The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1913-12-18

CHRISTMAS BASKETS
FROM THE FARMS

Nv HiIda Richmond.

Nobody seems to know Just why g
many country women are prlsnLenIns
forIorn homes by sending them CHRIST
mas baskets annually, Y among tno
theories advanced Is tha1 ~ ~
years, country women have visited the
cities more frequently than OF yore,
and are beginning to have their eyer
opened as to the cost OF CITY l1Vlhss
They are beginning to know ina
enough goes to waste on the averass
tenement family, and to peg1n 70
gather up some Of the fragments Q
the poor and distressed. Whether this
Is the reason or not, certain II is tnat
there are hundreds of thousands OK
women living on fine farms VINO nave
their proteges in towns or cities, n
who remember them literally ut
Christmas time, and often at other
seasons of the year. One farmers
wife had her lesson when some city
people admired the profuston OF ap-
pies all about the fine home. n they
the invitation to Help yourselves"
Afterwards she found out that the
man earning very little money ana
his children seldom saw apples except
in front Of groceries, as the moderate
price asked in the bountiful season
was still too much for his purse. After
that apples were freely distributed to
tho poor, and they really cost nothing
but the labor Of picking them up and
taking them to town. There are farm
ers who are very liberal when appeals
are made and there Is someone to
taking a basket to a poor person too
much trouble. If they ever taste the
delights of seeing a poor woma TN
pack a basket before a hungry fam
lily, or the joy displayed by an elderly
person who is almost forgotten by the
busy world when a basket comes her
way, they will never think of the
trouble again.
What are they putting into the bask-
cts? Well, some pride themselves up
on taking only the things that would
go to waste, just to see what can be
done. while others put in the best the
farm affords. For example, n wom-
an enlisted the help Of the children,
and every walnut on the place vas
gathered. Usually they went to waste
the way. The walnuts were sold and
the money used to pay for farm prod
ucts exactly as If they were buying
from strangers. 1t astonished every
body to see what those walnuts
brought in market at so cents a bushel,
and it also astonished them to see
what quantities Of good things went
Into the baskets. Another family, for
an experiment, disposed of the waste
apples by making them into cider and
the cider into vinegar, and thus they
produced their money. In these cases
the money was not earned because
n one grudged what went into the
baskets, but simply to show what
could be done.
Where the baskets are just filled
from the farm bounties; all sorts Of
good things go Into them. Potatoes.
cornmeal, flour, meat, poultry, apples.
eggs, lard, beans, dried corn, butter.
milk, turnips, cabbage, me goods.
jellies, pickles, jams. n all the other
good things h mistress Of the house
serves on her table. To be sure all
Of these things canao go into n
basket, but there is always enough
variety to insure a good Christmas
dinner, with something left over for
several days. Often when poultry la
scarce. a nice pork roast or a string Of
takes the place Of the chicken or goose,
but whatever 1t is, 1T is always well
coined by the poor. Nearly every time
baskets are sent. good bread, pies and
cookies are tucked in, as poor people
have few opportunities to bake these
donor to know how much they are
appreciated.
For the children there are always
some goodies, and these are usually
homegrown or homemade. Pop corn.
nuts. apples. molasses candy and nut
eoAAy dAo SASSGullSly common TO Idrm
children, but great luxuries to the poor
children Of the city. Ginger cookies
or cakes of any kind usually go into
the Christmas baskets for young and
old, Inc where there are sick or old
people in the home, bottles of grape
juice or something tempting in the
way Of jellies or honey. There isn't q
thing raised on the farm that will not
work into the Christmas baskets well.
II you have never sent a Christmas
basket. try it this year. Just go into
your bountiful store closet, your fruit
cellar, you vegetable closet and you
supply of good things all about the
premises, and see what you can gather
UP to give away.