The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-23
Some Difficulties That Con-
 front HOuSekeeperS.
"what wilI We Eatsr is . ouestien second Only to "whnt wH We Give.--Figurcs for Fruits,
 Vegetables and Game.

Crazy King George. the one who lost the American colonies. Is said to have worried himself into a fever trying to figure out how the apple got within the dumpling. The old monarch, so history says. brought on his most dis dressing spells of insanity worrying over this abstruse problem.
 1 The apple dumpling problem is an open and shut proposition to the av- craze man compared to the intricate mysteries of the fruit cake. Mere man is puzzled and balled up when he tries to figure out the combination forming a fruit cake. He has an idea that 1t Is dark and brown because the cook kept in it in the stove longer than she did the other cakes. He may guess right when he runs across . piece of citron preserve. but the other ingredients are mysteries that gre be- yond him. He does not know whether the sugary. gummy substances are things he can't quite tell whether they are dried tomatoes or dried figs.
 The average man, however, wastes no royal worry on the ingredients of the fruit cake He eats it on faith and is satisfied. 4
 The fruit cake is the distinctly Southern delicacy for the Christmas dinner. It belongs to Christmas al- most Sas much as turkeys belongs to Thanksgiving Day. The Southern fruit cake is to the Southern Christi mas the same as the plum pudding is to the English Christmas
 They have a polyglot Christmas up daU tU ynn a r @ @trr rut localities, of traditions and customs of various European countries. The eat- ing. the traditions, the customs are affected by the Scotch the German. the Scandinavian, the Italian, the Bohemian. the Russian and other Eu- ropean traditions.
 Esnlish Christmas In South.
 The South. which contains more pureblooded Americans, whose people have American ancestors than those of any other section. clings to the tra- dition of the old English Christmas The cavalier influence in Southern life never makes itself more felt than in the Yuletide season. The plum pud- ding alone, does not stand in as high favor in the South as 1t mas always stood in England, but the plum pud- ding In the South has always been held in high esteem. Today the merchants are selling more canned plum pud- ding and more ingredients for plum pudding than ever before. But the plum pudding has never yet become a formidable rival to the beloved fruit cake.
 Turkey is another popular Christi mas dish in Southern homes. Not as many turkeys are sold or eaten in the Yuletide season as in the Thanksgiv- ing season, but the sale in ntgomery markets, and in the markets of other Southern cities is something enormous. Game and poultry are others of the popular Christmas dishes in this sec tion of the country.
 In poultry. chickens have the call over all other kinds. Ducks and geese come in for their share of popularity with ducks leading. In the game line the Southern partridge, known In the North as quail, have the call. Doves are next in demand. There Is q fine sale for wild ducks just now. All that the pot hunters are bringing in are quickly sold.
 Troublous Times for HOusekeeper.
 All this bears upon the important fact that these be troublous days for the housekeeper. Hardly less vital to the question What shall give?" Is the question, What shall we have to eat?" Pity the housekeeper who has both questions to dispose of. Mere man has nothing to do with eith- CT case except pay the bills. no worry. no trouble, all easy and simple.
 But the, nousekeepers question What shall we eat on Christmas Day?" has a tragic ring to it.
 Of course there are men who know exactly how to prepare the menu of big dinner for the family. They know exactly how 1t ought to be cooked and they know how 1t ought to be served. But the man who mas this knowledge, knows too much He Is a general nuisance around the house. Any woman will say that.
 The markets. the groceries and the fruit and candy stroes are busy places in these Yuletide days. The women of Montgomery are trying to solve the second great problem of Christmas Day. The initial stages of its workings are passed with tribuiation and pucker ed brows. Then follows the most pleasant trip to town. when the feast has been planned.
 Right here let it be noted, that Mont gomery is not eating so much at Christmas times as the city used to eat There can hardly be any mistake about this. The Montgomery merchants are
 
 buying so much for the table as they have done in Christmases past. It Is a rather odd fact, in light of the con ditions in which greater business is done in other lines than ever before and a condition in which there Is a constant demand for costlier presents and more luxuries than in the past.
 As a whole prices are higher than they were last Christmas and the Christmases that went before. The careful housekeeper does not doubt that living expenses are growing and growing. There has been a steady in crease all along the line in the past ten years.
 Hens are Behaving Badly.
 Of course 1t was to be expected that the great American hen would behave badly as the Christmas season came along. She always does. So the fact that eggs are 35 cents a dozen in the Montgomery market may cause sorrow, but it does not bring any surprise. The American hen can never reach a high place in the esteem of the people until she begins to do her duty at the Yule- tide. The idea of eggs being low all the year around until Christmas comes when cakes and pies are obliged to be made If this bad behavior of the hen was not an old story one would think that she was trying to adopt modern business methods and go in for "frenzied finance" Eggs are at a staggering figure when 35 cents a dozen Is asked and paid for them.
 The price of turkeys is as high as wild gobbler can fly. Turkeys in the open market are bringing from IS n dressed live turkeys