Loaf cakes need a moderate oven from 40 to 60 minutes. In the beginning the oven should be hot enough to cause the cake to rise and then to form a crust which holds the gases. When the cake has risen to its full height decrease the heat so that the cake may finish baking without becoming too brown. If the oven is too hot at first a crust will be formed before the cake is risen. If not hot enough, gas will not be retained in the cake. Either of these conditions will make the cake heavy. Testing--The cake is baked if, when pressed lightly upon the top in the middle, it springs back again. It usually shrinks from the sides of the pan. A deep cake may be tested with a clean straw. Methods of work--First grease and flour the pans. Collect all materials and utensils needed and make sure that the oven will be ready. Do this before combining any materials. WE READ a good deal about "Pre-Natal Care"--the care of the mother before her child is born--and we all agree that a healthy and happy mother is the one to have the best babies. "SO SMART AND HEALTHY" "When I would get out of bed in the morning I could hardly stand on my feet for weakness and a bearing-down pain. I heard of Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound and tried it with Lydia E. Pinkham's Liver Pills and used Lydia E. Pinkham's Sanative Wash for the white flow, and was doing fine. This was before my little girl was born. She is so smart and healthy and good-natured that I think the Compound must have made her that way." MRS. RICHARD WILLIAMS, Milltown, New Brunswick. PLAIN CAKE for Loaf or Layer Cake [Illustration] Ingredients 2 eggs 1 cup sugar 3 teaspoons Oleo or butter 1/2 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 cups flour 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Method--Beat eggs light, add sugar, butter, milk, salt and all but 2 tablespoons of the flour. Beat well, add vanilla, then add the remainder of the flour with the baking powder, sifted together. Bake in loaf or layer cake pans. BROWNSTONE CAKE FILLING Ingredients--1/2 cup sugar, 1 square of chocolate, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, a few grains of salt, 1/2 cup of milk. Method--Mix dry ingredients. Add liquid gradually. Cook in double boiler until thick and creamy. WEAKNESS MAY SHOW in early girlhood and if attended to at that time and not allowed to develop into serious troubles by carelessness or overwork, girls will grow stronger as they grow older. Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound is what many mothers give their girls in these early years.