This is sweeping day usually. I like to make a clean sweep on Saturday morning so I open doors and windows and let the dust tty out. Always sweep the way the wind blows. You cannot do much when you go against it. But it will usually aid you if you let it. If it is too contrary you will shut it off and do the next best thing. Airing and dust¬ ing are in order now, and what ts worth doing at all is worth doing well. You will be cleaner and neater for your trouble. When the tlinner work is over w'e should be through with our week’s work so we can take a bath and clean up ourselves and do fancy work if we want to. Then, when we are rested, we will be ready to go to Sunday School and church in the morning. And the change will again fit us for future usefulness. BREAD SPONGE. My way of making bread sponge. Wash ami boil a few dozen small pota¬ toes w’ith the skin, when soft take out in a gallon crock and mash fine, add a half cup of sugar and a small handful of salt and clean water from the tea kettle, about two tin cupfuls, then cool with cold water to hike warm. Have a yeast cake✪ Bread Sponge i)re- viously soaked in hike warm water, then add to your sponge. This should be made several da3S before you want to bake. When you want to bake, boil pota¬ toes again as the first time, add sugar and salt and take enough warm water to make as much bread as you need for your family. Put the first sponge in. This should be made the night before you want to bake. The next morning take out a quart can of the sponge for the next baking and keep in a cool place. You will not need any more yeast cakes for a year perhaps. Xow you will be ready to make just one sponge the even¬ ing before you bake. Proceed with the baking as in the chapter on Friday’s work. Always put your sponge through a sieve to take out the potato lumps and skin when you set your bread. (iENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR FINE IRONING. When I think how hard it was when I first kept house to iron a fine shirt, my heart goes out in sympathy for the young housekeeper. To be sure the town ladies can have access to laundry, but how is it with the country housekeeper ? To be brief 1 will tell you how 1 do now, as 1 still do up my husband’s fine shirts. Have a box of “Elastic Starch;’’ you can get it at any grocery store. Use accord¬ ing to directions on box. Iron band around the neck first, then wristbands and sleeves. Then slip over end of iron- iugboard and iron the bosom until it is dry and glossy, finish the shirt by taking off the end of the board and dry thor¬ oughly and it will be most as nice as those you pay for. Any other nice .shirt waist and any fine goods are nice handled in this way. Except curtains, they should be starched with boileil starch and stretched either on sheets on the ttoor or in frames. Every scallop must be stretched to its proper place and pinned to be nice when done- If well done they need no ironing. The latest, although* I do not know whether it is the best way to do curtains, is to lay them on sheets when starched and wet, stretch the corners to have them straight, then take a clean broom and sweep the scallops and the lace out and let them dry in this way. I have not tried this last way. but it has been recommended to me by one who does washing by the wholesale. Yours Truly, t It ^ N INDEX. r AKE.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

This is sweeping day usually. I like to make a clean sweep on Saturday morning so I open doors and windows and let the dust fly out. Always sweep the way the wind blows. You cannot do much when you go against it. But it will usually aid you if you let it. If it is too contrary you will shut it off and do the next best thing. Airing and dust¬ ing are in order now, and what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. You will be cleaner and neater for your trouble. When the dinner work is over w'e should be through with our week’s work so we can take a bath and clean up ourselves and do fancy work if we want to. Then, when we are rested, we will be ready to go to Sunday School and church in the morning. And the change will again fit us for future usefulness. BREAD SPONGE. My way of making bread sponge. Wash ami boil a few dozen small pota¬ toes w’ith the skin, when soft take out in a gallon crock and mash fine, add a half cup of sugar and a small handful of salt and clean water from the tea kettle, about two tin cupfuls, then cool with cold water to luke warm. Have a yeast cake previously soaked in hike warm water, then add to your sponge. This should be made several days before you want to bake. When you want to bake, boil pota¬ toes again as the first time, add sugar and salt and take enough warm water to make as much bread as you need for your family. Put the first sponge in. This should be made the night before you want to bake. The next morning take out a quart can of the sponge for the next baking and keep in a cool place. You will not need any more yeast cakes for a year perhaps. Xow you will be ready to make just one sponge the even¬ ing before you bake. Proceed with the baking as in the chapter on Friday’s work. Always put your sponge through a sieve to take out the potato lumps and skin when you set your bread. GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR FINE IRONING. When I think how hard it was when I first kept house to iron a fine shirt, my heart goes out in sympathy for the young housekeeper. To be sure the town ladies can have access to laundry, but how is it with the country housekeeper ? To be brief 1 will tell you how 1 do now, as 1 still do up my husband’s fine shirts. Have a box of “Elastic Starch;’’ you can get it at any grocery store. Use accord¬ ing to directions on box. Iron band around the neck first, then wristbands and sleeves. Then slip over end of ironingboard and iron the bosom until it is dry and glossy, finish the shirt by taking off the end of the board and dry thor¬ oughly and it will be most as nice as those you pay for. Any other nice .shirt waist and any fine goods are nice handled in this way. Except curtains, they should be starched with boiled starch and stretched either on sheets on the floor or in frames. Every scallop must be stretched to its proper place and pinned to be nice when done- If well done they need no ironing. The latest, although I do not know whether it is the best way to do curtains, is to lay them on sheets when starched and wet, stretch the corners to have them straight, then take a clean broom and sweep the scallops and the lace out and let them dry in this way. I have not tried this last way. but it has been recommended to me by one who does washing by the wholesale. Yours Truly, t It ^ N INDEX. r AKE.

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Bread Sponge

The Pennsylvania German cook book