Week-end Chat

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 160, 24 July 1937, Page 13

Week-end Chat

COUSIN

' ROSE.

C0UNTRY ANDl TOWN.

Dear Everyone, — ■Let us talu about our houses. How interesting it is to see other people 'a xooms That is because in them we see reflected the personaiity of the owner that is, if they have any chance of expressing it. We are increasing our artistic sense all through life, and what we admire at 17 is not what we desire at 30 years of age. A wellknown Hawke 's Bay person whose home is very pleasing to see said once: What I dislike most is to go into a room and see that it has a 'colourseheme'I "Now that will surprise many people who think out carefully that their green curtains must match the vases and the cushions always shade with the flowers. However, the person who said it has achieved rooms with comfort and harmony and no tooobvious- colour note. Richard King writes rather aniusingly on this subjecr. He says: "There. is the house wlxere every thing is 'just so.' Nothing is left to chance — not even the wastepaper . basket. You won't be able to spread yourself mentally in that kiud of house. As -each room, you divine, has been arranged more to look at than to live in, eo the owner will be more agreeable to .meet occasionally than live with .... ' Who does not know that drawingroom^ where, df you so much as move a chair out of its proper place the owner feels a sudden hatred of you because you have thus uncon— sciously disturbed the aesthetic arrangement. More wives ' drawing rooms have sent their husbands helter-skelter to their clubs than all the brightly nagging intimacies of matrimony." _ Writing of prim drawingrooms, Cousin Rose would be glad of some cheery views on the Bubject. We have all seen the room where the faipily sits at night which, in some houses, is without any litter. One wonders where the newspapers are, the books, the darning, the writing materials, the old letters, the pipes or cigarettes. In that room the mantleghelf has three or four neat vases on at and no sign of use or occupancy. All is for ornament. Can anyone who has a room like this — there are many— -tell the secret of where they hide their odds and ends. that so litter other people 's rooms? What is your room like? • * • It is' queer how conventional we become in our ideas. We provide in our towns slid'es and swrngs lur a children's playground as the ideal amuseinent. Yet this week some children were having a wildly exciting time in the humped up earth and uneven grouud by tho one lovely oak tree that stands in the centre of the ground behind the Cenotaph in Hastings. One can imagine that artificial hilloeks would be a lasting joy for children to run around and up and down. Young human nature is really so simple in its enjoyments and tastes. * » • One of the most notable comment3 made at the educational conference in Auckland was: That modern humans are tmable to think for themselves. They are apt to f ollow the line of someope else 's thouglit in life — even though that line of thought is unfitted to their needs. • • • • Dear Cousin Rose, — Can some gar-den-loving xeader give me a little information about stocks? I did. not dig up my stocks last autumn, though they were only dry stalks. Now these stalks are shooting and have buds and rfew leavos. Are stocks, and also petuniasj annuals or bi-annuals or what? — Yours, etc. "SURPRISED." ' • # 4 This ia tho article promised by the writer on "Foods." Readers may send inquiries on this subject which will be answered. STARCHY FOODS. If I were asked to state what class of foods produced the most evil resnlts to health I would vote for the starches and refined sugars. • The starches are such foods as bread, rice, potatoes, sago, tapioca and oatmeal. These foods are cheap and unless special precautions are taken we all seem to fall down on this side of our food. It must be remembered, and it as highly important to know, that the digestion of. starches particularly and to a lesser extent sugar and the dried fruits — dates, figs, raiains> — starts in 'the mouth. The mastication of these foods must be thorough as the saliva of the -mouth converts them into an* other form of sugar which enablek pro.per digestion to tafyj place. The gaa- , tric juice of the stomach will not do this. Now to make yeast, starch (potato) and sugar are mixed and kept warm and fermentatxon rapidly takes place. So it can be seen what ideal conditions for fermentation the stomach offere if starch and sugar are dropped into it. without proper mastication. That is why so many porridge and sugar eaters sulfer from heartburn. If oatmeal or rolled-oat porridge is eaten, it should be made very stiq and eaten, it should be made very stiff and and a crust or plece of toast to make for thorough mastication. Do not use salt; extremely little if any salt should be eaten, but on this subject and that of other earth salts 1 will touch next week. o • # Information has been reeeived from Wellington that inquiries must be sout to England about the '-'Men of the Trees" feocioty. When the answor coines from England more will be printed on tho subject. In the meantlmo let echools and hotnes remember "Arbor's" words of last week, that August II, being Arbor Day, a demonstiation in tree planting would be very fitting. # # * Many thanks to tho generous contributor of a sack full of garments for the crippled person in Napier. This is being forwarded to her and due acknowledgement will be made later. * * » It was interesting to read in an old diary kept by a New Zealaud vioamr

of the wages he pard his first "married couple" who worked for him. That was nearly 100 yeare ago, for the pioneer arrived in 1842 from England and now his married couple 's descenuents are prosperous. The diary, tells of building a house and giving half an acre with it for the workers to cultivate for vegetables. The man had 10/a week, and his wife had 4/- to look after the owner of the property. There were five sturdy sons and two fiaugb.ters brought up* there and one of these sons and his son after him continned to work for the original employer till the old man died, aged ninety. Then the iittle story becomes interesting, for the last worker bought some of the fine old farm and still lives On there amidst his deiscendents. Quite a littlp "Forsyte Saga" if one had time to write all the details of this typical New Zealand tale of evolution. Your Friend,