-
| sumner, after licking out the mysterious
content, casts the oleaginous wrapper to
| the sidewalk. the consumption almost
| invariably taking place at the immediate
| site of the sale, end with the least pos
| slble delay. The consumer has set his
megs for ''hot temales,'' you know,
and little delay after the purchase
| would render the word 'hot' entirely
| ipapplicable.
| The female man fingers near, eppar-
| emily delighted to witness the evident
gusto with which his peppery product is
| consumed. He, being Mexican, is
| possibly instigated in his lingering by
| feeling of patriotism the sight before
him is prina facie evidence that Mexico
still holds Texas so far as relates to the
female. at least.
The feast is over and the feaster has
disappeared Oh his way rejoicing.
little later and the female man has also
gone glimmering up the next street.
The sun steps forth on time next morn
ing, bathing everything in all the rare
glories peculiar to Texas sunrise, but
those female shucks, which should be
seen strewing the sidewalks like 'the
leaves of the forest when autumn has
blown,'' where, oh! where are they?
TO employ q very old chestnut, echo
answers, "Where are they?'' Their
strange disappearance would seem to be
regardable as something phenomenal,
| for well we know that there were no
street hogs abroad last right-the Off
cials had all of them reclining upon
their (the hogsO virtuous couches and
keeping seasopabIe hours within the city
pound.
But we have been rambling from the
subject, and. doubtless, iG q way that
will be regarded as Improbable to the
reader. If, by rambling q little, We
could have settled the perplexing ques-
ton as to how SO large female business
can be carried on with so small q de-
manu for shucks at first hand we might
have been eycusable, but We DON It seem
to have done it.
The Western Plowman of Illinois says
corn snuck mats on the poarches before
the main entrance door during the fall
and winter months are worth many
times what it would cost to make them.
The mud edhering to the shoes after
they have had their turn at the scraper
can be wiped off on the mat to the great
profit and delight of the housewife. Peo-
pie living in town will have to buy such
mats, if they have them, and they will
be sure to have them once they come to
understand how greatly superior they
are to every other kind of door mat, but
the women folks on every farm can get
them without buying, by making them
themselves. They have abundant ma
terial at hand TO select from, and the
process of putting that material into pro-
per shape are extremely simple and easy
OF management
First. look over the shucks and make
choice of the longest and strongest speci-
mems. Place few of them in q basin of
boiling water long enough TO come soft
and plable. Then take them out and
set to drain. While they are cooling and
draining put in more shucks. By keep
ing the pan of water on the stove the
water remains boiling hot. When cool
enough to handle wiring out the water,
then begin the braiding. Make what we
call a thrse-strand braid. Start into the
work By binding together at the butt
end with a small cord, or coarse thread,
enough softened shucks to make three
strands in the proposed braid. Each
strand should be about the size of q
mans first finger. Begin the braid, and
as you proceed work in additional shucks
along to keep the strands continuing the
right size. Keep on until you have a
continuous braid long enough TO make
the sized mat you want when sewed
round and round.
In adding the shEcks to keep up the
size of the strand allow the butt end of
each shuck to stick out about one inch
from the braid, always on the same
edge. This gives you q braid rough on
one edge and smooth on the other.
When you have braid enough to suit
long, slim needle and strong Irvine.
The common way is to start at the pro-
posed center OF the mat and sew the
braid round and round until the rug is
as large as you want it. One side of the
mat will be smooth and the other side
extremely rough, due to the shuck stubs
that were allowed to stick out on one |
edge of the braid at the braiding. The |
rough side of the mat is to be the upper
side when placed in front of the door.
Such shuck mats well put up invaria- |
bly, sell at good figures in almost any
city or town. Lots of country people |
drive quite prosperous business max |
ing and placing them upon the market. |
The writer knows of a country boy !
twelve yenrs of age who has cleared $40 |
week making shuck door mats and |
selling them in town.
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