davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-28

sent men to foreign countries to hunt for rare specimens of these plants. h. deed, her collection of daffodiIs soon grew to be as much of an interest to horticulturists as the breaking of her engagement with the peer had been to |society.
 When a woman, either through loss or lack of interest in the things of her life, or through a natural love of flow CTS, gravitates toward a garden, it soon becomes a desire with her to work in it, rather than to sit passive1y by and see it grow under the care of oth- CTS. This desire, then, is the first call to action. and in this action, with the necessary accompaniment of thought and knowledge, there are lost the cor roding annoyances. the subtle gr1efs and displeasures, that have formerly held the mind in bondage.
 A wor1ans work in a garden should be tempered with moderation, even gentleness, an attribute so potent that the Persians claim it can lead an ele- phant by a hair. To rush madly into garden work, beginning early while the dew lies heavy on the ground; or to lean over, thinning out seedlings, or transplanting, for long periods at q time, is but to outline the path for rheumatism and backache. .
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-28

Usually I arose early in the morning to DICK my flowers, those that were arranged for the house, or to make into bouquets to give away. The gar den then sparkled with vigor and freshness. Most often it was toward twilight that I watered the flowers; for during a dry spell that Is one of their daily demands. Then all ap- peared to be Quieting down to meet the hours of darkness. When the weather turned cold or damp I noticed that many plants actually made prepa- ration for the night by changing the position of their leaves, so that the cold could not strike them to their dis advantage, or by closing the petals of their flowers.
 In the end my garden turned me from a nervous, over-sensitive woman into one of saner ways and strength ened sinews.
 Facts have come to me concerning the benefits that other women have received from daily work in their gar dens. An old friend, a man in middle life, asked me one day: Have you noticed the change in Winifred?' 20
 He spoke of his wife, a woman of much charm and cultivation, one who for two years had been so deeply stricken by the death of her only son that grave doubts had arisen about any occurrences of the day; she would see no one of her friends; she thought only of the boy who had been the Joy of her life.
 In response to my friends question, I answered.: 'sI hear that she works in her garden several hours each day"
 Several hourS!' he exclaimed. "She
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-28

was engaged when little more than a schoolgirl to peer of the realm, an arrangement that to her was utterly distasteful. The peer was double her age, man of no charm of personality and renowned lover of the material pleasures of life. The girl was ideal istic, high-strung and nervous to degree.
 A few days before the wedding she revolted openly. It then became a mat ter of nine days gossip that the peer had been thrown over. Her relatives and friends referred to her as "Poor Amy" and as Amy, who is a bit queer.'': Indeed, she felt herself to be so amid the general disapproval that broke over her head. She dreaded to go anywhere, since everywhere she felt that she was adversely criticized. At length her nerves gave way and she had severe fit of illness.
 One of the first things that interest ed her after the crisis was a bouquet of Jonquils. They seemed to open up a train of thought that she had never had before. She wondered about them a great deal. |
 Some months later. it was stated in a society paper that this cratic lady was growing daffodils in extraordinary numbers, and that she had, moreover,
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-28

planned as we'll as properly cooked. I like to think of well-put-together meal as containing something liouid something starchy and something meaty or tissue forming" as we have been taught to say; something fat and something nbery, something. sweet and something savory. How does that ap- ply to a school lunch? In answering this question we will leave the liquid part Of the meal to be considered last, because that is the part of all parts that should be provided at school, both Tor the reason that a, warm liquid helps stir up the circulation, thus help Ing digestion and leaving the head clear for study, and also for the req son that the liquid portion is incon- Venlent to carry from home.
 Something Starchy.
 The backbone of every good meal, school lunch or any other, is good thoroughly baked bread. Soggy bread IS bad for anyone, and it is particu- lar1y bad for children, for their teeth need exercise. That is the universal opinion of dentists and physicians Rolls, the long narrow finger rolls preIerabiy, make good sandwiches, partly because they are crusty and partly because by cutting them open and removing just little of the crunb you can make good-sized place in which to put chopped meat or other hll1ng. Remember the children when you make bread and make some of these rolls or buy some occasionally. Boston brown bread makes good sand wiches. 1t combines we'll with cottage cheese and lettuce. Make a small loaf for sandwiches in a baking powder can at the same time you make the larger supply. Zwieback and many of the prepared cereals which now come in the form of crackers are good food for children. but they are rather dry and also crumbly The best way to pack
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-28

tered the mothers head. They were numbered among the plain people, having no highly cultivated estate as the wife, Winifred, but possessing merely small garden, situated at the back of their house. In it they raised vegetables for their daily use. Be- tween the vegetable rows of their gar den uprose many Shirley poppies; hol- lyhocks marked its farthest boundary
 After the death of the boy, the gar den died completely. The mother felt spot that had been her recreation and her delight became the place most con- stantly summed. So passed three long years.
 Then sisters child was bereft of both father and mother, and his sorry plight made so strong an appeal that the mother of the lost boy took him into her home and adopted him as her own.
 Toward spring she led him, almost unconsciously, into the garden. He was still a baby, five years old, but she told him what beautiful place it had once been. She took a spade and showed him how her boy had dug the holes for plants; she pointed out to him where he had put the early grown. It was gay little chap that she had adopted, and he fitted from one place to another like a butterfly. The mother felt pleased to have him with her, and the thought presented itself for the first time that her own son would be saddened by seeing the garden so neglected. "I must put something into this little ones life to occupy him. she thought. 1T will re-
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-28
What Constitutes. a Good School Lunch? = .5--<. ee.s -
Quality of the Bread of Prime Importance-sugges- ' ; @ tons for the .Children's Lunch Box.

F you have children who must eat iH their lunches. at school you are ask
 ing yoafr3elf jasff noW2 x6hat should be put into the lunch basket in order to make the midday meal wholesome and good '.to study on." You are ask irig how the food should. be packed in order that it may look. tempting when the basket is opened 4hdbfnay prove to De appetizing. These qiiestfons you are asking of yourself and answering for yourself with the help of what you can find in books and magazines on the subject of food for growing children. But are you asking other. questions just as ipp6f taht and joining With other women to insist on having them an- sWered? Are you asking where the school children eat their lunches? Is there a pleasant, attractive room pro- desks where they have been sitting all the moTptng. or In ha1Ir c1oakroom or basemeht? Ha new schooti building is being erected are you asking that space shall be set aside for a lunchroom and for little kitchen where soup or cocoa or other warm dish may be prepared? Perhaps you are wondering why the pfepara&ioH of part or gall of a school 1real syQrfdf nqtEbe a verycpractical and interesting -lRsSon sia. domestic science. There are other. inquiries, too, of a diff ferent sort They relate to that little shop across the street from the school, or around the corner, where the boys and girls spend their pennies. Is it safe and is the food sold there clean and who olesQIsea 1svIs1 n4s
 0 The Contents of the Lunch Box.
 The answer to- the first question, What constitutes a good school lunch?'' is part of the answer to the larger question, What constitutes a good meal for a child ?" and to the still arger- question, What in general con- Ftitutes a good mea1?" In the first PsacH a,szppd meal should1be5cafefully
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-28

spends the whole of the mornings there, and often returns to it in the afternoon. She welcomes her friends to show them the improvements she has made; she drives out again with me, commenting continually on the things we see. Her interest in general affairs seems once more to be estab- lished. The garden has been her sal vation.'
 Through observation of Natures ways, Winifred. not only grew to look upon the death of her son as some thing necessary to a fuller, more com plete life, but she learned to regard her own health as thing desired, and of importance to her neighbors. To- day she so abounds in health and san- ity of thought that she seems to radi- ate it wherever she goes. The lesson, nevertheless. was not learned in a day.
 Another tale os garden triumph Is current in the town where I live. It also Is about a mother who lost her boy, lad of fifteen years, we'll grown, strong. an ideal son in every way. That he would succumb so early to death was the last thought that en-
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-28

each must be acted upon by the di- gestive juices. The sugar is, at the time it is eaten. in very much the condition that the flour of pastry reaches after all these processes Put just little sugar of some kind into the lunch box, two, or three pieces of pure candy or of loaf sugar, or a little maple sugar or sweet chocolate Sweet cookies come under this head, too. As to pastry, save that till a day when the afternoon is to be spent in festivities of some kind, not in study when there is to be speaking or an excursion to the woods. Then make some turnovers, inclosing the filling safely between crusts. Children like these, and they are easier to carry than pieces of pie. AT
 Something Savory.
 This need not always be put in as an extra; it may be introduced in one of the many sandwich filings of which mention has been made. Ham is a savory and dried beef and bacon and cheese. So are acid fruits if the term ''savory' be stretched a little. If the sandwiches and the dessert are both rather neutral in flavor it may be we'll to add a little sour jelly or spiced preserves. The jelly can be put up at the regular jelly-making season. There are numberless little jars and
 
 houses now that can be used for the individual portions of jelly. Covered with paraff1n, the small amounts keep in good condition without drying.
 Something Liquid.
 The question of "something liquid" for the school luncheon brings up the whole matter of the policy of the school with reference to the food of the pupils. We will suppose first that the authorities do not help and that every mother must settle the matter for her self Under these circumstances the children themselves should be consult ed. If they prefer to have boxes that can be closed up flat when empty, and thus leave them comparatively hand free on the way home, to having liquids and custards and other foods that must be carried in dishes with their lunch cons, that should settle the matter. In many of the consolidated rural schools, however, transportation is provided Here, and in other cases where pupils ride back and forth, the size and weight of the lunch basket need not be con- sidered. Milk in these cases should be a part of the luncheon in winter, and milk or lemonade or other fruit juices in summer.
 The f1avoring material for lemonade can be made up in quantities and kept on hand. Boil a cupful of sugar in a
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-28

make the garden as a thank-ofering for my merry companion
 This was not an easy task, for the boy had known more about plants than the mother. It was he who had made all the decisions. She now worked with much uncertainty, always wondering if he would have done the things she contemplated. Some days the baby mind helped her out consider ably. Pretty flowers here,'' he said; many pretty flowers" He was eager to carry the watering pot, and he soon learned to regard as sacred the places where seeds were sown. He showed that in time he also might prove a worthy helper.
 Gradually the sadness and the sharp pain of memory. left the garden. It became again the place of lusty, grow ing things, of bees and butterflies, of happy hearts.
 Lately it has come to my knowledge that one of the most conspicuous women in England saved her life from wreckage through the health-giving grace of garden.
 Owing to the prominence of her fam fly, and the traditions of her birth, she
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-28

enameled ware cups, which are light and strong, or aluminium molds These can be used also for lemon jelly or other buildings of which you wish to prepare small portions that can be saved in good form for the lunches. The little individual portions. are much more attractive than portions of a large pudding. If the pudding is one that keeps well let day elapse be- tween the time it is served at home and the time it appears in the lunch box. It will seem more novel.
 Something Fibery.
 By fiber is meant that substance which makes apples and grapes and cucumbers hold their shape though they contain little but water, or water and sugar. There is all the way elastic substance, usually called cellu- lose. When this is taken into the body 1t acts very much as excelsior does in a packing case. It keeps the heavier parts of the foods from settling down upon each other. It is seldom di- gested, but it is an invaluable help to the digestion of other foods. It may be supplied in the form of lettuce, watercress or cucumbers in sand wiches; in the form of celery or rad ishes, or in the form of fresh, dried or stewed fruit.
 Apples, oranges, pears, peaches and berries are desirable; not only. because they are refreshing, but beSause of their fiber. Berries keep best tightly sealed in a bottle or jelly glass and without sugar. Dried fruits-dates, figs, raisins and good quality of prunes-are equally wholesome and much easier to carry. Baked apples may. be carried in jelly glasses. So may apple sauce and stewed fruits if they are properly prepared. Dried fruits should be cooked without sugar till they are nearly done. The sugar added at the last tends to take up the juice and makes a syrupy, rather than a watery compounds For sauce apples should be cooked, a few pieces at a time, in a syrup of sugar and water By the time the last of the apples are done the syrup will be like jelly Such apple sauce is easily transported.
 Something Sweet.
 When you are making cake, remem- Der to make few small ones for the lunches, and do not fear that they will be too rich if frosted A little sugar is valuable part of a school luncheon, because it is easily absorbed and quickly made ready for use in the body. Think how different it is from pastry. In that the flour and the fat must first be separated from their close companionship. and after. that
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-28
Regaitling Health 5 5 Among the Flowers
How This Work Has Transformed Many Neurasthenic .. . and Sickly Persons Into Hearty, Robust Women
HAD been i'll, very Ill, and it seemed

. HAD been i'll, very Ill, and it seemed
 H afterward- as. if ~annoyances multi "A piled within the four walls of my
 h6fher saw the dust accumulat. !: ing. speck. by speck, on the. polish of my mahogany; heard the chips Iail from the dishes in the pantry The noise of mouse in the walls at night caused me to awake and to dread until dawn the on-coming of another day, ar perehansesss sss the the: oYt1Se9maipag YSa ag of the { = The chafitabiy, minded. members of nay family had frequent occasion to refer to my high-strung temperament; but, for myself, | realized that had descended into the dark valley Of sEerveS thei 9erTe eS that cafise aHdb doIni- . hate, and the power ofr hlch, none un- ,derstands until he has lived under , As the winter passed and the scent of spring came in the air, I felt a rest lessnessr4h 4hab b fSid6lean IiHt with. that If they had not momeR5Ytos rspaFe. I;began to notice about the. .SRrt9gl atso vided the first sensation Of real sym pathy--that- had -touched-me since be- fore ythe- dayey ,~of efnyxs dllnsss, a The springtime subt1y slured me out of my darkened realm; fascinated me with the fragrance of the earth after shower, and made me envious of it's activity.
 I had never before been much of an observer of-natuTei-I- had-taken the seasons as they,s sane, al Sstor granted I,a1 now watched the spring work. saw the myriad of helpers it called to its aid, and how steadfastly, in spite of rebufs. it pursued its way. In its great wealth of energy 1 lost unac- countably my feeling of unused <f crh Mu~
 As practical expression of my de- sire built a garden. Not a large one; q rather small, intimate one, in which DO sprouting seed or faded leaf could escape my eye. I built it on the one Dit of available space that had, con- Stead of wisffag if Of different size or outline. Many a, child, perchance, would have planned a better garden. and made a more up-to-date choice of Seeds and plants. But there was no sense of rivalry in this garden, no striving after unusual effects. Merely T waste 'be my garden of silent sym pathy; "a. place in which to lose my peevishness. xS
 .Aftersthe seeds were sown and the young plants set in their places, I drank to the. full draft of patience; for seeds dof not "'sprout, arise and bloom all in a day; even plants require some. time to accommodate themselves tbe season. I also began to observe the wind, whether it were friendly, or cold and <piercing; to smile when the sun stretehed itself in heightened neasure- oYeE Egarden.-and to watch the great expanse of blue with some thing of the interest that I had for inerly given to my friends gowns and r1e manner of eeifing their heads. The sky, indeed, entered into my life, not only as something of beauty, but as an element in which l held part. For the first time in my life welcomed the raindrops, since they would sink into the soil and cause my seeds to sprout.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-28

'I am like our neighbor, Mrs. Gray,'' I responded; "I have fallen in love with a garden. It has made me young again."
 And you appear much less ner- vous," persisted the member of my family.
 "Nervous!" I had grown to dislike the word. It offended me more than the thought of rust on the hollyhocks, a matter with which had contended by spraying the plants in late April and again in May with Bordeaux mix ture.
 Although I labored SO hard at times as to- be exceedingly weary physically, the work seemed always under the guise of play. Visiting friends, fnd- ing me so we'll and happy, declared that I must have taken to some form of mental control, and their interest increased when related that had found my Mecca in a garden. It was astonishing to me how strong my plants were in personality, how they resisted weakness or disease.
 In midsummer the garden became a blaze of color. It attracted such gay visitors as the ruby-throated humming- bird, the hummingbird-moth and myri- ads of butterf1ies.N It drew to it all
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-28

them is in the little tin boxes in which hints or waters come. Try occasional ly making very thin slices of zwfeback and putting jelly or jam between them. Zwieback is made by toasting bread in a very slow oven. It should be crisp and a golden brown. Zephyrettes with cream cheese between them fur nish a pleasing variety if used occa- sionally. class plain cakes with these starchy foods because in the well-con- structed meal they do not take the place of the sweet which seems neces- doughnuts and coffee cake and many kinds of cookies.
 Something Meaty.
 In addition to breads the we'll planned meal, with an occasional ex- ception, should contain one of the fol- lowing: Milk, eggs, cheese, fish, poul- try, nuts, meat or beans. Of these milk is most important for the young, for it is rich, not alone in tissue-form- ing foods, but also in the materials which make bones and teeth. If school boards can do no more they can at least provide for having good milk sold in the schools at cost.
 Meat for the school lunch should be thinly sliced or chopped and mixed with salad dressing. Save a little of lIl6 LIlluI SduC0 iSoIV0Q WlCQ the rOaSC lamb or of the caper sauce served with boiled mutton or the horseradish sauce served with beef, or the tomato sauce served with veal to give a touch of spice to the sandwich filling Try a1- ways to have boiled dressing on hand, or mayonnaise if you use it, for that makes 1t possible to make good filling out of a little meat or fish, Mixed with veal or chicken and combined with lettuce it is best, but it can be used with any meat or with cheese, or with baked beans or chopped nuts, or with nuts and cream cheese mixed, or with hard-boiled eggs or with a mixture of hard-boiled eggs and fish, or with let tuce or watercress. There are, in fact, few foods with which salad dressing cannot be combined to make a good sandwich filler.
 If there is place for a jelly glass in the lunch box moist foods like cot tage cheese or baked beans or salad may constitute the meaty portion of the meal. So far as the food value of custards is concerned, they come under the head of f1esh-forming foods if they are made with plenty of eggs. The days when they form the dessert, therefore, are good days on which to serve non-meaty sandwiches, plain bread and butter, perhaps, or lettuce or creSs sandwiches r-