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Show F CHRISTMAS GIFTS FROM THE FARM L- . 'l L 1 .ST Christmas I spent with a schoolmate who lives in the country. I had goue to i-ivv I her home in the early au-tumn au-tumn to board because I Jjgvjk had much writing to do and jjrrigjfcjt needed quiet. At the same Vsffir time I needed the sweet, pure country air. When we first began talking of Christmas, fully six to eight weeks before that date, Kuth, ray friend, began the old-time nlo!ii. "T tnnw T olinll rot n lot of ers. "What are you going to send him?" I asked Ruth one day as she mentioned her very wealthy brother who had lived in a distant city for twenty years, and whom she wished to remember. "Oh, dear, Tom has so much money that anything I could afford would look cheap?" she complained. "Neckties "Neck-ties are silly and I don't know the latest styles. I'd love to surprise him once " school teacher, still striving to teach the young idea how to shoot, Rtith and I joined in making a big fruit cake. To a friend who had a number of small children, Ruth sent half a dozen jars of pure honey. I dru't know how many little jars of jellies and chili sauce and baby pickles and jams and other preserves and condiments we sent along. To a doctor friend the one who sent me to inhale the country air for six months I sent two doz- pretty things from my city friends and relatives, and what on earth can I get in this old ark that is fit to send them?" "This old ark" was the village general gen-eral store, where we were when we brought up the subject of Christmas Clving. "Ruth Preston," I answered her, . "with all the opportunities you have for making the most delightful, unusual un-usual and really worth while gifts, you should worry about about Storekeeper Store-keeper Wlcrsrin's limited stock of en big, rich duck eggs, quite fresh. On each i?gg I pasted a tiny sticker, a little Santa or Christmas tr;e or stocking, stock-ing, or something of that sort. I placed these in a wire case which holds each egg firmly, marked them plainly, and they reached the good doctor without a break or a crack. Every year Rufh's great aunt sends her something of value. This great-f.unf owns a string of business blocks in a big city and keeps a lawyer busy attending to her estate. At my suggestion, sugges-tion, Ruth prepared a gooso for the oven, stuffed it. sewed sew-ed it up in a cloth and pack- lends and n m en big' rlc can I get SSWSx: ' i fresh' 0n to send TV t a tiny stic I ilx or Christr llage gen- yfA & TjR. 3" Ing' or s' when we 'J ' VKlL sort- 1 pl Christmas fh 1 i I W're CflSe ered her, ff ' !4f vou have B ! U-T gkMm the Sd me gifts, x5cPJ :-Ifeifef ,ut Store- l W WSft, aMt se"(1: stock of SCtei vah,e; Th ( r T- Vssrr in n g . ii '" " yy j' Jxr rzZTl ytrl - - - -- cheese and chewing tobacco. "What do you mean?" gasped Ruth. "Well, you never lived In the city, cooped up in an apartment, or in ft house in a big town where the nearest woods and nearest garden were miles n w) mll-l- fl,-OYT T"W ed It In a box. the corners of which she filled with an- "Make fifty Y of those old- fashioned big cookies.such as your mother used to make for you and Tom when you were youngsters. I know how they taste want one right now! Wrap each in white tissue, stick a tiny fancy label on, to fasten the tissue together, pack them firmly in a box and send them along to him. Watch his mouth water!" Ruth did it and the letter she got from her brother brought the quick tears to her eyes. To my brother's wife I sent a small crate of mixed vegetables. She was delighted. I sent thetn early enough for her to use them for the Christmas dinner. There was a small Hubbard squash, some 'choice potatoes, onions, beets, carrots, tur- now?" She admitted that she never had. "Imagine that you did live In such place. What would you say if you were to receive a beauti-i, beauti-i, ful little baby fir tree eighteen inches high, a -On luscious deep green, grow-r'j grow-r'j ing in a pretty little wood- li en tub painted deep -JLLQ green? Suppose it came eiSHS t0 J"ou carefully wrapped in wet burlap so that the express people could see what it vw's. ami keep it right side up?" "It would he pretty." admitted Ruth. "And suppose you lived in a big elevator apartment with a tiny kitchenette kitch-enette and a new maid every week or so and all the goodies you had you made yourself or got at a cafe or dug out of cans with a can opener. How woo'd vou like to get a gieat big fat pies and onions for roasting. This she sent to great-aunt, not with out fear and trembling. "The ver idea of sending her something to eat," she gasped, "she'll think It an insult." She invited a select few in to dinner, -A she wrote, and boasted of -J' Y-the Y-the "home-grown goose fS straight from my dear j niece who lives on a farm." v - And all her guests raved. s- To friends who had children chil-dren we sent baskets of native nuts: walnuts, butternuts, hickory nuts, chinquepins and the like. We also made some delicious molasses kisses, wrapped them in waxed paper, packed them with sprigs of evergreen and sent them along. If you live in the maple belt, you surely have some maple sugar left If It is black, melt it over and recast the mince pie, packed In u hoj so carefully that U rvmldrt crush or break?" cakes, lhey will bo delicious. de-licious. If you have popcorn, pop-corn, tie up four bunches, u had you sgyp? sent thor ufe or dug . . If you tier. How U; r 'Li i U surely ha ;at big fat 'iia, " is 1;lc . Soon af- nips, a cab- V)jT bage, some ap- six ears he subject pies, a dozen W hard winter present, he city for pears and a little jar of de- ferent," w red rib- lielous crab ap- C plo jelly tuck- tasted 11 und stick- ei In. Ftr our old Farmer's 1 bad set her to thinking. Soon after af-ter that we brought u the subject c.nre more. I sent back to the city for Iwn dollars' worth of nai.row red rlb-K3C, rlb-K3C, ChriKtmus labels. tu;s und stlck- nips, a cab-pies, cab-pies, a dozen pears and a lielous crab ap-pl ap-pl In. bage, some ap-h ap-h a r d winter little jar of de-ple de-ple jelly tuck-Fcr tuck-Fcr our old six ears to a bunch, and seud it as s present. Country popcorn "tastes different," dif-ferent," you know ! It does. I'vt tasted it. Marion Aldrich, in Th Farmer's Wife. |
