The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-04

That women are seeking for avenues of industry within the confines of home has become an evident fact. The cost of liv- ing has put the world to thinking The head of the family, that is the man. with average salary. begins to feel the burden of expenses. It is no longer a matter Of how much one can save from monthly income, but how can we make ends meet? in gathering of women few days since, composed of youthful faces. with more than the usual amount of gray hairs, the question, why is she so gray? She Is young" was awaiting reply; and the. answer came, "Too much nervous anxiety
 The effort to hold things together, to make a dollar s.1oop the loop is very grating on the nerves. When chickens are sold by the pound, with feathers on-- actually kicking on the scales in the in- terest of the dealer; beef steak at 25 cents pound and other meats in proportion. Men gre carniverous and must have meat; vegetables do not satisfy their appetites, and even they are an expensive accom-
 paniment to a meat course. Today 1t takes the united effort of family energies, with their varied interests and talents, to supply the practical needs. The men are not scheming alone; their helpmates are reading the magazines, catching at ad- vertising to develop opportunities for the beginning of home industries, that they may supplement their income. sWe have many letters of what women are doing some of what seems but dream-the threads are so weak many are wonder ing if the 'ad'' 'learn to make sofa pill lows at home for the market will take all you make" Is good. This is q
 scheme to sell material; tho work is never perfect enough for them to purchase. Some years ago prominent Birmingham
 woman told me she had "a grand scheme to make some money. A firm was having | her enlarge pictures. They sent the pho l tograph. All you had to buy was the material and the easel; then they would
 pay for the picture; they never placed an | order for less than six at time, and Il
 was cheaper to buy all the material at once" The little woman was never so | happy before, with something to do, and
 she had already upholstered all of her old | style mahogany furniture on the strength of her income, which never came. After | prepaying all express on the enlarged pic
 lures none of them were true likenesses | The proposition was so glorious at first
 that Mrs. --- had almost made an artist
 out of a woman who could not draw a
 straight line.
 These schemes have been replaced now | by active outdoor culture. women are beginning to realize they are nearer q gold mine when they dig In their own
 soil and deal with their home markets.
 The following letter will disclose an en-
 terprise that is in it's infancy now within ! a few miles, little more than an hour s | ride of the market of thls city. The at- tempt does not seem futile. in view of facts we have before us since receiving
 the letter The following letter explains the details of the prospective enterprise: T see your name In the paper and how you have solved the economic problem | by making your home garden and rais- Ing chickens. This I have my girls do,
 and which have always done until my
 health failed. Did you ever try raising mushrooms? I learn 1t is very easy
 and profitable business; also that they can be raised fin boxes In cellars, or under
 the house, anywhere they can be shaded.
 They sell at 60 cents to s1.25 a pound. will tell you how to raise them and where
 to get the spawns to plant. get them
 from a reliable mushrooms raiser. one 1 that has been in the business 30 years. II
 will cost s2 for a 50 foot of space one
 box can be placed above the other, with
 space of foot between. Fill box one foot
 in manure, with a layer of common dirt
 on top. They will bear winter and sum- mer, are ready to market in five weeks
 after planting Now. If you please, look up a market for me and let me know soon, so I can start some beds for this fall and winter. I could send them once 1 a week. or ten days. We can gather every day and they will easily keep for | that time. I am an invalid and cannot sit up all day; have been sick ten years we need to do something to school the girls and to get other necessities. Please
 give me some idea how to start and l will
 return the favor some day Hoping t, hear from you soon Truly
 We have begun the investigation for the
 needed encouragement, and from very practical source have the information
 that mushrooms, those grown in this sec tion. have demand; that those familiar | in gathering them as they grow wild have | yearly stored their winter supply.
 We frequently read of a case of fatal poisoning from the wild mushrooms. How
 can you distinguish the variety?
 "It is certainly very easy" said one who knows mushrooms. "The variety gool | for domestic use always has a ring an-
 der the head of the plant on the stem
 How many varieties are there and how 1 do they differ? Six varieties that I
 know, though I do not know their botsn-
 ical names. One grows In a pine grove. beneath the straw, one ia rocky places.
 and one in an oak grove beneath tho 1 leaves The one growing in the oaks is