.1. THE FLESHERTON ADVANCE. THE CARE AND FEEDING OF CHILDREN. BY ELINOR MURRAY. Rsgistered According to tha Copyright Act. Elinor Murray will be pleased to aoawer questions foui-erninj; the care and fcediug of cliilJreu in this col- umn. Tliousauiis of women in all parts of Cana'ia aliave beneflted by her ad- vice and guidance. If you desire any information concerning your child's health, diet, clothing, edu"ution, etc., write to Klinor Murray, 515 Manning Chambers, Toronto, au'l your questions will be answered in this column. DISEASE KESISTANCE. It takes very little to cause illness in a baby, and the result is often seemingly' out of all proportion to (he cause. A digestive disturbance that in a grown-up would cause nearly passing discomfort, will result in acute illness in the baby, often with serious effect; and the infection which passes by the adult finds a ijuick victim in the infant. To understand this one must consider the two nwiu causes of disease: the germ or infection that is the actual or exeitinj; cause, and the noiiresisltanco of the iudiviJual. .Much i)ruminenco is now given to ({crmH, yet nut all germs are harmful. In fact, some are actually beneficial anil Mi«e.'*sary The way to avoid dis- cane \n not only to kill harmful germs, hut to make and keep the body so strong :ind wril that it will resist all attenijits iif the bacteria to gain a favorable place for growth. Because this point ia so important in its ap[ilicatioii to babies i8 my rctt- son for giving thi.f baby talk to-day. In babyhood may bo laiil the founda- tion of strong bodily health and dis- caneresisting (|ualities. And, as you know from your own experience and repeated articles in this column, the way to establish this iU>8irable state of affairs is by fresh air in abundance, nourishing food, and attention to the functions of the body to help elimination of waste products. Like three watchful sentinels, these stand guard against the invasion of h:irmful bacteria. miiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii COTTAGE PUDDING WITH LEMON SAUCE. One three-quarters cupful sugar, 3 tablespoons butter, 2 eggs, 1 cupful milk, 2 cupfuls our, 4 teaspoon- fuls baking powder, 1 teaspoonful powdered nutmeg, 3 teaspoonfuls corn- starch, 2 cupfuls boiling water, grated rind and strained juice of 1 lemon. Cream three-quarters cupful of sugar with two tablespoonfuls of butter; add the egg yolks well beaten, milk, flour sifted with baking powder, and nut- meg; mix v.ell and fold in beaten egg whites. Hake in a moderate oven for fifty minutes. For the sauce, mix corn- starch with remaining sugar, add water and cook for thirty minutes, stirring constantly. Addtho remaining table- spoonful of butter and lemon and serve 88»uq3m Biq qoiii.u puB '.uoi[j.wjC Sm Schloss towering above vast stretches If you would keep the wolf from the door don't inveigle him into the front yard by tidbits of extravagance. HDrr OB TWO ABOUT CABE OF PIANOS. A piano should be carefully guarded against extremes of heht and cold, dryness and humidity. Never place a piano on the exposed outer wall of the house. In winter keep it away from the radiators, and in summer from open windows, where the sunshine will crack the varnish. To Clean Keys. Kemove the footboard and rub a very soft lead pencil over the place where the friction occurs, to stop squeaking. In cleaning the keys, care should be taken that the cloth is not too wet, and only a few keys should be cleaned at a time, drying them at once. Use a tooth-pick with a piece of soft linen over it, to remove the dust at the back of the keys. When to Tune. The most opportune time to have the instrument tuned is in thu spring after the furnace is out and soon after thu fires are started in the full, because the change in temperature will put it out of tune. The piano should not be left silent too long as disuse will have a harmful effect on the tons. SEWING ON BXTTTONS. If a button comes off a tailor-made coat it should be sown on in a par- ticular way, because you will find that the tailor has given the other buttons "stems," which enables the button holes to slip easilyover them. To do this yourself, cut a ring of cardboard a little larger than^the button, and remove the centre. .Slip this between the button and the material, the needle passing through the hole in the centre. Thus the thickness of the cardboard prevents the thread frnm being <lrawu too tightly. When finished, break the cardboaril away, ami strengthen the "stem" of cotton by several winds of cotton before fastening off. CI£ANINO AN ELASTIC STOOKINO. A corresponilent sends the follow- ing: Hfitch the stocking all round (firmly) on to a piece of calico, or a thin towel; then wash it in coapy water; do not scrub if, nor wring it out of shape. Pull it up and down in the dear water, changing the water two or three times. Finally steep it for a little while in water, and afterwards rinse again. I'ull the calico or towel out, so as to give the stocking its proper shape. Dry outside, if possible, fixing the towel only by the clothes pegs. EL^ CLAYTON CINDER FLOOR FOR GARAGE IS DUST- LESS AND CLEAN A GOOD HINT FOR BOILED PUDDINGS. When making puddings which are to be steamed or boiled, after well butter- ing the mould, dust the mould or basin on the inside well with castor sugar. Also it is not generally known that the moulds for either fish or meat souffles should, after the buttering process, be well dusted with flour. Treated in this way they will not stick to the mould. TO CLEAN CEILING. When the ceiling above the gas jet or lamp has become blackened apply a Layer of starch and water to it with a piece of clean flannel. Let it dry, then brush it off lightly with a brush; no marks will remain. Did it ever occur to you that in home dyeing other articles besides that for which the dye has been purchased may be inexpensively treated to color by immersion into the dye solution re- maining in the kettle after work on the first garment is finishedf Any slightly discolored white goods, wash tie, georgette waist.s, cushion covers, etc., may bo given numerous pleasing tints. Cold baked beans mashed and moist eneil with catsup, chilo aauce or salad dressing make a delicous and un- u.Hiial sandwich filling. To clean a window shade, tack it to the floor or a table, and go over it with a magic paper cleaner, or else rub it with a rough flannel dipped in dry flour or starch. If the lower edge is faded, reverse the shade, tacking the bottom edge to the roller and making a new hem. To slice hard-boiled eggs easly and successfully heat your knife in very hot water before using. Do not dry tho knfe. To cut marshmallows, use scissors dipped in cold water. Lace.s slinuld be washed in milk and water, then "floated" clean and put away in blued flannel. A pot roast should be browned on all sicl.'s in a liot i>an before it is put into the jiut for stewing. Hi arch for the dark calicoes should be mad(' in the usual way, then add lo it one pint of clear coffee. When you see a very busy day ahead, plan !i stew in which your vegetables and uii'ut can be cooked in tho same |iol. A memorandum pad and pencil hung beside the pantry shelves is conveni- ent for jotting down supplies which arc needed. Till' avi'r:i>ro ear owiior may not know that a layer of cinders six inches thick makes a \ cry satisfactory floor for the home garage. The cinders should be thoroughly tamped down, a i hose being used to wet them down during the operation. This floor ab- sorbs t;r.'ase, oil or gasoline that may leak out of tho mechanism, and is, moreover, practically dustless. JUST BOOKS BY ELINOR MURRAY. Registered According to the Copyright Act. MAXIMUM TIRE MTT.EAQE. Neairly forty per cent, of the tires manufactured ife junked before they deliver tho maximum mileage built into them. Poorly aligned wheels, caused by side pressure against curbs, cause tread wear after from one hundred to two hundred miles of runing. One of the commoncHt abuses ia under-inflation, which causes fabric breaks. Every motorist should provide himself with an air gauge to test the pressure fre- quently. Tread cuts are experienced by every motorist. It is inniossible to avoid sharp stones or rutty roails, which pierce the tread and sometimes the fab- ric. For small cuts the best treatment is tire putty, while for the larger vul- canization should be done. When an underinHated tire strikes a sharp stone, the rubber gives, but the fabric does not. I'erhstjjs several or all of the piles are piinctured. The tire may not blow out at the time, but may later. To avoid alongthero:id troubles and delay, outside protection and rimcnt patches should be part of every car's e<{uipment. As important as the easing, the tube should be given attention. When a new tube is placed in position, enough talc should be used so that it will not chafe ami stick to the easing when heat is generated. Too niuoh talc will harm the tube. Chains that arc adjusted too tight will tear the casing; tli««y should be loose enough to creep. Storing a car where the tires will como into contact with oil should be avoided, for it has a deteriorating effect on rubber. Driv- ing on ear tracks is bad, as the bur- den of weight on u small portion of the tire will pull the tread loose A motor drawn aail operated lawn mowor, which cuts a swatch 97 inches wide, has been invented and found of much value on spacious grounds. flasoline is powerful stuff, each pint representing 12,000 British thermal units. A British thermal unit means the power necessary to lift 'SO pounds one foot. A pint of gasoline contains enough power to lift a ton to a height of :\,r>t)t) feet. JOE MARTIN - Over 1,000,000 spark plugs an.l spark plug cleaners were shipped by one \merican manufacturer to foreign countries last year. THE LIFE OF MKS. BOBEBT LOinS STEVENSON. By Nellie Van de tirift Sanchez. Charles Scribner's Sons. Her sister's "Life of Mrs Eobert Louis Stevenson" is a book which everybody with a Stevenson shelf will want. Kor it acceptably fills that gap in common knowledge of Stevenson's productive years which all of us who wore not privileged to know his widow in her seclusion had constantly reit. \Vc had to imagine her from Steven- son's tributes to her, these pieced out with a few guarded tributes paid her by his biographer, the editor of his "Leters" and one or two more of their liter.ary friends. Wherever she went she was both honored for his sake and warmly ad- mired for her own. It was the former she valued; with a decidedly positive character, she had a sensitive abhorrence of any conspicuousness in print, and writers, if they knew her, always respected it. In Stevenson's lifetime, and for a while after, there was more to con- ceal her than this â€" a fog of wretched nonsense, on both sides of the Atlantic, of which we are sufficiently reminded now in Mrs. Sanchez's work. London gossips made her out a demi-bar- barian from the American wild west; shallow Americans matched them with a piously malignant interest in her two marriages. As Mrs. Sanchez suggests, divorce at the time she obtained one (on the best of grounds) was of itself a scandalous thing in our world, ir- respective of the merits of a case. And there was the well known circumstance that Stevenson was much the younger of the pair â€" always agitating' to the village mind and tongue. One by one through this fog aa years passed came indications of the truth that intelligence must have sur- mised before: Stevenson's wife had been the making not only of his happi- ness, but of himself and his career. She had oven prolonged his life over that period in which ho established his fame. The biographer's own association with K. L. S. ended with the Monterey days, so that for the life of the Steven- sons in Europe, at Saranac, in the South Seas and at Vailima she depends on the familiar records, with letters and other material, to clothe tho framework they afford. Especially in- teresting are excerpts from a dia?y kept by Mrs. Stevenson of her life in Samoa. When the home at Vailima was broken up the diary chanced to be left behind; it found its way to Kurope, and fell into tho hands of an Knglish lady who sent it to Mrs. San- chez. Every Stevensonian will hope that somo day tho whole of it will be published. The Quiet Observer The Political Aneroid No amount of virtue on the part of a government, no skill or wisdom iu legislation, no degree of conscious inno- cence and integrity, can save it when the people have made up their mindi for a change. Bight and wrong in poli- tics are decreed by the people, and there is no way of evading this tribunal. In the "khaki" election preceding the close of the Boer war Rt. Hon. Arthur Balfour found himself with a formid- able majority. He used the majority after peace had been established to pass an education bill distasteful to a largo section of the country, and to endow the licensel victuallers with vested rights which they had never be- fore possessed. The result was a series of eloctions in which he and his party were submerged, and, but for the great war, it looked as though he might never come to the surface again. The late Ontario Government could not read the signs of the times in this respect, and could not believe those who did. The election movements in the western provinces presage variable weather in- dications on the political aneroid, and political leaders should give the instru- ment a sharp tap or two before break- fast these mornings. Forest Wastage Nothing is more striking to the rail- way traveller across Ontario than the vast expanses of ruined timber. They say the lumber districts are burned over on an average every generation. This means that timber over thirty years old is scarce. Along the railroads secon-growth, scrub timber is the rule, except where on passess mile after mile of recently blackened stems, or the slim bleached skeletons of earlier fires; or, as already this year, the dense smoke clouds rolling high of a present con- flagration. The reeeut fires in the Mari- time districts only emphasize the ver- dict of the forestry experts that the anual growth is not equal to our wast- age plus our consumption. This means that our forest resources are gradually decreasing. It is impossible apparently to create public opinion sufficently strong to have the situation properly deal with, and no government appears to have the strength of purpose to pur- sue such a policy as European govern- ments adopt to conserve and perpetuate their forest wealth. The Commission of Conservation and the Forestry Asso- ciation are voices crying in the wilder- ness, but there is not a farmer ;.nd there is not a citizen in any corner of the Dominion whose personal interest is not directly concerned iu the proper administration of our forest property. 3 western man's invention is in that direction, and may do better. It is the application of a comparatively simple principle, and has developed astonish- ing power in an ordinary motor engine. In a four-cylinder motor-car, heavy build, on a piece of steep hill-climing, it started on high at ten miles, and went over the top of the hill at !>2 miles an hour. The same car ran clean away from a modern six-cylinder car, the owner of which was not satisfied and cha}lenged again. He wished to succeed, and quietly doctored his tank with a quart of ether. He did not kntfw what he was up against, and the old car with the new patent ran away from him. On a test it was found that the four-cylinder car ran 116 miles with one gallon of gas. The patenfwill not be of expensive construction, and can be adapted to any engine. Will the reduced consumption of gasoline leal to a rise in price of that commodity should the new invention be placed on the market! That is a problen^for the consumer. ANative Pottery An example of what can be done in the face of difficulties by enterprse and persistence is to be found in the Medalta pottery at Medicine Hat. The name is evidently a combination of the postal contraction for Alberta, and the first sylable of the prairie city. Four years ago the concern had five em- ployes, and today there are forty-two. It is the only place of its kind in the Dominion, and it is almost entirely the result of work done on the spot, "even the machinery having been of native construction But it is of the latest de- sign and thoroughly up-to-date. The wonder is still greater, however, for there is no pottery clay at Medicine Hat. It has to be brought from a de- posit 120 miK's away, and it cannot be brought direct, but has to come by a circuitous route over 450 miles of rail- way. There is, though, the advantage of natural gas, whian compensates in some measure for the absence of clay Mr. Pratt says that if coal were de- livered free at the pottery it could not be used to the same advantage as the natural gas, which is cheap, and pro- vides the most equable heat possible. These stoneware products are baked at a temperature of 2,300 degrees. Jars, crocks, tubs and other utensils are made in the .glazed stoneware, and flowerpots and other articles in unglazed earthen- ware. The quality is of the highest, and shipments are made all over Can- ada, from Vancouver to Prince Edward Island, including Winnipeg, Toronto and other cities. This wholly Canadaian in- dustry turns the very earth into wealth, and the country and all who dwell in it are the richer for such industry. A Gasoline Patent A patent is being applied for by a man in one of the prairie provinces that is likely to revolutionize all businesses depending on the use of the gasoline motor. It is pretty well known that wo only get about five per cent, power out of tho coal wo use. We get little more out of our gasoline. If we could get fifty per cent, power out of our gasoline we would only require one- tenth of our present cousumpnon. rhesheep stocks in Australia. The LO.D.E. Convention Comments on the I.O.D.E. convention in Vancouver have been of the most varied character, from the slighting allusions to the "hen parliament" up to the most slavish adulation for the "honored leaders." 'It would be diffi- cult to say whether most sense or non- sense has been talked about it. The Daughters of the Empire do not differ greatly from the Daughters of Canada, or the Daughters of Ontario, or even the Daughters of Scugog if you give them time enough. The Daughters of the Empire are all right, but it ap- pears from the Vancouver meeting they needed a little fixing. They will at- tend to that themselves. The woman of Canada have been enfranchised, and they must learn to use their privilege, just as men are doing. Men are not 30 far ahead of women in this respect as to justify any boasting. No doubt there was violent partisanship at Van- couver, and a lobby equal to anvthing at Ottawa. But the women themselves revolted when they discovered the re- sult of political tactics. The president- elect resigned rather than make another attempt to co-operate with incorrigible elements, showing thereby undoubted political sagacity and admirable inde- pendence and selfishness. Most men would have hung on to the job. It would be a mistake to think the I.O.D.E. unimportant. Whatever opinion may be held of the objects of the order, its affairs and management afford women valuable opportunities to gain experi- ence in pubUc matters, familiar^re themselves with the rules of debate and generally cut their teeth on the hard tack of the dispatch of public business. All of which is conceivably more important than the private affairs of the order, with which, ~ot course, tho public has nothing to do A Russian Leader Russia continues to supply material for the most speculative student of con- temporary history. If there were any certainty about the principle of evoln- tion, whether it be the survival of the httest, which seems to mean the craftiest; or the survival of the strong- est,; or the survival of the best, which is scarcely conceivable, one might ven- ture to judge the result. But in the absence of fixed principles all that is posible is to speculate on what will happen next. Affidavits arrive one day describing the revolting details of the assassination of the Tsar and his fam- ily. The next comes an apparently equally reliable account of how they are living quietly in Japan. Then comes the news that Brusiloff is in command of all the Soviet armies. One thing we do know from history, and that IS when chaos comes in human affairs only a great leader can bring back order, and tho situation always furnishes a man. The man may be selfish, like Napoleon or William the Conqueror; or he may be benevolently wise and unselfish, Uke Alfred the Ureat or Cromwell, but he serves the purpose and gives his nation a new start or a new impulse. This is what Kussia needs, and Brusiloff may be the man. His death has been reported several times during the last five years, but he has turned up again aa strong as ever He is as likely to unite all Russia, weary of bloodshed and hunger, as »x^ DO AEROPLANES CARRY PESTS. That farm pests may be spread by aeroplanes which aro rapidly linking up different countries was a possibility foreshadowed by Mr. H. Maxwell l.efroy during an address at the Royal Institution, London, Eng. He re- minded his hearers that the Australian blow fly, which was probably imported from England, did immense "damage to A LoNfi Wet Spell Ahead