240 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



SAVING MOTHER. 



The farmer sat in his easy chair. 



Between the fire and the lamp-light's glare ; i 



His face was ruddy and full and fair, 



His three small boys in the chimney nook 



Gonned the lines of a pictftre book ; 



His wife the pride of his hoine and heart, 



Baked the biscuits and made the tart ; 



Laid the table and steeped the tea. 



Deftly, swiftly, silently. 



Tired and weary, and worn and faint, 



She bore her trials without complaint, 



Like many another houseliold saint — 



Content, all selfish bliss above 



In the patient ministry of love. 



At last, betweeu the clouds of smoke 



That wreathed his lips the husband spoke. 



*' There's taxes to raise, an' interest to pay, 



And ef there should come a rainy day, 



'Twould be mighty handy, I'm bound to say 



T'have sumthin' put by, For folks must die, 



An' there's funeral bills, an' gravestuns to buy — 



Enough to swamp a man, purty nigh ; 



Besides, there's Edward and Dick and Joe 



To be provided-for when we go. 



So 'f I was you, I'll tell you what I'd do, 



I'd be saving of wood as ever I could— 



Extra fire don't do any good — 



I'd be savin' of soap, an' savin' of ile. 



And run up some candles once in a while ; 



I'd be rather sparin' of coffee an' tea, 



For sugar is high, 



And all to buy, 

 And cider is good enough for me. 

 I'd be kind o' careful about my clo'es, 

 And look out sharp how the money goes- 

 Gewgaws is careless ; natur' knows ; 



Extra trimmin' 



'8 the bane of women. 

 " I'd sell the best of the cheese and honey. 

 And eggs is as good, nigh about's the money ; 

 And as to the carpet you wanted new— 

 I guess we can make the old one do ; 

 And as for the washer and sewing machine 

 Them smooth-tongued agents so pesky mean, 

 You'd better get rid of 'em slick and clean. 

 What do they know about woman's work? 

 Do they calkilate women were made to shirk ?" 

 Dick and Edward and little Joe 

 Sat in a corner in a row. 

 They saw the patient mother go 

 On ceaseless errands to and fro ; 

 They saw that her form was bent and thin, 

 Her temples gray, her cheeks sunk in, 

 They saw the quiver of her lip and chin— 

 And then with a warmth he could not smother, 

 Outspoke the youngest, frailest brother : 

 " You talk of savin' wood and ile, 

 An' tea and sugar all the while, 

 But you never talk of savin' mother ?" 



Delicate Apple Sauce — Pare, halve and 

 c^uarter a sufl&cient quantity of nice stewing 

 apples ; put them into a baking dish, and 

 cover thickly with sugar — bits of lemon peel 

 may be added if liked. Put a plate over 

 the dish, and set it into a pan having a little 

 hot water in the bottom, and place in a hot 

 oven. Bake until the pieces are clear and 

 tender. 



Coal Ashes. — Common coal ashes, if 

 well distributed about the roots of cur- 

 rant bushes, is one of their best pro- 

 moters. This should be done by loosen- 

 ing the soil about their roots, and placing 

 the ashes near them ; cover firmly with 

 earth above, and the bushes will bear 

 such clusters as will speak the beneficial 

 effects of this application of material too 

 commonly thrown aside as of no use. 

 Cherry trees also gratefully accept this 

 renovator, and if carefully bedded about 

 the roots with coal ashes in the fall, the 

 yield of fruit the following year will sur- 

 prise the cultivator. Especially is this 

 effect produced in the black loam of Illi- 

 nois. We have in our mind one fruit 

 garden there where all the small fruit 

 was treated in this way, and have never 

 seen their yield excelled. — Natiorud 

 Farmer. 



The Fruit Garden. — There should be 

 a Fruit Garden on every farm for the profit, 

 health, and enjoyment that it brings, where 

 well cared for — yielding a succession of 

 fruits from early strawberry time until the 

 latest grapes are gone. It is our desire 

 that all who liave no garden for small fruits 

 may resolve to prepare the ground and 

 plant one the coming spring The soil for 

 a Fruit Garden should be rich, deep, and 

 mellow, and above all thoroughly drained 

 should it be naturally wet. There is 

 nothing better than well rotted stable 

 manure for enriching a garden soil. The 

 list of Strawberries that may be planted is 

 a long one and has been added to from year 

 to year. Charles Downing, Seth Boyden, 

 Monarch of the West, and Sharpless are 

 all reliable. The Bidwell has proved ex- 

 cellent, and the Manchester is a promising 

 new sort. On heavy soils the Jucunda 

 and Triomphe de Gand do well. Among 

 Raspberries are the Cuthbert, Patrician, 

 and Herstine. The Mammoth Cluster 

 and Gregg are among the best Black-caps 

 for general use. For Blackberries the 

 Kittatinny and Snyder are the best. The 

 Versailles, Red Dutch, and White Grape 

 lead in the Currants. It is difficult to 

 select from the long list of excellent grapes, 

 Concord, Wilder, Brighton, Eumelan, De- 

 laware, and Pocklington give a good 

 variety. — American Agriculturist. 



PRIKTJfiD AT THE STEAM PRESS ESTABLiSBHEMT Of COPP, CLARK k CO., COLBORME STREET, TORONTO, 



