Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-02-16
Helpful Ideas.
RATS, NICE, AND wATERBUes.


and at the end of q long garden stood 3
barn. Alter l had been in the place
several weeks / began to be pestered BY
rats, mice, and water-bugs. I tried
everything read about or friends recon-.
mended as being "sure cures" None of
these things were of any avail, so / got Q
good cat, only to learn, to my chagrin,
that the cat had become Q companion of
the pests, the rats and mice, rather than
the enemy I had hoped 1t to be. / was
very nearly discouraged, and had half
determined to move, when thought
out the following, which I trust may
prove as effectual to Others az 1t did to
me.
l took three-quarters of an ounce OF
melted butter and mixed with one pound
of -four moistened with q little water,
and into this stirred pound of sulphur.
When thoroughly mixed, l spread on
small squares of bread and put around
barn and house. In less than week
had no rats, mice or water bugs, neither
could l find any trace of them. The
best part of this Is that the pests are
thoroughly eaten up if water is placed
where they can get 1t after eating the
poison. The mixture is perfectly harm
less to other than the above mentioned
pests.
CONCERNING SCHOOL LUNCHES.
Last year, when teaching in a school
of over three hundred pupils, made
note of the fact that about one-third of
the pupils did not bring lunch from
home, but instead came with money
which they expended for lunch at a
corner store near by.
In itself that was fact to be deplor-
ed. But what did they buy? Why, first
choice, candy; then cheap bananas, or
stale cakes in little boxes. Some sensi-
BILE (?) hungry little chaps took a ham
sandwich, the ham often not of the
freshest and all half cooked. A box of
deviled ham, a little candy, and crackers
also made up many lunches.
Considering the fact that these chill
dren spent ten, fifteen, or twenty cents
for lunch-some spent more,-cannot
the mothers do better than that, and
provide good, nourishing, attractive
lunches for much less9
These children, noticed, were from
the working class; their fathers made
money enough, but their mothers hated
to put up lunch, so shirked their duty.
Next term l shall form club OF
mothers and we will discuss the "lunch
problem" to a finish. l shall make out
menus for lunches for their children
and their husbands, and encourage them
to make provision for them in the
proper way. There would be less
trouble for the teacher at the afternoon
session of school If the pupils we're fed
properly; at least, think so.
A HOMEMADE COOLER WITHOUT ICE.
In a cellar or in the yard iu the cool
shade of some bushes place frame-a
box with the bottom boards knocked off
does nicely. Over this place several
thicknesses of gunnysack-other heavy
cloth or old carpet may do, but must be
clean, and must more than touch the
ground or floor.
Wet the cloth, and upon the top set an
old pan, around the bottom of which,
with a tack, you have made row of
holes about as large as the head of q
pin. With an extra board or stick the
top should be made to slant little, 80
the water will follow the cloth and not
drip through.
Fill the pan with cold fresh water, and
as it leaks and keeps the cloths wet the
air inside will be cooled to surprising
degree, and you will find butter, etc.,
keep nearly as cool as in refrigerator.
Two sets of cloths should be had in
order to wash and dry them often enough
to prevent mildew and mustiness.
If the yard is used, stakes may be
driven into the ground.
A PLEA FOR SPANKING.
We have read of the "letting alone" of
small children, of "bribing" them to
acquire habits of cleanliness and neat
ness and obedience, and 1t would seem
that right here is the place to say a
word for, not against, spanking, the good
old fashioned kind that was administer
ed, not gently limited at.
By this l mean that slap often does
more harm than good, but that spank
ing with due regard for the time, place,
and age of the child, is moral stimu.
liant worthy of the most serious consid-
Grafton of the American parent.
Reason where you can; object lessons
are effective, too, sometimes with some
children; but "spare the rod" usually
calls up such visions of possible cruelty
that "spoil the child" is quite over
looked.
HULLING wALNUTs.
Remembering the stained hands and