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M\KINJ    TUB    HOME   COMPOKTABLE.
There is Comfort In Kiudness.
1st Premium.—The material things to
make home comfortable are several in
number, and vary somewhat according
to the home; but some things every home
should have, to be truly comfortable in
winter. Perhaps the greatest necessity
to comfort when coming in shivering from
the cold is a good fire. What a comfort
is a cheering heat, whether it comes from
the blazing logs in air old-fashioned fireplace or the radiator or register in a modern home. Let the house be kept warm,
not overheated. An average temperature of 70 degrees is sufficient, then
there is not the likelihood of taking cold
when one stops out. When you see a
home where the thermometer soars between 80 degrees and 90 degrees all winter, you will also see a uome where colds
fire prevalent.
Perhaps next to a plentiful supply of
fuel a bountiful table is necessary. During cold weather we need a greater
amount of heat producing foods. We
ran readily consume beans, pork, mince
pies, etc., in winter which would put us on
the sick list if indulged in during the
summer. The   larder,   the   cellar,   the
meathouse and the granary should be well
stocked for winter comfort.
Good warm clothing, especially underwear for the whole family, from tbe father
to the wee tot, is a necessity to comfort
and health. "To prevent colds and sickness in children," a doctor said, "dress
them warm and let them run." If the
proper clothing is worn, a regular temperature observed in the house, good fresh
air admitted without stint, and some outdoor exercise taken every day no matter
how low the temperature, colds would
soon be a thing of the past for old and
young.
The house, especially the bedrooms,
should be thoroughly aired every day. At
night put on plenty of bed clothing and
leave a window open, at least a foot, all
winter long, If some are too sensitive to
a draft a muslin screen over tie opening
will   be   beneficial.
While caring for the physical man, the
mental should not be overlooked. What
a comfort on cold winter nights, with the
wind whistling fiercely around the house
and the snow piling high, to sit snug and
warm with the loved ones at home, reading from favorite books or periodicals.
Good reading should always be at hand.
Now with books so cheap and such excellent periodicals to be had at such reasonable prices, no home should be without a
plentiful supply of literature. What
picture could be more alluring to a traveler than a scene around a cheerful fireside,
with all the folks, father, mother, brothers
and sisters, and perhaps a friend or two,
under the evening lamp, reading and
studying; and as a diversion eating light,
fluffy popcorn or rich, full nuts brought
out by the thoughtful mother?
In the comforts of home we may become too self-centered. A home cannot
be truly happy .unless it sheds its beams
on other homes. The home that brings
the most sunshine to others will have the
most sunshine within itself, be it n one-
roomed log cabin or a palatial residence.
If a home seeks but its own comfort and
happiness, being selfishly forgetful of
others, happiness will flee it as persistently and elusively as the pot of money at the
end of the rainbow.        But the bread of
kindness cast upon the waters in thought-
fulness for others will surely return to
you some day, perhaps most unexpected-
ly.
But after all it is not the external things
that make a house a home. It is an intangible something hard to define that
makes a cabin or a palace a very Paradise on earth, or the lack of it that leaves
it tout four walls—merely a place to stay.
What is it that brings that atmosphere of
home? Love is surely the foundation.
But there must be the proper expression
of love in patience  kindness, unselfishness
Not too Many Flowers.
2d Premium.—As to making home on
the farm comfortable in winter, the first
tiling that comes to my mind is fire. When
the bleak November winds begin to blow
then it is I plan for fire, plenty of it, and
for bright lights. If coal is bo be the fuel,
let it be put where one can get it without
wilding through snow or mud. If wood,
let it be neatly corded in a shed near the
house. In one corner place dry kindling;
also have a box in the shed where shavings can be kept.      1 am speaking of the
Home of W. S. Rynard, Winchester, Ind.
and thoughtfulness for each other. We
have all seen families where there was
absolutely no doubt of their love for each
other, but they had such a queer way of
showing it. If some great trial should
come upon them, they would stand by each
other to the death, but in the little, petty
annoyances of life they were cross and
crabbed. In such a home there is not
the truest happiness. To bring the genuine peace of home life we must all bear
and forbear with each others' weaknesses,
because no two of us see or act or think
alike. The old Quaker expressed an universal truth by saying to his wife, "AH
the world's queer but thee and me, and
sometimes I think thee's a little queer."
If every member of the family would
recognize that difference and apply the
Golden Rule to the others' "queer" ways,
and make up his or her mind to open a
fresh can of smiles every morning and be
as pleasant and agreeable to the home
folks as one is expected to be in company,
we would hear far less- of family jars,
quarrels and divorces. If anything has
gone wrong at the office or the store or
the school room, we take out our spite on
the folks st home by being surly and disagreeable, forgetting that one cross person in the family circle will put a damper on the good spirits of all the rest.
Have we any right to thus vent our spleen
ir. the home? Surely we owe it to our
dearest ones at home to be there at our
very best at all times and under all circumstances, thus adding the first and
greatest comfort to a home—happiness.
J. B. H.
modest home of a farmer on a forty or
sixty acre farm. The rich need no plan,
for they can buy all things except love,
health and a right to Heaven. If they
have not comfort it is because they do not
know what real comfort is. Take the
woman on a forty acre Indiana farm, and
if she has things comfortable she certainly
has to plan some and work as well.
After the fires, I would have good
lrmps, kept clean and bright, with always
plenty of oil on hand. Then if I wished
to be comfortable on a cold winter evening, I would light them early, and would
not pull the shades down either, to shut
its cheerful gleams from the passer-by. I
should like a few plants, but if I wished
to toe comfortable I should not have more
than I could care for properly; a pot of
ferns, a few geraniums or anything one
prefers. But ah, the misery of it; after
you hsve carried them from room to room,
got up in the night and built fires, and
almost worshipped these plants, to wake
up some morning in Starch and find them
all frozen! That certainly makes one
very uncomfortable, so by experience I
have learned to keep only what I feel sure
I can care for nicely.
Most farmers hsve a cellar. I certainly would wish to have the cellar well
filleo. with fruits, jellies, butters and pickles, wi'h of course plenty of vegetables.
Nothing makes a woman so comfortable
as to know she can get up a good meal
on short notice, and get it without having
to go to the grocery for even a small part
of it. Most farmers' wives can have all
these  things  if  they  be  industrious  and
saving. I would take up the wool carpet
in the sitting room and put down a good
rag carpet, (most of us have rag carpets),
then I would not be worried when the boys
come rushing in from school, even though
they had forgotten to clean their feet, and
I am sure they will feel vastly more comfortable tramping over a ra carpet for
there will be no worried look on mother's
face.
I would have a place for the children
and men folks to hang their coats and hats
when coming in from school and the field.
For the children I would have hooks
placed low, so that tliey could reach them
without getting on a chair. If there is
a closet in the sitting room or dining room,
place your row of hooks in it. If not,
put them behind the door in the dining
room, and see to it that they hang their
wraps there. I would have a row of
hooks in the summer kitchen or porch for
the men folks to hang their work clothes
on when coming in from work, for what
makes a woman more uncomfortable than
to see a coat thrown here, a hat there, as
each member of the family has come in
the house; or even worse, coats thrown
across the stair railing? I would have a
place for the men and boys to wash when
coming in from the fields. If I were not
able to have a room for that purpose, I
would have a sink in the kitchen. It could
I*, placed behind the kitchen door, or in an
out of the way corner. I surely would
havo plenty of hot water, clean towels,
good combs and good soap, with a looking
glass near (mind you, our home is a very
modest one).
I should have the table covered with
whitest cloth and place thereon plenty of
well cooked food. This certainly makes
the tired, hungry farmer and the boys
comfortable. I would have books, plenty
of them, a daily paper, a journal for the
boys, a magazine for the girls, and the
Indiana Farmer for all to read.
•\fter chores are all done, the fire burning brightly, lamp chimneys sparkling (not
a speck on them), a good sized table pulled
from the wall, mother in her low rocker,
father on the couch that is not too good to
lie on, the youngsters with their lessons or
their favorite paper; though the house be
but an humble one, though the inmates
work hard, lot it be known that there are
many with thrice their wealth that are not
half so comfortable. Mrs. S. C.
Qood Heating Apparatus
3d Premium.—The first requirement for
comfort in cold weather is a good heating
apparatus. The best that we have found
for the money is a hot air furnace. A
furnace that will burn wood or coal, and
heat six rooms, can be put in for from
$125 to $150. It takes no more fuel
and less work to keep a furnace going
than it does to care for stoves, snd the
temperature can be kept more even.
Light for the Jong winter evenings is an
important item. An acetylene gas plant
is a fine thing for the farm home, but
where that is not practicable an angle
lamp, hung over the living-room table, will
give an excellent light for reading and
sewing.
Well fitted storm-doors and windows
should be put on before the first cold snap
comes, aud the outside cellar door and
the windows made tight Drain pipes
should be protected from frost; a frozen
pipe is an abomination. Water piped
into the kitchen from well and cistern is a
great convenience, and the comfort derived
Continued on pags 9.