Club Minutes: The Home Interest Society, 1885-1892

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should try chickens again in a very convenient yard where gapes had been fatal last summer. Some would abandon those quarters entirely for a year or two, others thought to dig or plow the ground and sow in rye or buck wheat would obviate the difficulty. One member said to smoke the coops with tobacco would not only cure gapes but kill all vermin. A visitor said that in New Jersey ^some chicken raisers moved their yards every season and believed itg was the only way to ensure healthly flocks.

Anna F. Brooke asked how to take [nits?] out of a fabric when oxalic acid failed? Lemon juice and salt, tomato juice, alcohol and milk were all said to be efficacious, and she was advised to try each in turn and report later

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Sue L. Thomas & Carrie L. Brooke were accordingly appointed.

Mary Bentley Thomas asked if it were not feasible for farmers and their families from this section who intended visiting the Worlds Fair to make some arrangement to reduce the expense by chartering cars or in some other way. There was a little favorable comment but no action was taken. She also asked if it would pay to set hens now when there were rats on the place. Most housekeepers present said they tried to set hens as early in Feb. as they themselves were willing to undertake the job, but a warm hen house was considered as essential to his success.

Carrie H. Brooke asked if she

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locality, and to expend her energies upon young trees instead of older specimens.

Kate D. Thomas asked why her chickens persisted in scratching deep holes in the lawn at Clifton and what she could do to make them behave better? It was suggested that the fowls must be attracted by gravel, insects, or shelter and a number of remedies were mentioned, brush or wire netting, a top dressing of manure, a through scatering of the favorite dusting ground or persistently setting a dog on the intruders. Pattie R. Stabler, Chairman of the Book Club Com. gave notice that two more members should be appointed as Beulah L. Thomas & Anna Mac F. Stabler were absent for Sandy Spring

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a guest. Chas. M. Stabler and it was such an important matter the discussion was very properly postponed for a month to give members time to deliberate. He is desirous of perfecting a plan to enlarge Sherwood Schools capacity so as to board and lodge many of the pupils at as low a rate as possible, which he believes can be done by farmers children very economically with a co-operative system of furnishing their own food.

Cornelia Stabler asked if this was a suitable season to move half grown trees? February was not deemed an unpropritious time for such transplanting but she was strongly advised not to try an experiment which had so often failed in this

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Parlor offers so much greater attractions than were to be found elsewhere the Chairman could not arouse sufficient enthusiasm to move us singly or as a body. 12 generous propositions to allow him to do the inspecting and report was passed over hastily and he called for the Minutes of the preceding Meeting held at Mt. Airy.

Questions were next in order and as usual these ranged "from grave to gay, from lively to severe", as anything from soft soap to suffrage from bread to books, from toothache to Temperance may be classed as Home Interest topics and here discussed, if not settled.

The first query was asked by