FuRNiA Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



jF all ailments children are liable to, per- 

 haps none is more sudden, und requires 

 more prompt attention on the part of 

 parents and attendants, than croup. 

 Certainly nothing sends such a thrill of terror 

 to a mother's heart as that harsh, grating 

 cough, like the barking of a dog, in the still- 

 ness of the night, especiallj' if that mother 

 has seen one of her beloved little ones lying 

 cold and still, suffocated by her not knowing 

 hawt to do in time, I find ice moihers must 

 know how to aj^ply simple remedies in our 

 families, or bear the consequences. Doctors 

 are not always near by to be called in every 

 time our little ones need care; and even if 

 they were, it is an exj^ensive luxury, to pay 

 for putting the responsibility on someone else 

 that rightfully belongs to us. 



Croup is inflammation of the trachea, and 

 in some cases the inflammation is so concen- 

 trated th;it the mucous or phlegm forms into 

 a false membrane which is very tough, caus- 

 ing first a rattling sound, and producing 

 strangulation if not relieved immediate]}'. In 

 the ordinary form of croup the cough is dry 

 and hard, and is easily remedied by anything 

 that will bring the inflammation to the sur- 

 face. Put on an extra flannel shirt or waist 

 over the nightgown and have a big flannel to 

 wrap the throat in; then saturate a smaller 

 piece of flannel in kerosene and lay over the 

 throat and chest, wrap well outside with the 

 large flannel, and in very many cases the 

 child will sleep well the rest of the night. 

 Follow this up for several nights — if the skin 

 is much inflamed leave the kerosene off — and 

 you will have no trouble with the croup. Al- 

 ways see that the feel are icanii and try and 

 not awaken the child, as it is always better 

 for it to rent and keep quiet when there is any 

 ailment of the respiratory organs — remember 

 this. Some persons of delicate skins cannot 

 bear kerosene. Goose-grease or sweet-oil, 

 with red peper sprinkled over, is very good, 

 or hot water with plenty of flannel to cover, 

 is also good; also cold salt water. If the ca.se 

 is very severe, a hot bath, as warm as the 

 child can bear it, is needed. Take the wash- 

 boiler, and if the child is not too large or the 

 boiler too full of water, it makes the best 

 kind of bath-tub (off the stove, of course) 

 immersing the child entirely, except the head; 

 have more warm water to till up with, and 

 keep the child in till the skin is red or the pa- 

 tient weary and sleepy. Lay a folded sheet 

 inside of a warm blanket and wrap the child 

 in th.s as it is lifted from its bath. In a few 

 minutes commence wiping the body and limbs 

 with a soft towel, exposing the skin to the air 

 as little as necessary, and replace its night- 

 clothes quickly. Then a thorough, warm 

 wrapping after the nightclothes are on is nec- 

 essary lu produce sweating. Apply cold salt 

 cloths to the throat and chest as frequently 

 as may seem necessary. In all cases the 

 mother must use her head more than her 

 luart, remembering that she has the power to 



ease the little one e(pial to the most skilled 

 doctor, provided she be thorough. In some 

 cases a gentle emetic, as Hive Syrup, is given, 

 to throw up any phlegm and produce perspi- 

 ration, but it is not usually necessary. The 

 following day let the child be better wrapped 

 than usual and have the diet simjile and see 

 that the bowels are free. Use an injection of 

 tepid water if they do not move withoirt. 



This treatment is better than any medicine, 

 and no child need die with the croup if taken 

 in time and properlj' treated. 



Make Them Comfortable. — "Mary, why do 

 you continue to put up your shoulder in that 

 awkward manner?" said Mrs. Lane sharply 

 to her little girl. " I have reminded you of it 

 half-a-dozen times at least this very day, and 

 still you pay no attention to it. Now remem- 

 ber, if you have to be sjioken to again about 

 it this afternoon, I shall keep you at home 

 from Aunt Lucy's to-morrow." 



The child's face flushed, and as she looked 

 down, her ej'es half tilled with tears. She 

 seemed timid and anxious lest she should 

 commit the fault again, yet it was almost a 

 certainty that she would. 



"Come here, Mary dear," said Aunt Lucy 

 very gently, but with quite an indignant flush 

 on her cheek. She began to unbutton the 

 little dress and examine the make of the uu- 

 derwaist. 



"Just as I expected. Sister," she said im- 

 pulsively. " Here is this shoulder-piece not 

 fitting at all, but every moment slipping down 

 over the point of the shoulder in an aggravat- 

 ing way. What comfort would you take with 

 a garment acting in that way? Poor little 

 shoulder," she said, as she rubbed it gently 

 with her soft, white hand. " Now Auntie will 

 take a stitch or two here for the present, and 

 will fix it better when you take it oft". Don't 

 that feel better? Now run and play, and after 

 a while you'll get all out of the fashion of 

 Ijutting up one shoulder." 



The little girl kissed her aunt gratefully, as 

 she tripjied away, much happier than she was 

 a few minutes before. 



" You should be ashamed of yourself. Sis- 

 ter," said the young lady energetically, when 

 the child had gone, " to leave a child in such 

 discomfort and then blame her for acting awk- 

 wardly. I have seen a mother scold her child 

 for limping when she had on a shoe much too 

 tight, or one with a nail in the heel that hurt 

 her at every step. There is plenty of una- 

 voidable sufl'ering in this world without add- 

 ing any needless pain to the burden. It is as 

 little as we can do to make children comfort- 

 able when we expect them to be good and be- 

 have with propriety. Full two-thirds of the 

 bad behavior of our children lies at the par- 

 ents' door." 



The remarks of her spirited young sister 

 set Mrs. Lane a thinking more seriously than 

 she had ever done before, on the duties of par- 

 ents to make tlieir children comfortable, and 

 it is to be hoped the good results were seen 

 in her after treatment of her little ones. — 

 Motlter's Mayaiine. 



Salt Water for the Eyes. — Many persons 

 are suffering pain from weakness of the eyes. 

 This, sometimes, proceeds froua local inflam- 

 mation, sometimes from other causes. Sev- 

 eral persons who have thus been alHicted 

 inform us that they derive almost immediate, 

 and in some cases, permanent relief from the 

 application of salt water as a bath; and when 

 the pain has been aggravated, from a com- 

 press saturated with salt water laiil on the 

 eyes, and renewed at frequent intervals. 

 Opening the eyes and submerging Ihein in 

 clean salt water has been found beneficial to 

 those whose eyesight begins to fail. 



Tobacco. — Softening of the brain is a dis- 

 ease always connected with the use of ner- 

 vines in some shape. Tobacco is a powerful 



agent in its production. Trembling is one of 

 the usuiil symptoms of acute, and a common 

 result of chronic nicotism. The Minister of 

 Public Instruction in France issued a circu- 

 lar to the directors of colleges and schools, 

 forbidding tobacco to students, as injurious to 

 physical and intellectual development. To- 

 bacco and ins.anity are closely connected. It 

 is stated upon the best authority that of those 

 who become insane from the supposed use of 

 spirituous liquors, eighty-seven per cent, also 

 use tobacco. 



Faemei;s and Rheumatism. — Why are far- 

 mers so liable to rheumatism? Because they 

 wear wet clothing, heat and suddenly chill the 

 body, over eat after very hard work, and be- 

 cause they do not keep the skin in a vigorous, 

 clean and healthy condition. If farmers 

 would avoid suddenly cooling the body after 

 great exertion, if they would be careful not to 

 go with wet clothing and wet feet, and if they 

 would not over eat when in an exhausted con- 

 dition, and bathe dailj', using much friction, 

 they would have less rheumatism. The same 

 rule applies to other than farmers. The Turk- 

 ish bath is the best remedy for rheumatism. 

 — Science of Health. 



Plenty of Sleep. — A medical man discours- 

 ing upon sleep, makes this remark: "One 

 man may do with a little less sleep than 

 another; but as a general rule, if you want a 

 clerk, a lieutenant, a lawj'er, a physicaiu, a 

 legislator, a judge, a president or a pastor, do 

 LjOt trust j'our interest to any man who does 

 not take on the average eight good solid hours 

 of sleep out of the twenty-four. Whatever 

 may be his reason for it, if he does not give 

 himself that, he will snap sometime just 

 when you want him to be strong." 



Bathing and Exertion Good for the Eyes. 

 — William OuUeu Bryant has the best eyesight 

 of any man of his years in this city. It is 

 well known that he bathes daily, and goes 

 thorough sundry gymnastics with an invariable 

 regularity, which ensures a remarkably good 

 health. Is there no connection between those 

 habits and the rare strength of his vision? — 

 3^. r. Letter. 



If any one considers what "farming is" or 

 what it ought to be, they would come to the 

 conclusion that farming ought to be the man- 

 aging of land so as to keep it in condition to 

 pay for rccupation, and there will be many 

 farms which will pay for occupation which 

 will not pay for cultivation; that is, there are 

 vast tracts of country which, from the nature 

 of the soil, from the high price of labor and 

 from its adaptability to remain in permanent 

 actual grass, would pay exceedingly well to 

 grsze with any kind of live-stock and by rais- 

 ing stock, dairying, fattening, and wool grow- 

 ing, etc., money could be made fast — this 

 would be farming, and an)' system of cultiva- 

 tion and course of cropping on good, free 

 working land,' which would keep the laud 

 rich in plant food and allow of selling enough 

 to cover expenses and pa)- interest on capital 

 and also profit to occuppier, would be farm- 

 ing, and good farming too. Therefore it is 

 easy to say what farming is; but robbing the 

 land is not farming — it is running down of 

 tioD's beautiful earth! And although many 

 liitn purchase a fine tract of land and accu- 

 mulate a fortune frtim the fine crojis the new 

 virgin soil produces, if they take crop after 

 crop without some system of reimbursing it 

 for the drain upon its productive jjowers, they 

 are no farmers in a sirict sense of the word, 

 but real despoilers of their country's wealth 

 and are deserving of rcpiibaiion. 



Mit. Watts lays much stress upon his cfi'orts 

 to introduce the raimie and jute plants into 

 tile Southern States and California. The 

 public will agree with him that if their pro- 

 duction proves as luofitable as he anticipates, 

 he has conferred a lasting benefit upon the 

 nation. But the problems of their culture 

 and manufacture have not yet been solved. 



