California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



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Then the younger one spoke up, "And 

 she sings, and boj's follers her and chuck 

 rocks at her, and she fall down, and the 

 mans come out of their stores and tells 

 her to stop her noise and go along. And 

 she gets up and sings louder. See, lady, 

 she is going through the park awayin' 

 her handkcrcher. Oh! won't we catch 

 it, P0II3' whea we get home, unless we 

 wait till her is asleep?" 



My heart ached for the little souls 

 thus dwelling upon their early grief, and 

 my eyes followed the clumsy movements 

 of the woman they dreaded, who, lost to 

 all sense of shame, was attracting the at- 

 tention of passers-by with her loud, 

 coarse laughter and wild singing. What 

 more repulsive sight than a woman thus 

 degraded ! 



Aunt Liddy had risen and gone to the 

 window, where, shading her eyes with 

 one hand, she sadly gazed and sighed, 

 then muttered, half aloud, "Poor, for- 

 lord creatur! Nobodj' to save her from 

 herself. Lor' sakes alive! Marian, if 

 she don't look like Mirandy Jones as 

 lived at Newton Corners. Don't you 

 mind the Joneses as had such a heap o' 

 trouble with your uncle Hi about laud? 

 Well, Seth Jones he married an old 

 schoolmate of mine, and Mirandy was 

 one of their first children. The oldest 

 was a boy, and he sickened and died. 

 Mirandy she" — 



"Yes, that's what Gran'pa calls her 

 now, Mirandy, and he lives down at the 

 Corners, and we was there oncet, but 

 they wouldn't keep us no longer, 'cause 

 father fit with their hired man, and so — 

 well, we come away arter that," inter- 

 rupted the little one. 



My friend here stooped down to soothe 

 the children by coaxing words. She en- 

 quired their father's name, and what he 

 was doing. 



"Oh, he works on the railroad, and 

 sometimes he comes home, and more 

 times he doesn't. Then he stops at the 

 shop, too, and gets a drop, but then he 

 goes to sleep there, and maybe don't 

 come home till moruin' — leastways we 

 are mostly gone to bed afore he comes,so 

 we gets no tloggin' But she beats us, 

 you'd better believe. Duct she hurted 

 Polly's nose till it bled, and I runued 

 away. Oh ! dearie me ! I wish — I wish 

 my mother was like you, and never 

 drinked a bit nor beat us!" 



"Here, darlints, " said kind-hearted 

 Biddy, comiug into the room with two 

 saucers of strawberries, with a piece of 

 sponge cake and a spoon in each saucer. 

 "Dry your tears now, for the lady here 

 told me to bring this to yees, the purty 

 childers." 



The sight of the fruit brought smiles 

 to the lips and tears of gratitude to the 

 fringed eye-lids. Polly shook back her 

 tangled curls, and said "Thank you — 

 thank you. Aint theyuice ladies, Betty? 

 Why don't you tell 'em 'thank you, ' as 

 I do?" 



Slowly rose the silent Betty, and lay- 

 ing her hand in my friend's she whis- 

 pered, "You are so good to us lady, we 

 cannot thank you enough." 



Then they fell to eating, and right 

 hungry they seemed to be, so Biddy was 

 told to bring them some biscuits and 

 butter, which she did, and they were 

 also eaten with a keen relish. 



All this time Aunt Lidd)' sat busy viith 

 her knitting, her thoughts, doubtless, 

 wandering to her youthful days, for she 

 nodded her head and muttered, "Yes, 

 Mirauny Jones married Joe Hodgkius, 

 and they settled — I don't mind the name 

 of the place. Well, well; poor dears! 

 Their lives begun under a cloud, sure 

 enough." 



It was getting dark, and the children 

 began to feel uneasy to get home. Deep- 



ly interested in the little ones, I offered 

 to take them home and see the condition 

 of things there before leaving them to the 

 tender mercies of anybody. So, slipping 

 on hat and shawl and giving a hand to 

 each, we hastened through the park and 

 down a quiet street till I was shown into 

 a back room of a respectable-looking 

 house. Here a scene met my gaze that 

 never can be forgotten. A woman about 

 thirty years of age lay sprawling at full 

 length upon the floor, with her bonnet 

 crushed, her shawl torn, and her features 

 distorted. Can this be a home? thought 

 I. The disorderly condition of the room; 

 the table standing filled with unwashed 

 dishes; the stove filthy; a lounge piled 

 up with soiled clothes on top of which 

 a cat lay asleep. 



As we stood in the doorway consider- 

 ing what was best to do, we heard steps 

 approaching, and some one whistling 

 came in upon the scene. 



"Hello! Hello here! What's up here! 

 That you, Mirandy? Been at it again, 

 old gal? Haven't I told you— " Then, 

 perceiving a stranger, he began bowing 

 and scraping, saying, "Take aseat.Miss. 

 Sorry times these! 'That there woman 

 (would you believe it?) goes at it regu- 

 lar. The children here can tell you what 

 a hard time I have of it, comiug home 

 tired from my work to supper, no fire, 

 and she like that. 'Tis enough to drive 

 a man mad, it is. As true as my name's 

 Joe Hodgkins, I'll not stand it much 

 longer!" 



Stepping forward, I said, "Are you 

 the husband of that woman, and the 

 father of these children? And do you 

 pretend to say that you never take a drop 

 yourself? Have you not, by your ex- 

 ample, taught that woman this dreadful 

 habit?" 



In my indignation, I said much more, 

 and never an answer did the man offer in 

 explanation. Thoroughly ashamed and 

 crushed, he helped me lay the uncon- 

 scious sleeper on the lounge, where I left 

 them, with the promise of returning on 

 the morrow to have a talk with the 

 woman. 



Hastening back through the darkness, 

 I related to my fi'iend the result of my 

 visit, and then it was that Aunt Liddy 

 told us an incident in the early life of 

 Miranda Jones which teaches the truth 

 of the scripture, "The fathers have eat- 

 en sour grapes, and the children's teeth 

 are set on edge." 



"Mirandy Jones," said Aunt Liddy, 

 smoothing her apron, "was the oldest 

 gal of Betsey Snell, as was. We were 

 gals together, and she married a Jones, 

 as I said afore, and set up house-keepin' 

 at Newton Corners. Now Seth Jones 

 ( Mirandy 's father) was a drinkin' man, 

 and they allers had sperrets in the house, 

 and many's the time I've seen, with sor- 

 row, the children fed with the leavin's 

 of sugar in the brandy glass. Not bran- 

 dy, p'r'aps, but 'toddy' they called it in 

 them days. But I'm ahead of my story. 

 Where was I? Oh! When Mirandy 

 wasn't more'n a month old, I used to 

 visit there proper often, and time an' 

 ag'in I've seen Betsey feedin' o' that 

 babe gin and hot water, sweetened, to 

 cure collicky pains. Says I to her, 'Why, 

 Betsey, you'l surely give the child a taste 

 for strong drink;' and then she'd laugh 

 and say, 'Why, Liddy, everybody gives 

 babies drops to start the wind; in course 

 they do,' says she. But I thought not, 

 and cried against it every time. 'Father 

 drinks toddy, and gin-toddy is good for 

 the baby, ' she would say. So that was 

 the beginning of poor Mirandy's fate. 



"When the other children came along, 

 they were fed the same way, and all 

 turned out drunkards, as I knew they 

 would. They was all boys, and 'twa'ut 



thought nothiu' strange. But I never 

 heard how Joe Hodgkins and his wife 

 got along, but the minute I clap'd eyes 

 on that woman I felt sure it was Betsey's 

 child. Dearie me! How shocking! And 

 will those pretty dears have the same in- 

 heritance, I wonder? Marion, come, 

 let's have a light, and let's think of 

 something else to try to forget what can't 

 be helped." 



Another instance of hereditary trans- 

 mission, thought I. In whatever direc- 

 tion wo turn, we find humanity subject 

 to the same law. Notonlj- the perverted 

 tastes of parents arc visited upon the 

 children unto the third and fourth gene- 

 ration, but talent is likewise handed 

 down — sometimes lost sight of in 

 the first, but re-appearing in the next 

 generation. We find families of doctors, 

 where father, son and grandson are nat- 

 ural surgeons. We hear of artists whose 

 immediate descendants show no remark- 

 able talents; but among the children's 

 children will bo found traces of their 

 grandfather's art. It is the same with 

 music. Even in home matters the 

 same law of inheritance prevails, The 

 thorough housekeeper leaves a taste for 

 such pursuits, though early habits com- 

 bined with the talent produce the perfect 

 manager. 



Oh! ye mothers! Since three-fourths 

 of our happiness in this life depends on 

 the comforts derived from a well-appoint- 

 ed home, see to it that you leave such an 

 inheritance as will cause future genera- 

 tions to bless your name for ever. 



}m\ix\f 



HATCHING CHICKENS IN HOT 

 WEATHER. 



<^^HEEE is one very good reason why 

 4\L chickens should not be hatched 

 Mjl during the warm months of sum- 

 jjre mer: It produces a hot-bed for that 

 Xy terribly troublesome little insect, 

 the flea, which becomes such a source of 

 annoyance about some farm houses that 

 sensitive people are glad to quit the 

 premises. 



If any one wishes to test the matter, 

 let them sit hens in the mouth of August. 

 Unless much time and care have previ- 

 ously been spent upon the hennery, be- 

 fore three weeks have passed, the nest 

 will be covered with very small insects 

 of a grayish color. If allowed to remain, 

 in a day or two more these will have 

 grown a little larger, become of a blood- 

 red color, but retain the same shape as 

 before. Visit the nest again in one or 

 two days, and you will find these animals 

 changed to the form of a flea, and of a 

 brown or black color. Allow them to re- 

 main longer, and when you return you 

 will find these back-biters in the condi- 

 tion of "Paddy's bug" — not there, but 

 migrating in every direction to stock the 

 farm and its buildings. 



For this reason houses and yards 

 should be prepared purposely for poul- 

 try. If fowls are allowed to roost on 

 trees anTl in bams, the result will, in 

 time, be serious. 



A Newhampshire dealer in fancy fowls 

 sings the praise of his favorite breed in 

 the following unique hymn; 



If you want some feathered et ] 

 That will not your wishes m | 

 When at their nests you daily kn }■ ock 

 Buy some eggs or get a fl I 



Of the famous Plymouth R J 



FINE POULTRY BUSINESS IN 

 CALirORNIA. 



A gentleman writes us from the East 

 inquiring whether the business of raising 

 fine poultry in this State will pay, stat- 

 ing that he has a lot of fine pure-breds 

 that he cau bring out here with him if 

 there is sufiicieut inducement. Now, 

 when it comes to advice, we shall neither 

 advise one to come, nor to stay away. 

 But we will make a few statements in 

 regard to the business of jioultry raising 

 here, and leave it to the judgment of 

 whom it may concern. First, it will pay 

 to make a business of raising tine jioul- 

 try, if the business is rightly conducted. 

 The demand for fancy lireeds at fancy 

 prices is very limited, but there is a good 

 general demand for good breeds at fair 

 prices. The market for eggs for con- 

 sumption is always good. Eggs are 

 never lower here than 25 cents per doz- 

 en. Common hens are worth SG to $8 

 per dozen. In a good locality where 

 there is pure water and good range and 

 plenty of shade, and the poultry are 

 supplied with a variety of feed, and can 

 get green feed all the year round, poul- 

 try are as healthy and as easily raised 

 and cheaply kept as in any other coun- 

 trj'. Probably there is no country where 

 they can be kept at a better profit, when 

 produced for market, both poultry and 

 eggs. We think that the business of 

 fancy fowls exclusively could be cai-ried 

 on with gieater returns East than in 

 California. But for one who designs to 

 keep best breeds for profit, and to breed 

 fine fowls, also eggs to be sold at reason- 

 able prices to such as wish to improve 

 their stock, we are certainly setisfied that 

 there is no better place than California, 

 and iu California no better place than in 

 the vicinity of San Jose. 



Lands within ten milts of San Jose 

 can be obtained from §60 to $600 per 

 acre. One hundred dollars per acre will 

 get as good land and locality as desirable. 



The worst thing to contend with here 

 iu the poultrj' business is vermin, which 

 breed in our climate wonderfully fast. 

 And an important injunction is, in our 

 dry season, to supply plenty o£ green, 

 feed, as poultry will not keep healthy 

 without it. 



While caring for the poultry, an orch- 

 ard can be started and kept growing in 

 the range as well as not. Indeed, there 

 are no two branches of farming that pay 

 better together than orcharding and 

 poulti-y raising. 



CAME FOWLS. 



Mr. L. E. Matteson, of Stockton, whose 

 card can be found in our Directory, writes 

 as follows. 



Mr. Editoe: With the additions I have 

 made to my breeding stock the past year, 

 from the Eastern States and Europe, I 

 have now the finest collection of Game 

 fowls on any one breeder's yards on the 

 Pacific Coast. My stock consists of the 

 following varieties: English Black-breast- 

 ed Reds, willow legs; English Black- 

 breasted Reds, white legs, of the Sir 

 Heathcoate strains; and Fish Blue Grey; 

 all imported by myself. Also, the fol- 

 lowing American varieties: Tartars, Bat- 

 tlers, Eslins, Jack McClellans, and a fine 

 strain of pit fowls. Should I receive 

 any orders through your agency, I will 

 guarantee satisfaction to first hands. All 

 birds are warranted thoroughbred and 

 true to name. References from former 

 customers given if necessary. 



Respectfully, L. E. Mattesox. 



Keep Chickkks Sckatching. — The fol- 

 lowing, from the Journal of Horiwulture, 

 is very sensible: "Shelter afforded by 



