VOLLX
INDIANAPOLIS, NOV. 4, 1905.
NO, 44
%mtt\zxxxz gjeu»rtm«ttt
Home Should   Be Place of All.
1st Premium.—There in m> question to
which so much thought nml attention
should be given ns to that of tlie home.
It should lie liL'ide the most inviting place
of till; its environment so pleasant and
so fascinating that it would eclipse that
of al' other places. That this is the desire of insist home makers is beyond question-, but just how to create these conditions is the problem thnt confronts us.
As to what constitute tlie essential elements ot a happy and comfortable home
tliere is n great diversity of opinion. Thnt
this is line was shown in the discusion
of the subject at the convocation of the
Social Economics Club, held in Chicago
some time ago. lly the different members of this body it was declared that love,
confidence, children, dogs and cats, horses
and cows, harmony, good cooking, money,
telephones, gas stoves, religion, clothing
and so on nd infinitum, were essentials to
an   ideal   home. Although   we   do   not
belie*, e that all the items named by these
good women are really essentials, or even
necessary, yet the sum total makes n
splendid list. We can plainly see that
the question that seems to be giving trouble is the one which comes out of the
effort to determine what the essentials
really are. Yet with this problem confronting us we do not believe that it is
so great or troublesome a question- with
those who live the simple and wholesome
life of the farm. They nil  have  most
of the requisites mentioned—happy children, pets, money enough at least to meet
nil their needs, plenty to cat, clothes
enough and nice enough; ami as to love
find confidence, the supreme essentials of
every home, they are not only found
here but here they alxmnd, ami many in
these homes who have not the abundance
ct worldly possessions have demonstrated
that-
"It Is not wealth that makes a home,   -
Nor is lt  pillar,   tower or  dome,
Nor  cosily  tapestries  of  silk  or frescrfd  walls,
An.1 attenslauts who attend vour slightest calls,
Rut love..    Eur If there is a dearth
Of love's glow on the  hearth,
It is a house, and not a home,
You have made."
In the fiist place, we should provide for
our bodily comforts. In order to do this,
the fall work should be completed before
bad weather begins; feed and place of
feeding so. arranged that there he as little
exposure as possible while doing the
(liores; the wood house and the coal bin
should be Glled early, so when biting
-rinds and flying snow come tliere need
be no worry about fuel; the cellar supplied with apples, potatoes, canned fruit
and other delicious eatables that hare
grown during the summer months. "Who
could think of work all done, a conven-
ient *irrangoment for the chores, a well
filled wood house and coal "bin, and a cellar full of good things to eat, and not be
contented  and happy?
But no difference how complete and
perfect the provisions made for physical
comfort, that will not in itself gire happiness, for there is another side of our nature that is making demands, ami that
is the aesthetic side, the lore for the
beautiful and sublime. Our eyes and
oars mu-*t be feasted, as well as our stomachs. This can be done by keeping the
home clean and tidy: by placing on the
walls pictures of interest, such ns Raphael's Sistine Madonna, Breton's Song
of the Lark, Millet's Gleaners; or the
likeness of a few great and illustrious
men   such ns Washington,    Lincoln, Wes
ley, Browning, Longfellow, etc., etc.
Flowers nre also a very important factor in answering this demand. What can
ndd more cheerfulness to a room on u
■ old.  bleak  winter day,  thnn  a  geranium
published than the Christian Endeavor
World, the Epworth Herald, the Youth's
Companion and of course the Indiana
Farmer. To name tne be.«t magazines
is  not   so  easy  a   task,   flor  there  are  so
A Boad Through the Woods Showing Ch aracter  of   the  Timber   in   the   Cadillac,
Mich.,  Tract.       Kindnes s of  S.  S.  Thorpe.
with its multitude of spikes crowned
with caps of red and pink, or the variegated foliage of the begonia, or the
graceful fronds of the fern? Music is
also necessary in meeting this demand,
and there should be in erery home musical
instruments, such as the violin, organ and
piano. And what could add more to
the pleasure and enjoyment of a winter
evening that a collection of curious? Who
would uot lore home with such surroundings and privileges as these?
But still there is another side of our
nature for which provision must be made,
and that is the intellectual. No home
is complete without plenty of good and
wholesome reading matter. There should
come to every home at least one leading
daily, one or more magazines, and a few
of the best books. The dailies and books
that are worthy ot a place in the home
(for all nre not worthy) will be left to
your own choice and taste. But a venture to name a number of weeklies that
ought to be fouml on every library table
will   be   made. By   all   means,   every
home shonld take the official paper of the
church of its choice. For young people,
nnd older ones too, no better weeklies are
many excellent publications, and by naming a few it is not meant to say that all
others are of inferior rank, but that thorough acquaintance with those named
makes it possible to recommend them.
Others may be as gixxl, ami even lx-tter,
but these nre known to be good enough
to hare a royal welcome in any home.
For current history and erent, I would
name Review of Reviews and The World
Today; for those of a literary turn of
mind, there is none better than the
Bookman or The Critic; for lovers of nature, and who are these but the happy
tiller of the soil, there are Country Calendar, Country Life in America and Birds
an-d Nature. O, who could not feast intellectually with such good things as these
set before them? Will not such preparations as these, which are all inexpensive
■and within the reach of the humblest of
our farm homes, bring happiness and
comfort to our firesides during the long
and cold winter days? C. P.
Jasper Co.
yet both are needful to the country's welfare, and both have their own distinct
comforts and pleasures.
In the first place, I would say the farm
lioine should be well arranged to permit
thorough ventilation during tlie winter.
In the summer it is not so "absolutely necessary, for people are naturally more in
the air then, but when winter comes the
houses should be so arranged as to admit
plenty of God's free, fresh air. Why is
it statistics show that almost ns large a
per cent of consumptives live on farms
as in the crowded city? Simply because
in many fann homes the inmates hnve
never learned to claim their birthright
lli.-it abounds in plenty about them—good
air. Many farm homes are n-ot opened
lor an airing, except on sweeping day,
and the only pure air that enters has to
steal its way in at cracks and crevices
around   transoms   and   windows. Tho
transoms should stand open the year
through, besides a thorough change of air
at   least   once   a   day.
The cellar ;»nd larder should be well
supplied for winter use. Rows of canned
fruit, jars of mince meat ami dozens of
piblen pumpkins help to fill the table with
a   bounteous   plenty. Apples,   popcorn
and nuts stored away for long winter
e\ cnings, when the family is gathered
around the blazing fire, or when a neighbor happens in, help to cheer the heart
i-nd maks-^one rejoice in being alive to enjoy the winter pleasures in an old farm
homo.
Good warm clothing, both for indoor
aud outdoor wear, rubbers, boots and mittens, to keep out the wet and cold, should
be provided against a "rainy day." If
a furnace is possible for heating it ventilates as well as heats, but if stoves
have to be used a plentiful supply of fuel
should be stored away to insure warmth
and comfort.
In the pleasures, our friends should not
l>e        forgotten. Some     neighborhood
gatherings, family parties—or bobsled
rides for the young folks should be remembered, for it is such pleasures that
make life worth the living, and the giving
of such enjoyments to those about us is
what endears us lo them and makes us
a benePt and a necessity in the community.
Whilo thinking of the material comforts, the mental needs should not be
forgotten. Good Iwoks and some good
pciioslicals help to pass the winter months
pleasantly and profitably. In a neighborhood of congenial spirits an exchange
of reading matter makes it go a long way
and the expense is not heavy on any one
family.
While planning for outside pleasure,
remember the best and dearest memories
lo the boy and girl should cluster around
the farm home, ami endeavor to make
that home so attractive, so comfortable,
so cheerful that when the boy grows to
young manhood he will not say like so
many, "I'm going to the city," but rather
the cry of his heart will be, "I want to be
a farmer like father." J. E. II.
Hamilton Co.
How to Keep the Boy on the Farm.
2d Premium.—While the farm and city
home  differ  essentially   in  many   points,
Winter A Time of Rest.
Sd Premium.—It seems to "be a part of
God's great plan that nature and all her
children shall have at regular intervals
a senson of rest, and not only rest but
comfort and enjoyment if we will. If
we would list to nature's teaching, we
have but to watch the tiny ant, toiling
away through summer's heat, laying by
Continued   on   page  9.