The Brussels Post, 1916-8-10, Page 2If You Have Not a
Policy in the
..0.2.121:
N LII=E
You are not doing justice
to yourself or your family.
Curing a Backbiter
" There goes as mean a man as eves
walked," remarked Giles Bigelow as
he glanced out a the wondow of his
ittle shop,
Andrew Pike, the shoemaker, was
not curious enough to look up from
his work ; but he did stare in as-
tonishment when old Moses Rice,
'whose meekness was proverbial, re-
buked the speaker.
"Giles," the old gentleman began,
"I don't suppose you've got a thing
against Deacon Tarbox. It's just your
way of flinging out about folks, no
matter who they be."
"I guess I know Deacon Tarbox as
well as you do !" muttered Giles.
Well, then you know as likely a
mats as we've got amongst us ; up-
right in his dealings and liberal ac-
cording
scording to his means. You are like a
mischievous boy hiding behind a fence
with a dirty snowball in his hand :
first man that goes by is bound to
have it thrown after him.
" You are getting to be a regular
backbiter, Giles;' Uncle Moses went
on, in a voice tremulous with earnest-
ness. "If you must talk about folks,
why can't you try to think of some-
thing to say in their favor ? It would
be just as easy ; and 1t would leave
a better taste in your mouth."
Giles Bigelow had been so complete-
ly taken by surprise that he was not
ready with his defence until after the
door had closed behind Uncle Moses.
Then he began with some heat :
"I'm not a backbiter. A backbiter
says things behind your back that he
wouldn't dare to say to your face. I
speak my mind as I see fit, but I never
say a word about a man that I would
not be perfectly willing to have him
hear."
Giles took his departure, much of-
fended, and Webster Haines was left
as the only remaining visitor in the
shop.
" Well, said Webster, as he slid into
a still easier position in his chair,
"Uncle Moses spoke quite a piece, for
him. But it didn't make a particle of
impression. I'd like to see some one
give Giles a lesson that he would re-
member. Look here, Andrew, you
heard Giles say that he never says
anything about a man that he wouldn't
be willing to have him hear. Now
Josh Flood and George Glover and
Sant Nowell and s are coming here to-
night to play checkers.
" I'll get them to come early, and we'll
crowd into this little cubby-hole that:
you've got curtained off here, and be
there when Giles comes for his boots.
You give him a chance to air his
honest opinion of us four. Just men-
tion our names, incidentally, and he'll
do the rest. Then when he has finish-
ed we'll step forth and have our inn -
Ings."
" Won't it be taking an unfair ad-
vantage of Giles ?" asked the shoe-
maker, a little doubtfully.
"Didn't he say he was perfectly
willing to have anyone that he was
talking about hear him ?"
" All right," said Andrew. "Only
you mustn't get mad at what Giles
says. Listeners seldom hear good of
themselves, you know."
. Webster Haines had no difficulty in
interesting his friends, and the four
were hidden behind the dingy curtain
In the shop when Giles Bigelow came
in that evening.
"Almost finished, Giles," said the
'shoemaker briskly. "Sit down a min-
ute. Plenty of room to -night, for a
wonder. Josh Flood was here a few
minutes ago, though," he added cas-
ually.
Josh Flood," said Giles, as he sank
into a chair, "is a clever, well meaning
chap, when all is said and done. He
Wouldn't harm a moequiter."
Andrew waited for further com-
ment ; none being forthcoming, he;
said, "George Glover is generally
round where Josh is."
"George Glover is about as strong a
man in his arms as I know of," said!
Giles, "I don't see why he couldn't do
considerable of a day's work if he
should take a notion to."
Again Andrew waited. "I was sort •
of expecting Sam Nowell in to -night,"
he said, at length.
"Sam Nowell is as good a judge of a
hogs as there is in town, according to
my way of thinking," remarked Giles,
and with that he stopped.
By this time the shoemaker was hav-
ing some difficulty in controling his
countenance, but he persevered.
"Seen anything of Web. Haines since
he was le here this afternoon ?" he
asked.
"0111cr',, I haven't," answered Giles.
There was an appreciable pause befere
he cleared hie throat and continued,'
"Web. Haines' wife is as smart esI
they make 'em. How he ever brought,
it about, I don'tknow, but it speaks
well for Web. that he had gimp
enough to get her to have him."
"There, your hosts are done, Giles,"
said Andrew. "It will be a dollar, I
must get to work on thiole Moses' job."'
Giles' face brightened, "NcW, I
there's a man for ye—Moses Rice I
Goes right along, minding his own
business, and scarce over says a
word, hut when he does speak he's,
worth listening to. Yen heard what he;
said io me this afternoon, Well, I'veI
been chewing .it over and I've Come to
the tonelusien that he was right..I'm
going to try to say a good word for,
evory namable Dentin that le man -
tinned in my presence, but I must say
that I don't see how I could have had
a much harder test than those names
that you happened to mention just
now. Except, of course, Moses Rice ;
he's the salt of the earth. 1 enum,
when you spoke of Web. Haines, 1
' thought for a minute 1 was stumped 1
' But I did it, and it all goes to show
what a man can accomplish when he
sets out. A dollar, did you say ? I
was in hopes you'd make it ninety
' cents."
When Giles had gone, the listeners
emerged from their cramped quarters.
"Giles didn't need your treatment,
I after all," said the shoemaker, dryly.
I "Uncle Moses did all that was neces-
sary."
"Well, I don't know," replied Web-
ster Haines, with a wiry smile, "It
i kinder looked to me as if Giles wasn't
more than half cured.'—Youth's Com-
panion.
"BUSINESS AS USUAL."
French Town Proceeds Calmly 1,500
Yards From Germans.
In a despatch from Pont-a-Mousson
-H. Warner Allen, the representative
of the British Press with the French
Armies, says:
"Pont-a-Mousson had the honor of
being the first French town to be bom-
barded by the Germans, and since the
very beginning of the war it has been
a perpetual target for their shells.
The inhabitants, who are known by
the picturesque name of Mussipon-
tains, live as though shells bursting in
their peaceful town have been an inci-
dent to which they have been accus-
I toured since their birth.
"In days of peace its principal
square was a placid little place, sur-
rounded by arcades, with the inevit-
I able tobacco shop, cafe and chemist,
which always take the most promin-
ent positions in a French provincial
i town. To -day the arches of the arcade
have been filled with sandbags up to
the summit of the pillars. To reach
the pavement through the arches one
has to squeeze one's way through a
narrow zigzag entrance between the
I sandbag walls.
"Once inside the arcade, one finds
one's chemist, tobacconist, and cafe.
'Business as usualis certainly a Pont-
a-Mousson motto. In case of bombard-
ment the Mussipontains can stroll
about their square in perfect safety.
German shells cannot prevent them
from taking their aperitif at their
cafe or buying their packet of cigar-
ettes. The sandbags provide an im-
penetrable defence against the splin-
ters of shells that may burst in the
square.
"To -day all is calm in Ponta -Mous -
son. That is to say, no shells are act-
ually falling. There was a heavy
bombardment yesterday, and there
will probably be a heavy bombard-
ment to -morrow, but the main thing
is that it is no longer raining. In fact,
the sun is actually shining, and people
are far more pleased at the change in
the weather than they are at their
temporary respite from German shells.
I am writing this article in a little
cafe that once looked out on the
square, and now has as its only pro-
spect a solid wall of sandbags wedg-
ed tightly between the arches of the,
arcade. Two grizzled men, certainly;
over 50 years of age, and from their'
appearance agriculturists, are having
an animated conversation as to the
price they are getting for their milk.
One of them has just explained at
great length an ingenious scheme that
he had for carrying his produce to
Nancy, the principal town of the dis-
trict, and he has just expressed with
great disgust his annoyance at hav-
ing arrived at Nancy some months
ago on the very night that it was be -I
ing bombarded by a long-range Ger-
man gun. 'I slept at Nancy that,
night,' he said, 'but after that I had
had enough of it. I just came back to
Pont-a-Mousson for peace,'"
Pont-a-Mousson is just 1,500 yards
from the Germans.
THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY.
Let us be of good cheer, remember-
ing that the misfortunes hardest to
bear are those which never come,
He who does wrong does wrong a-
gainat himself, He who acts unjustly
acts unjustly to himself, because he
makes himself bad. —Marcus Aurelius.
Wit must grow 11110 fingers ; if it be
taken from others 'tis like plums
stuck upon blackthorns; they are for
a while, but come to nothing.—Selden,
When free from conjugal and par-
ental ill•temper the love of wife and
mother will preserve a woman's
charms and endow her with many new
ones,
A man cannot Ipesk but he judges
himself. With his will or against his
Will he draws Ills portrait to the eye
of 5i5 companions by every word,—
Emerson,
There 15 some ,help for the defects
of fortune; for if a mai cannot atr
fain to the length of his wiehes he may
have his remedy by cutting theta
shorten—Cowley,
Canadian Guns in Action—A Red Hot Day in Flanders.
One end of the bombardment which blew German defences to bits on the western front, and paved the way
for the advance of British infantry—in the present big advance. Gunners of the Maple Leaf, stripped to the
waist, serving the guns in a warm corner of the fighting on the western front, Notice that the gun is in a crater,
or dug -out, and is screened with boughs, in order to escape the notice of the prying German aviator.—(London
Daily Mirror photo.)
OLD DAYS IN CANADA.
Pioneers Had An Exciting Time With
Three Bears.
Sixty or seventy years ago Richard
Dowd and his four brothers were
among the pioneers of Perth County,
Ontario. For a number of years the
family lived in two substantial log
cabins in the midst of the cleared
land, but as they grew more prosper-
ous and Richard took a wife he deter-
mined to build a house—the first in
the little township of Mornington. He
selected a large pine tree that stood
about thirty rods from his home as a
shingle tree; he felled it and sawed it
into blocks of the proper length;
these he split into shingle bolts, which
he rived into shingles and shaved dur-
ing the winter.
Just as the sleighing was breaking
up in the spring, Robert—ono of the
younger brothers—took a yoke of
steers and a jumper and began to
draw the finished shingles to the site
of the new house.
The road to the shingle yard wound
in and out 'round the large trees of
the forest. Just before it came to
the yard it passed a small clump of
young pine that had grown up in the
shade of the shingle tree. So thick
was this clump that until you passed
it, it completely hid the yard.
Robert made several trips unevent-
fully. The sun was melting the snow
rapidly, and the snow road was soft
and sloppy. Robert drove his steers
leisurely round the clump of ever-
greens. As he tinned into the shingle
yard he saw the steers raise their
heads in alarm, and looking up he
saw an old she -bear and her two last
year's cubs sunning themselves on the
shavings. The bears were as much
surprised as the steers; but the old
bear stood up and growled so savage-
ly that the steers took fright and turn-
ed sharply. They upset the jumper,
and twisted it so that it spread apart
and let the roller into which the pole
or tongue was framed come out of its
bearings. Away they galloped toward
home, with the pole trailing between
them and banging against rocks and
stumps in a most terrifying way.
Meanwhile, as Robert extricated
himself from the wreck of the over-
turned sled, the bear made a rush at
him. Robert swarmed up a small,
leaning tree that stood close by, but
as he did so the bear gave him a blow
with her paw that tore his trousers
and gave him a wound that bled free-
ly. He got up to the top of the tree
in a jiffy, but to his alarm he found
that the bear was coming up after
him, Taking out his pocketknife he
cut a limb, and when the bear ap-
proached him he would rap her on the
nose—which is a bear's tender spot.
Each time he hit her she would show
her teeth and growl, but she came no
nearer.
When the steers dashed past the
site of the new house on their way to
the stable, John, another brother, saw
them and hurried to see what was
wrong with Robert. He came running
into the shingle yard, but he had no.
weapon with him with which to de-
fend himself or rescue Robert. hie
picked up one of the stakes of the
jumper; but one of the cubs promptly
knocked it out of his hands, and John
at once took to the nearest tree, The
cub sat on its haunches watching him.
All this time Richard was felling
trees on the other side of his clearing,
but his wife, who had heard the boys'
shouts for help, called to him. He
same running, carrying his axe in his
hand, and hurried to the shingle yard,
Ile told Robert to slip down from the
limb he was sitting on and hold on
With one hand. Then he struck his
axe into the tree several limos and
it gradually settled so that Robert
dropped safely into the anew, The
bear began to back down the leaning
trunk, but as she neared the ground
Richard struck her with the axe and
broke her back.
Robert picked up a sled stake and
ran at the cub that was guarding his
brother John, but when the cub came
at him with open mouth he backed off
toward a large, fallen tree that lay
near by. Before reaching it he sank
into the deep snow at its side, and
knew by the acrid odor that he had
fallen into the bears' den. The cub
was after him savagely, and it was all
he could do to keep it off, until Rich-
ard with one swinging blow of the axe
knocked it over and finished it proper-
ly.
The other cub disappeared into the
woods, and the boys never saw it
again.—Youth's Companion.
HEDGEROW NOMADS.
•
Gipsies Are Soul of Honor in Their
Personal Relations.
Quite a number of gipsies are in the
armies of Europe, both as allies and
enemies of Britain, for they are inter-
national and know no country as their
own, says London Answers. Their
origin is a mystery, although it is
certain they hail from the East. It is
generally thought they come from
Egypt—hence their name but' it is by
no means certain. They have been
thought to be the Ten Lost Tribes
also, and they certainly -speak of all
non -Romany as Gentiles.
Gipsies are regarded as a nuisance
wherever they go, as pariahs and out-
casts, but in their personal relations
they are soul of honor, and a gipsy
may be trusted to keep his plighted
word and to stand by his friend. They
possess a certain lofty pride, a cer-
tain proud code of honor which a
gipsy would rather die than lower.
Daughters are more useful than
sons in gipsyland and the parents
often put obstacles in the way of the
girls taking the man of their choice.
Thus elopements are common and
easy. There are no windows to climb
out of and no ladders to scale.
Probably the custom of destroying
everything that belonged to a dead
gipsy is dying out, as it is a very ex-
pensive custom, but it is still done
with the bigger families who are the
nobility of the Romany people.
THE WISDOM OF MOSES.
His Laws Were Much the Same as
Those of the Present.
The sanitary laws of Moses were
not only on a line with modern rules
of hygiene, but, in some cases, in ad-
vance of them, according to a contem-
porary. The Jew, a thousand or two
years before Christ, settling in a semi-
tropical country, was forbidden to
eat pork or shellfish, and milk was de-
scribed as a source of contagion. The
Talmud prescribes a method of slaugh-
tering animals that to -day is acknowl-
edged by our market men to be the
most sanitary.
Nearly four thousand years before
Koch gave to the world his researches
in bacteriology, the Mosaic law point+
ed out the danger to man from tuber-
culosis in cattle, but did not forbid in-
fected poultry as food. It was only a
few years ago that specialists discov-
ered that fowl tuberculosis was harm-
less to man.
The Mosaic law also enforced the
isolation of patients with contagious
diseases and the burial of the dead
outside all cities. These hints the
Gentile world did not fully accept uh
111 a century or two ago,
Moses not only prescribed fasting at
certain periods of the year, but com-
manded whole families to go into
ca¢mps in the summer, where, for a
time, they could live close to nature,
Many of the laws of Moses were noth-
ing else than hygiene peescriptionafor
the health of both mind and body,
KITCHENER'S KINDLINESS.
Personal Incidents Told by One Rho
Knew Him Well.
Sir Frederick Milner relates the fol-
lowing:—From malty notices I have
read of the late Earl Kitchener I
think that people may be likely to
infer that with all his great qualities
he was somewhat lacking in goodness
of heart. Those who knew him at all
intimately wobld tell you he had a
heart of gold. True, to those who
knew him only slightly he appeared
stern and somewhat cold, but this was
far from being his real nature. He
was reserved, and many may be sur-
prised to know that he was by nature
shy, but behind all there beat a heart
as warm and generous as ever matt
possessed. This is borne out by the
fact that those who knew him well re-
garded him with a devoted affection.
Of all my many friends Ilcnow .of
none from whom I received more
sympathy and kindness—especially in
regard to the infirmity which has done
so much to wreck my life. He was
always doing things to show his sym-
pathy with me. On one occasion
when I was going to Egypt to join
the Duke of Fife, one of the kindest
of myfriends, the duke died sudl4enly
while I was on the sea. Lord Kitch-
ener asked' the Consul at Port Said bo
',nee me and give me a letter from
him breaking the. sad news, and I
shall never forget his thoughtfttlkind-
ness when 1 reached his hou-se. In
connection with this .I am .permitted
to relate an incident which will show
him as possessed of almost a wo-
man's tenderness. When, the Duke
' of Fife's body arrived in Cairo, a few
days in advance of the princess, who
was travelling by slow stages, it was
placed in the Guards' Chapel, awaiting
her arrival. Every morning Lord
Kitchener sent from his garden fresh
flowers to put on the coffin. How
many men would have thought of a
tribute as tender as this? Ib was
only one of many kindly, thoughtful
actions of his that came to my notice.
The rector of the English Church at
Cairo told me he could never suffici-
ently appreciate the help and kindness
he received from Lord iKtchener dur-
ing his residence there. Those who
really knew him would have gone
through fire and water for him and I
know that many a one besides my-
self would joyfully have laid down his
life to save one so precious to the em-
pire. His remarkable services to his
country have been fittingly recorded,
and he will live in history amongst
greatest of Great Britain's sons, bub
it is well, I think, that the world
should know that this straight,'truei
stern man had aheart as tender as
his will was strong.
New Use for Coffee Grounds.
The newest evidence of German
war -time frugality is an official or-
ganization to make use ,of the coffee
grounds hitherto thrownaway in most
cases with kitchen ' refuse. It is this.
result of successful experiments to
convert dried grounds into nourishing
fodder for cattle. A special filtering
',roma has also been .devised for win-
ning a certain "extract" from the
grounds, which has been found suit-
able for human nourishment. It is
now proposed that all public institu
tions, such as° barracks, hospitals, and
prisons, should join with householders
in systematically saving up the coffee
grounds, which, will be collected of -
Wally at regular intervals and ex-
ploited for the above-hamed'purposes.
According to Her Cook Book,
Bride --Merciful heavens! That pis
is burning and I can't take it out for
10 minulas yet!"
BATTLES CENTURY
AGO 'AND TO -DAY
SOLDIERS' NEWSPAPER CON-
TRASTS THEN AND NOW.
Napoleon and Wellington Could See
Each Other at Waterloo,
It Points Out.
In speaking of the terrible conflict
at Verdun, the Lille Kriegszeitung, a
newspaper which is edited and pub-
lished by German soldiers in Lille, be-
hind the German front, has the fol-
lowing interesting comments to make
comparing the battlefields of a cen-
tury ago with those of to -day.
"This terrible war—all previous.
warsin history compared to it were
mere child's play!" the publication
says. "The present war up to the
first of this year was so horrifying,
so tragic and so destructive that it
was believed that it •was impossible
that anything worse could occur. But
something worse has occurred. It be-
gan February 21, and now we are in
the first week of June. For three
long months this terrible battle has
been waged on a front of forty kilo-
meters day and night without any ces-
sation.
The Battle of Waterloo
was only three kilometers in length,
and this decisive struggle, which over-
threw Napoleon, began a little after
one o'clock in the afternoon and was
decided at nine o'clock that evening.
The Prussiansin that battle number-
ed about 210,000 men,: and at Verdun
we know positively that forty-five
French divisions are engaged, making
in all 675,000 men.
"If Napoleon's famous Guard or
Wellington's men or the Prussian
Grenadiers were alive to -day, how
they would be amazed at what we are
doing! How would they behave in.
the face of all the big shells falling
everywhere?
"At that time, a hundred years ago,
by Belle -Alliance, the opposing armies
were so near each other that the two
commanders—Napoleon and. Welling-
ton—could see each other distinctly.
To -day the armies are sometimes
many miles distant.
'A decisive battle a century ago and
now is very much like a little wind-
storm in a village compared to a ter-
rific thunderstorm at sea. Only one
thing remains the same—the fact that
a soldier has but one life to give for
his country. But the soldier to -day
must suffer more, endure more and
possess stronger nerves in sacrificing
his life than did the soldier in Na-
poleon's time. At that time the battle
consisted of
A Number of Charges
lasting from a few minutes to per-
haps half an hour each. Except for
these occasional attacks the troops
rested outside of the firing line. The
muskets at that time carried a dis-
tance of 150 meters and the guns 600
meters. Our field guns carry a dis-
tance of more than thirty-five kilo-
meters, and the rifles cover a ground
of three and one-half kilometers. In
other words, the troops to -day are un-,
der frightful fire every minute of the
day and night, extending, like Verdun,
over many months.
"And even he who survives these
terrible battles has died a thousand
deaths. There is no emotional exhil-
aration equal to that intoxication in
the face of death which is experienced
by the soldier when attacking in bat-
tle to -day. He forgets everything for
the time being. And there is nothing
more terrible than to lie sleepless in
trenches at night while the big shells
explode over and all round you.
"Why are we able to stand all.thig?
Because we know that we must. And:
why are we so happy and proud? Be-
cause it is a fine thing to live through
something like this, and because t'
will be a great thing to be able to say
that we had a part in this great war,"
'
BUILDING A BATTLESHIP.
Half of the Cost of a Hull Goes in
Labor.
Do you know how many hours' la-
bor it takes to build a modern Dread-
nought? Probably you have never
given the matter a thought, so it will
interest you to learn that a big battle-
ship entails about 7,200,000 man-hours
or labor equivalent to the work of one
man working that time.
The making of the turbine machin-
ery absorbs some 1,850,000 man-hours,
and the mountings of the big guns
can easily acquire two years' work,
while a single armor -plate may take
nearly three months to finish. None
of these processes can bo unduly hur-
ried, as the very best work must be
put in,, the :oast stamping making all
the difference between victory and de-
feat.
Between forty and fifty per cent. of
the cost of a Dreadnought's hull goes
in labor. Curiously enough, far less
is spent on labor when constructing a
turbine engine than when making one
of the old reciprocating cylinder type,
Much of the material i5 made by ma-
chinery, leaving only 28 per cent, of
the cost for labor, whereas 45 per cent.
went in wages when the older kind
were in use.
Mrs, Bonnie—"How do you line my
new gown?" Mr. Bonnie—"Reminds
Me of n crowded theatre." Mrs. Bon-
nie• --"Crowded theatre! How so?" Mr
BGhnic--"There seems to be standing
xeem only,"
NEWS FROM ENGLAND
NEWS BY MAIL ABOUT J01111
BULL AND HIS PEOPLH,
Occurrences in the Land That Reim!
Supreme la the Comities*
dal Worid.
The Sisters at the West Ham Hos-,
pital are said to be paid $15 a year ass
a war bonus and the nurses $10 a
year,
Southend Council ask for the intern-
ment of enemy aliens of military age
and the repatriation of those above.
It has, been decided by the City of
London School Committees of the cor-
poration to instruct classes in Rus-
sian.
Bedford -on -Avon and Burton, both
in Warwickshire, have been declared
areas infected with gooseberry mil-
dew.
Mr. Henry Goodger,,; solicitor, who
has been clerk to the Burton -on -Trent
Justices for 50 years, has died in his
87th year.
A Chobham man, blind in one eye,
rejected by a medical board, was
three days later passed for garrison
duty abroad.
Mrs. Norton, widow, of Altrinhato,
Cheshire, who has seven sons in the
army, has been granted total xemp-
tion for the eighth.
Col. David Davies, M.P., has, given
500 acres of land, valued at $75,000,
in Montgomeryshire, as a farm colony
for discharged service men.
The Council of the Union Jack
Club, London, has decided to erect a
new wing in a memorial to Lord Kit-
chener, who was keenly interested in
the institution.
Mr. George Gardiner, high bailiff of
Banbury' County Court, has just died
at Banbury. He was over 90 years of
age, and had attended almost every
court for 60 years.
The death has occurred at Chel-
tenham of Admiral Henry Christian,
aged 88. He was in the navy from
1841 till 1865 and commanded the
Royal Victoria and Albert.
No men being available half -a -
dozen women villagers pumped con-
tinually with a manual engine for
three and one-half hours at a farm-
house fire at Colston Raleigh, Devon-
shire.
Farmers and small holders in South
Monmouthshire are suffering from a
plague of foxes. Hundreds of poultry
which in many cases were the chief
support of the cottagers have been
killed.
Factories and workshops in Norwich
were suddenly brought to a standstill
and thousands of work -people were
rendered idle for several hours owing
to an accident to one of the boilers at
the corporation electricity works.
In six months Reading Workhouse
officials have saved $550 on the food
bill. The Board of Guardians have
rejected a recommendation that they
should be complimented, being of the
opinion that they have merely done
their duty.
The City of London School's Com-
mittee are recommending the corpor-
ation that in the future it should be
made compulsory for boys in the
school of 14 years and over to join the
'City of London School Contingent of
the Officers' Training Corps.
TESTING FABRICS.
The Housewife Need Not Depend En.
tirely on the Salesman.
There are many housewives who
always depend on the clerk's judg-
ment on the quality of material when
buying. She never realizes that there
are a few simple tests which she could
make at home and would prove eta
nomical.
Linen Is a'Material which is rather
difficult 'for, some people to distin-
guish from coton. The linen thread
is firmely and smoothly twisted,
breaks with a snap, is stronger than a
cotton thread, but does not burn as
quickly. These tests may be made by
taking two or three warp threads
(threads running crossways of ma-
terial) of the material which is to be
tested.
Cotton threads appear fuzzy. They
are not as firmly twisted as linen ;
when thread is broken the ends are
fuzzy and burn quickly, The oil test
is a good way to distinguish between
cotton and linen. Place a sample of
the material to be tested on a piece
of glass, aply some oil, let it stand
for five minutes, and hold tip to the
light. If the sample appears trans-
parent it is linen, otherwise it is cot.
ton,
Artificial silk is often sold for true
silk. The true silk thread is smooth,
has a high lustre, is tightly twisted,
much stronger than the artificial, and
when burned there is a small ball of
ash left as a residue. Artificial silk
is nothing but cotton, It has a high
lustre and resembles true sills, but
when tested it gives the same results
as cotton does. -.
Woolen material if often sold for
pure wool when one-half or more of
it is ooton. When testing a Placa of
material always test both warp and
Woof threads, baeatise the material is
apt to be • wool one way and cotton
the other. Take two threads of ma-
terial and burn, If an odor of burn-
ing hair is produced and a small ball
of ashes appears on the end of the
threads, it is wool, Mahe the sante
teat withsome wood threads, The
thread or fibre is loosely woven and
soft and fuzzy in appearance.
These testa aro simple and can be
made by anyone, When buying ma-
terial it is best to asst for a sample,
take it home, and perform (liege tests,
in order to be surd that one is getting
What he is buying,
Two and x halfmihicn t._.
p ga were
marketed in Noland last year.,
.1♦