Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-10-31


us through until next summer. There
are about three bushels of beets put
down in sand. a method. I am assured
that will keep them all winter. l put
away a couple of wagonloads Of pump
kins and squashes. but most OF these
will be fed to the COW. Several barrels
of turnips and carrots will go the same
ceeded in winning any popularity "a, AZ
the family table. ! have about 200
heads of cabbage "hilled in" out In the
garden. We will eat some of this, but
most of it is for the chickens. As soon
as the grass has died down so 1t VIII
no longer furnish green food for the
hens I'll start feeding them cabbage,
hanging the heads up by the roots and
letting the ''biddies" help themselves.
Right now there are six barrels Of
apples in the cellar. and it makes
man hungry just to go down there and
smell them. Most of these are to be
barrels of carefully selected York I'M
perials are to be kept for family use
also have engaged a barrel of wine
saps. to be delivered after Christmas
The man who grew them has better
storage facilities than I have. and he is
holding them for me. Jane has always
preached eating apples. and has enter
tanned the theory that children should
have free access to them. 1t hasn't
been possible in past years. when we
bought York imperials this year for
$1.o5 barrel, hauling them from the
orchard myself. For the barrel Of
winesaps which is being held for me I
agreed to pay $1.IJ.
Shelves Filled With jam.
Across one end of the cellar I built
shelves. and Jane has them filled with
jellies and preserves and canned fruit
Il fov 70 f1xr
use. The jelly and preserves she con-
tracted to sell to Washington store
have been delivered. and she is now
making her apple butter.
With the cellar filled with things to
eat, with the pullets beginning to lay
and several dozen chickens remaining
to be eaten, and with the COW furnish
ing us all the milk and butter we want,
it begins to look as II our hope of re-
ducing the cost of living may be real
lied, at least in part. But don't really
know that this is true. 1t certainly is
fact that we haven't gotten these
things without a very considerable ex-
pend1ture of cash, not to speak of labor.
1t will require a session with my ac-
counts to determine how much in the
way of profit we have to show for a
summer of hard work.
But even If a balancing of the books
Sho" . lHdl Jane anu nave Deen WORK
ing for small wages. or for no wages
at all. am better convinced today than
l was ten months ago that the cost of
living can be reduced by going back to
the soil. When / contemplate the mis-
takes l have made this year and esti-
mate what they have cost me, l am in a
state of mind to endure with equanim-
lty showing that / have been oper-
ating at an actual loss. For l am not
going to make those mistakes another
year.
Hog-Killing Time Nears.
There is one item yet to be written in
the credit column. Hog killing time
will soon be here. OF the two pigs 1
bought in the spring from Mr.. Brown.
one died after I had had it a few
weeks. But the other has done a lot
of growing this summer, without anv
cost to speak of. He has had plenty
of pasture, little skim milk and a lot
OF refuse and defective vegetables
from the garden. 1 don't believe the
grain he had during the spring and
shut up now. though, and is being fat
tened on corn and clover hay 1 know
that is not an ideal finishing ration.
put as l grew the corn and bought the
hay at a reasonable price, it is cheaper
than anything else I could feed.
The butchering is scheduled for early
IN December; and am looking forward
to homemade sausage and all those
other good "eatings" you hear about
at hog-killing time. l haven't any
smokehouse. but out in the barn is a
hoSshead in which some of our thinrs
were packed when we moved to the
country. am going to try curing the
hams and bacon in that, using corn
cobs for a fire. The rest of the meat
Wen use fresh. il the weather is cold
enough so it will keep. If not, wen
put the shoulders and q few othar
pieces down in brine.
Women Win Spelling Match.
The spelling bee Wednesday night
was great success. The only thing to
mar the pleasure of the evening was
that the women won the contest. The
mere fact of their having won wouldn't
nave been SO bad if they hadn't won
with such ridiculous ease. Instead of
being a free-for- all, as was con4em-
plated before the rivalry became SO
keen. each side put forward a team Of
its twelve best spoilers. didn't make"
the team. When the last man went
down because he put a ed" instead of
IT. i'll epizootic, there were still six
of the rival team on the floor clamor-
ing for more worlds to conquer.
Though this gave the women the vic
tory, everybody insisted that the con-
test be continued until the champion
speller of the neighborhood was de-
termined. But it didn't go to a Anal
decision. For nearly an hour after the
others were down Mrs. Brown and Mrs.