AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
Teaching Zip to 
Read. 
Master Phil is much like other 
"boys we have seen — he is not con- 
tented with any one thing for a 
very long while. He had a short 
time ago a military turn, and beat 
his toy drum until all in the house 
hoped it might hurst. The mar- 
tial fever gave way to an educa- 
tional one, and the drum and 
wooden soldiers are put aside for 
the hook with large letters. Phil 
has recently mastered his A, B, 
C's, and being already in a-b, 
ab's, he thinks that he knows so 
much that he is qualified to teach. 
The only available pupil is the 
dog Zip, who is made to come to 
school. Master Phil does not 
seem to be making much progress 
as a teacher, and Zip does not 
promise well as a scholar. Prob- 
ably Phil thinks his pupil fright- 
ened by the great A B in the book, 
"but we can see that the dog has 
his attention taken from his 
studies in a manner for which we 
can pardon him. We have seen 
boys at school quite as inattentive 
to their books as Zip appears to 
"be, and without anything like as 
good an excuse. Very likely if 
the school-mistress would give 
her evidence, she has found it 
almost as difficult to fix Master 
Phil's attention upon his book as 
he now finds it difficult to engage 
his pupil studying in the sim- 
plest elements of learning. 
How Minnie Washes 
XHshes. 
Minnie Wiley, a little girl of 
eleven, writes us a letter to tell 
how she washes dishes. That is 
right. We like to have our boys 
and girls tell us how they do 
things, and we hope that there 
are a great many of our girls who, 
like Minnie, take enough interest 
in washing dishes to try and do 
it right. Remember that dishes 
have to be washed in most families 
three times a day, and somebody 
has to do it. What a pleasure it will be to be able to do 
this so nicely that mother is willing to allow you to re- 
lieve -her of this portion of her labors I Minnie says: 
"First I scrape the dishes and stack them up very 
neatly; then I remove them to the pantry table, close to 
the sink and to the cupboard, into which I can easily 
place them as I wash and wipe them. First I wash my 
glass, then the spoons, then the cups, and so on. Then 
I place the spoons in the spoon-stand, for mother says it 
is not right to put spoons with knives. Then I put the 
knives and forks into the knife-box, and also the cooking 
spoons and ladle. Then I wash out my dish-pan and 
cloth, and hang them up to dry." 
Aunt Sue's I*Hzzle-»Box. 
My first, when connected with good, is a treasure, 
You love it, and gratitude glows in the mind. 
My second's restricted to limit and measure, 
Ingeniously fitted to loose or to bind. 
My whole, as a station, you can not admire ; 
My second's his care, whilst too many, distressed 
Beneath his coercion, Avould gladly retire, 
Seek other retreats, and feel inwardly blest. 
F. H. C. 
OMISSIONS. 
Omit my 3, 4, and I am a gift. 
Omit my 3, 5, 6, and I am a reptile. 
Omit my 1, 2, 3, 6, and I am either adverb or preposi- 
tion. 
Omit my 1, 2, 4, 6, and I am either adverb, conjunction, 
or interjeetion. 
My whole is a city in the United States. 
I. K. P. 
SQUARE WORD. 
J. An insect. 2. Variety. 3. A box. 4. Part of a ship. 
A. M. Nagel. 
TEACHING ZIP TO KE.\D— Drawn and Engraved for the American Agriculturist, 
GRAMMATICAL ENIGMA. 
I am composed of 45 letters. 
My 1, 5, 20, 27, 10, is a preposition. 
My IS, 12, 28, 10, 25, is an adjective. 
My 14, 15, 24, 25, is a conjunction. 
My 7, 20, 35, 30, is an adjective. 
My 35, 2, 32, 8, is a preposition. 
My 6, 19, 39, is a conjunction. 
My 29, 3G, is a preposition. 
My 5, 9, 17, 25, 3, 45, is an adjective. 
My 14, 44, 23, 11, 28, is an accident of the verb. 
My 40, 35, 41, 30, is apart of speech. 
My 38, 41, 42, 43, 44, 33, is an accident of the noun. 
My 1G, 17, is a pronoun. 
My 4, 37, 25, is a noun. 
My 25, 26, 21, 32, is a noun. 
My 31, 22, 7, is a noun. 
My 13, 34, is a verb. 
My whole is one of the rules of Syntax. 
Clarence Clifford. 
cross-word. 
My first is in window but 'tis not in house. 
My ileitis in raf, but it is not iu mouse. 
My third is in coiv but it is not in calf. 
My fourth's in the middle but 'tisn't in half. 
My fifth is in water but 'tis not in milk. 
My sixth is in damask but it is not in silk. 
My seventh is in Albert but 'tis not in Joe. 
My eighth is in rain but 'tis not in snow. 
My ninth is in many but 'tis not in one. 
My whole is an animal very well known. 
Ben, clip a pail. 
Cane nut cones. 
Canny trial. 
Ruin poet tunes. 
Idiots run us. 
C. L. S. 
ANAGRAMS. 
G. Guides this sin. 
7. O ! I print a paper. 
S. Grim Lane. 
0. C, send once. 
10. Clamps on Chemist. 
Westchester. 6. Be- 
Paterson. 9. Sparta. 
Drngslags sauce hetir now nutformises. 
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE NOVEMBER NUMBER. 
Decapitations. — 1. Chair, hair. 2. Pear, ear. 3. Rill, 
ill. 
Cross-Word. — L Geranium. 
Geographical Anagrams.- 
loochistan. 7. Minneapolis. 8. 
10. Dresden. 
Puzzle.— 11. Sling, ling, gin, in. 
Numerical Enigma.— 12. Massachusetts. 
Cuarade.— 13. History. 
Transpositions.— 14. Taper, tapir. 15, Base, bass. 
1G. Principal, principle. 17. Liar, lyre. 18. Beech, 
beach. 19. Hail, hale. 20. Wheat, heat, eat, at, t (tea). 
Pi.— 21. A blithe heart makes a blooming visage. 
Puzzle Picture. — Turn the picture upside down and 
sec how cosily the cats are sitting on the little mat. 
aunt sue's notices to correspondents. 
A. H. I do not " write for the New York Observer." 
I do " write every week for the Hearth and Home.'''' 
Dolly. It is sufficient to write the answer without 
writing out the whole enigma as published. 
Morris P. S. Yes, you were quite right. 
Harry S. There is so little change made in the old 
" M T grate " puzzle you send, that we can scarcely call 
it original. 
Hessa M. W. If you will compare your answers, dear, 
with those published in this number, 3^011 can see for 
yourself -whether yon were right or not. See remarks to 
Dolly. 
Of several communications I take no notice, because I 
can not tell whether they are intended for the Agricultu- 
rist or for Hearth and Home. 
Glad to hear from Mrs. H. J. N. and F. W. H., S. H. B., 
W. H., Jr., Blue-Bird, and Charlie D. S. 
Thanks for puzzles, etc., to F. W. H., A. II., R. S. 
Tibestcr, Harry S., W. n. C. and Alpha. 
