FOR WOMEN FOLK.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 255, 7 April 1915, Page 6

FOR WOMEN FOLK.

" BY EILEEN."

" Eileen " will be glad to receive items of interest and

value to women for publication or reference in this column,

THE HOUSE THAT SARA BUILT.

SUN-BATH ROOM AND NURSERY. Sura, was piling to be married. She had come to tire happy conclusion that ito run in double harness would be much better than single, though neither she nor her husbaitd-to-be was very well oli' as regards actual worldly wealth. She had worked and studied hard as an architect, and had just begun to get a small clientele which recognised her business ability, and his prospects were slow but sure. Most important of all they wore really in love.

As in the case of many modern marriages they agreed to be working partners, only that the making and keeping of the home must be the first interest on the part of the female partner. And it was thinking about this that put the idea into Sara's head that the careful building of her own home would be not only a good investment but a capital advertisement as well. For once, anyway,, she would have free scope to exencise all those ingenuities from the domestic economy point of view which it is so difficult for others to understand. * In short, how to make the most of a small plot of ground, with a house suitably proportioned outside and inside to meet all present and future requirements.

PLENTY OF CUPBOARDS.Ami so it -s-as agreed. ' Tint tlio house was not built in a hurry. Sara know thoroughly the value of all the materials required, down to the last screw and nail. Having taken her profession seriously from the first she had devoted minute attention to all those f-hliujs which ignorant folk are easily persuaded to believe are all right, while at the same time thev are really all wrong. Gradually the house grew' and became' of immense interest to tlsc l'ear neighbours and to Saij's friends 'i«i.!y, as it was her first practical experiment in building throughout. One part puzzled them greatly. It jutted out like, an artist's stiKi-o and had % three fold asj ect—east, and wa*{, wth a la:tt. well-finished window on ewh side. What could it be for?

At last Sara explained that it was to be the nursery, so that if t>ie children con Id not go out, they were '-(..ire of getting plenty of air and sunshine; art] if there were no childrm it wov'd bo equally good as a s.m-bai'i room for others. All the re.naming roovis anil kitchen places wcr. 1 equally ctnef'i!l* considered, not only from i.hr> niu-Iy paying point of \i»w, nut for real and health, including, of course, all kinds of cupboards and fiiments to save both the cost of furniture and economy of space, besides the .saving of labor.

The experiment proved a great sue-' cess. Long before the marriage clay came it was "home" already in the minds of those who had lived mentally in every room, nook, and corner while it was yet building. And as an advertisement—well, Sara has had ever so many orders for a house "just like yours." But she has always managed to make that appreciable difference which has more than satisfied her client while leaving her own home still her own.—ll.A., in the Daily Mail.

WOMEN IN MEN'S PLACES. Miss May Sinclair, the novelist, has a striking article in the (Woman at Home, on "Women's Sacrifices for the War." She tells what they are doing and especially of the valuable work of the Women's Emergency Corps. All this devoted work has opened tip a larger problem, which Miss Sinclair thus discusses:—

"All this war lias l)i'p!:.'ii the records of all otlier wars in history, so it has given chances and opportunities for women which are beyond all records, too," she says. "It has found them more than prepared to (lo the work of. men, if necessary. And if it lasts long, taking heavier and heavier toll of men, it may very well be that there will not be enough men to fill civilian places for another generation, and that more tlin over surplus women will be imperatively called upon to fill them and keep the civil machine going, which will settle the question in our time. "The next generation may find its solution in tho perfect order of the Reign of Peace, or more probably in the existence for Great Britain of a standing army far larger than has been judged necessary hitherto."

Miss Sinclair, explaining what the active co-operation of women to-dav means, says:—

'The women's movement was one, at any rate, of our best preparations for the war. The suffrage societies, perfectly organised as they were, had nothing to do but turn their magnificent machinery oil to the work of administering relief. They are co-operating with various social and religious bodies throughout the country, regardless of all differences of creed, denomination and party and opinion. ' "Tt means that a great many posts held by men can be held on emergency by women. Women can, and do, serve as interpreters, dispensers, as motor mechanics: they may yet serve as special constables, as lift-men and commissionaires. There has been so far an unwillingness to accept women for these posts. It is as if it were feared that if thev once held them thev would never let

them go. In by far the greater number of cases women have oll'ered themselves in order to meet tile frightful embarrassment of employers whose workmen have enlisted, to keep their berths secure for the men, and to give them up on their return. In many cases their services have been accepted most gladiv. "One woman took over the entire management of a 'motor garage whose proprietor was'in daspair. The same woman is a trained nurse and a certificated midwife. She and four other women have gone out with a motor ambulance corps, which has been equipped for field service at the front. In other cases women have been received as if they had meant to use the national calamity for then-; own advantage and oust the defenders of the country from their trade and place. And yet, in many instances where their services y.ave Tieen accepted, they are actually paying back their wafces to the wives and families of the men whose places they have taken.

"It is not that woman's ability to fill these places is questioned. Tt is only too well recognised. And. it cannot lie denied that it constitutes a very serious problem and a danger. Not now, of course, in war time, when the women are strung up to> the full pitch of patriotism, when all they do is done, in pure devotion. And not at the end of the war, when they hand over their posts to the men who have returned. It is long afterwards, in the ultimate economic adjustment, that we shall be faced seriously with this problem. "What women can never give up is the realisation that they can fill, and have filled, these places hitherto reserved exclusively for men.

"Thcv will have to ask themselves, then, how far they are justified in doing the work of men when men are waiting for the work, supposing there is not enough of this work for all, and there is still women's work, and plenty of it, waiting to be done. It may boi that, when it comes to women's sacrifices. the sacrifice required of them may be just this:, to withdraw from' any field wherever their competition will bo. disastrous to men, and to effect such a division of labor as will prove best for both sexes working for the good of all." USEFUL HINTS.

A good, boot scraper is very easily made, and is most useful during diriv weather. Take ,a block of wood and four or five pieces of hoop iron, and insert the iron so that it comes even with the wood at the top. Paint it well -villi black enamel, and you will find that von will have a good, strong scraper, and one that will last for years.

Neglected dogs suffer badly from rheumatic ailments. Their ' kennels ought to be tarred all over to keep out th» damp, and should be placed on four bricks to raise them from the ground. A dry sugar-bag filled with dry straw makes a suitable cushion. The following mixture makes an excellent floor polish.: Get a little linseed oil, and add an canal quantity of vine gar. Shake it well, apply it to the 'floor with a soft cloth. Mustard for table use is very mucli improved if mixed with milk instead of water. A tiny pinch of salt added to it brings out the flavor.

Sprinkle your carpet with dry. -.•oni--111011 salt before starting to brush it, arid you. will find it not onlv keeps the dust from rising, hut it freshens and brings out the colors of your carpet. When making any kind of boiled suet pudding, put a piece of well-greased grease-proof paper over the top before t.ving on the cloth. This prevents i'li<> cloth from becoming greasy, and it is quite easy to wash. When the carpet whisk begins to wear soft and ragged at the ends, don't throw it away as useless. Cut off an inch or two at the foot with a pair of scissors, wash the brush, first in soda water iwl then in cold, dry quickly, and you will find that it is quite stig and firm again. Next time you are boiling fish frv adding a few drops of vinegar to the water in which it is boiled. You will find that the fish will come out looking beautifully white and firm. If you want your oilcloth to wear well and keep its color, do not wet it oftenor than is necessary. Rub it well with a soft flannel wrung out of miik find water to remove the'dirt then polish with a soft duster.

Shampooing, Hairdressing, and Twist' mg. Electrolysis for the permanent removal of superfluous hair. Switches, Toupees, etc. Ladies' combings made u;> to any design. Mrs. BEADLE. Egmont Toilet Parlors, Griffiths' Buildings, near Carnegie Library. •'