The Jersey City news., 1898-09-28

her own that she knows are diametricai-
| III opposed to those held by her visitor It
| is quite easy to avoid dangerous topics or
| TO change the current Of conversation
when one finds oneself drifting near II.
Also should a guest start a subject IN
which the hostess takes no interest," she
should strive 10 listen without showing
that she is. bored. and should not abrupt
IL turn the conversation, or check the
speaker in way that would give offence
or hurt her feelings 1t is all very well
to speak seornfully OF drawing room
small talk as some people do, but TINS
same small talk" is Invaluable to hos
tess, and helps to pass away many
dreary ten minutes, and 10 fill up many
an awkward pause Indeed, it is really
impossible to imagine what either visitors
or visited would do without it. The
small coin of conversation. it has been
called; stal. even small coin has its value.
as everyone knows by experience, and the
owners Of it can generally change Il INTO
gold.
1t would be hard to find cook too mod
est to claim a knowledge of Mush-maA-
ing, says the -Woman's Home cempan-
ion''; yet how many, even among eN-
perienced housekeepers, make good
mush? Boiling water corn meal ana
salt-what simpler than TO put
them together and cook them !:
Yet mush of indifferent meal properly
made may be better than that made OF the
best meal wrongly handled. The water
must be freshly boiled and salted, and an
the meal as it goes in must encounter the
same fiercely boiling temperature 70
burst the starch cells, as dlrect heae
pops corn. Therefore, making mush
takes time for the meal must be adue
SO slowly as not to stop the boiling as wen
as TO avoid Jumps. A thick iron poi
porcelain lined, is the best thing to cooh
it in. and a wooden spoon or paddie
should be used for the stirring Sprinkle
the meal in slowly with the left hand
while stirring with the right. The pro-
portions OF the ingredients will vary
with the quality of the meal or its char
acter whether crushed or cut), but an
average rule would be four quarts OF wa
ter, one quart of meal and two table
spoonfuls of salt. When all the meal mas
been smoothly stirred in, cover the poi
closely, and stand it where It Will give
an occasional bubble for three or four
hours-or for half a day. Do not dls-
turb the surface, as stirring permits the
'sextractives" or flavors to escape. Mush
made of good meal by the above method,
and served with rich cream, is royal
dish.
Bulbs, to be brought into bloom by
Christmas, should be potted in October,
and as early in the month as possible
says Eben E. Rexford, in the September
Ladies Home Journal Give them a
compost of equal parts of loam and old,
well-rotted manure. mixed thoroughly.
Narcissus hyacinths and tulips require
the same soil and the same treatment.
These are the only bulbs l would advise
the amateur to attempt to grow for
Christmas use.
IF you plant your bulbs singly, four
inch pots will be large enough for them.
In six-inch pots you can put two bulbs.
and in seven-inch ones four may easily
be accommodated Tulips and narcissus
should be just covered with earth. The
hyacinth should be about half its depth
in soil. Water well at the time of pot
ting, and then put the pots away in a
place that is dark and COOL and leave
them there until they form roots. This
part of the treatment is very important,
and those who ignore it will be pretty
sure to make a failure of bulb-growing SO
far as flowers are concerned.
.'The Roman hyacinth is much prefer
able to the ordinary sort, as it throws
up several spikes from each bulb, its fow-
ers are more graceful, and it is more like
ly to bloom. The best tulips for forcing
are the early single varieties. The best
narcissus is the golden-yellow sort, with
cup of creamy white. Do not bring these
bulbs to the window until they have made
strong root growth, or your hopes for
Christmas flowers will be doomed to dis
appointment.
do not bring the bulbs into the
warmth and light of the room in which
they are to grow until the soil in the
pot is well tilled with roots. Watch your
bulbs we'll and keep the soil moist but
never wet. When you bring them out of
the dark do not place them in too warm
a room. and when they bloom keep them
in cool place.
1t is said that an old English fashion
is returning and promises to be popular
in this country.
A hundred years back it was customary
for fussy people, old maids particularly,
to hang little bags at the head of their
beds III which to put things that they
might want before morning.
Nothing of the kind has been seen for
years but it is claimed that they are
again coming into use.
They are arranged in fanciful shapes of
brass and hung by cords or ribbons from
the head of the bedstead.
There is a place for the pocket handker-
chief and a place for the watch. Likewise
place for the pocketbook, and sign to
the burglar: step softly and don't dis
turb the sleeper
One can keep here his cough mixture or
bottle Of nightcaps and eye-openers
Some of these devices take the form of
inches to hold the beads or sanity fig
ures, for use in Roman Catholic coun-
tries.
They have not yet become popular iii
America. but they will probably grow
rapidly into favor when their usefulness
is appreciated. and they certainly are an
improvement over poking things under
the pillow
A youthful face looks well with one OF
the new tulle bows meant to be worn in
the hair. An amateur would be apt tc
make clumsy attempts. so unless you
have the benefit of the millinery course