The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1900-08-29
G:o'SS2e6s*2
THE CHILD OUT OF DOORS
coPYRicHTEp
BY Christine Terhune Herrick
(COntinued FINN last MeekO

by Christine IPThune HefrlCk
Continued from last weekly
OF course, the standby of all picnics,
whether for children or adults, is sand
wiches, and of these the variety is end
less. The delicate squares and rounds
that would appeal to the guests at an
afternoon tea are out of their element at
a picnic. Still, the sandwiches here may
also be attractive, but they should be
good sized slices of bread and butter,
with filing of minced chicken or ham
or beef or of eggs chopped and seasoned,
or of almost anything else that appeals
to the taste Of the eaters. Sweet sand
wiches are nice for the children who are
denied cake, but who will he quite as well
pleased i'm most cases with thin bread
and butter spread with jam or Jelly
esp cially if these have received the ad-
ditional dainty touch by being tied up
with a bit of ribbon. even if this be no
more elegant than that used to tie hand
kerchiefs in boxes
Fruit is the easiest sweet to take to a
picnic and the most wholesome. Ice
cream is a joy when it can be trans
ported. but this is not always feasible.
For beverages, bottled lemonade may be
with cold tea or coffee, also taken in
bottles.
While all these makeshifts serve to
tide over the trying season they are,
after all. but poor substitutes for the all
day and all night enjoyment Of country
air. The most devoted mother generally
relaxes her vigilance a little and thinks
that now the children are well out Of
town, her anxieties are at an end.
In a way she is right but not in all
things. In the first place, unless she is
in her own country cottage, she cannot
hope to have the dietary exactly what
she would choose. She has to watch
what the youngsters eat and drink more
carefully than she did at home, where
! she planned out every meal for them
herself. Here, if she is in a country
| boarding house, she will find that there
are temptations gastronomic besetting
them on every side. The great American
| pie comes to the front, and she is ac-
cused. mentally, at least, of hard heart
| edness by ell those who see her refuse
that standby to her offspring. Fried
foods will abound and salt fish and meat
will be much in evidence.
Through these perils the mother Of
obedient, we'll trained children may
steer her flock without danger. But she
cannot be with them everywhere, warn
ing them from this or that risk against
which it had never occurred to her to
caution them She tell them not to eat
green fruit nor to taste anything grow
ing unless they were sure it was not
poisonous. but she had not thought they
~, afr.1c
and sweet flag root and birch bark and
partridge berries to an extent that upset
their digestion for days afterward.
Neither had she remembered to warn
them against playing too long in the
hot sun, and the result may be a feverish
child, who has really had slight sun
stroke, and has to be carefully watched
all the summer to save him from worse
attack
Children are VIGOROUSLY imprudent
It never seems to occur to them that they
are only mortal. They climb trees, walk
ridge poles get their feet wet and have
sore Threats and cold in the head as q
consequence, and do a variety of other
wild things. 1t may sound hard hearted
to tell the mother to think as little as
she can of these things. but it is the only
course to follow If the matron does not
expect to be prey to nervous prostra-
ton before the end of the summer. She
must make up her mind that the chill
dren must take their chances. Whel
her boy comes in with his hair wet anG
His shirt on wrong side out and Their
wonders how his mother guessed that he
had been swimming she makes blum
ch IA no IT.
ously. From time immemorial boy.
have done these things and the major
ity have survived. There is little cause
for fear that the race will suffer ma.
terially from such performances in the
ages to come.
So while the mother should warn he
children against certain obvious ano
dangerous risks, and endeavor above al
things to keep their confidence. SO tina
J she may know if they have any excep
tionally daring project on hand, sh,
should not try to keep them tied to hel
apron string. No doubt their guardian
angels, who whether for boys or for girls
have their work cut out for them mus
draw long sigh of relief When the sum
mer is over and the children taken ou
OF the safe" country. So called, and re.
stored to the comparatively slight peril.
of city streets and trolley cars. Blu
meanwhile the mother should take wha
comfort she can in the thought that afteI
all the guardian angels are probably
about their business More than that
she can know that in spite of risks ant
the defects Of food the children are in,
haling pure and ozone laden air ant
are laying up a stock of strength tha
will stand them in good stead the whole
winter through
FOR YOUR SCRAP-BOOK.