47o 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
July  16 
Odds  and  Ends. 
A  honey  bek  can  make  190  wing-  strokes 
in  a  second,  and  much  has  been  written 
about  bees’  speed  of  flight  and  the  dis 
tance  they  will  travel  from  home.  Frank 
Benton  in  Insect  Life  says : 
They  generally  work  within  a  distance 
of  two  miles  from  their  hives,  although 
they  will  in  rare  instances  go  as  far  as 
four  or  five  miles,  and  a  resident  of  an 
island  off  the  coast  of  Texas  reported, 
several  years  ago,  having  followed  his 
bees  in  a  boat,  and  found  them  working 
on  •  the  mainland,  a  distance  of  seven 
miles  from  their  hives.  But  no  practical 
bee-keeper  would  expect  favorable  re¬ 
sults  from  pasturage  located  over  three 
miles  from  his  apiary,  and  marked  ad¬ 
vantage  can  only  be  awaited  when  the 
honey  sources  are  located  within  two 
miles  in  a  direct  line  from  the  apiary. 
Double  Poisonings. — Quite  a  good 
deal  has  been  written  about  cats  that 
die  from  eating  poisoned  rats  and  toads 
killed  by  eating  poisoned  potato  bugs. 
A  writer  in  the  Country  Gentleman  gives 
this  bit  of  experience  ; 
I  was  much  bothered  this  spring  by 
some  little  animal  digging  up  the  melon 
seeds ;  so  I  scattered  about  the  hills  some 
squash  seeds,  in  which  I  had  put  a  small 
quantity  of  strychnine,  and  soon  got  the 
depredators — a  number  of  mice,  seem¬ 
ingly  house  mice.  Our  cat  also  found 
them,  and  eating  them,  shared  their  fate, 
to  the  great  joy  of  the  wrens  and  other 
little  birds. 
“  Blended  ”  Butter. — Here  is  a  new 
scheme  in  operation  at  an  English  butter 
factory,  where  it  was  found  impossible 
to  mix  different  samples  of  farm  butter 
after  they  were  once  made  : 
The  farmer’s  butter  is  taken  to  the 
blender  in  the  granular  state  in  which 
it  comes  out  of  the  churn  after  being 
slightly  washed,  but  without  being  either 
gathered  or  salted.  At  the  blender’s  it 
is  sorted  according  to  color  and  quality, 
the  chief  and  greatest  care  being  exer¬ 
cised  to  secure  complete  uniformity  in  the 
color  of  the  several  assortments.  This  is 
essential  to  prevent  that  injury  to  the 
grain  of  the  butter  which  the  extra 
working  necessary  to  thoroughly  blend 
two  different  colors  would  lead  to.  The 
different  lots  of  butter  are  then  sepa¬ 
rately  salted,  worked  up,  and  then 
stamped  with  the  blendex*’s  trade  mark. 
Life  of  an  Old  Friend. — The  life  his¬ 
tory  of  an  old  friend  Mr.  Mosquito  is 
thus  described  in  Insect  Life  : 
The  main  facts  in  the  life  history  of  the 
mosquito  are  as  follows:  The  eggs  are 
laid  in  boat-shaped  masses  upon  the  sur¬ 
face  of  usually  more  or  less  stagnant 
water,  and  the  larvae,  commonly  known 
as  “wigglers,”  are  aquatic.  Their  de¬ 
velopment  is  rapid,  and  with  one  species 
at  least  it  has  been  ascertained  that  the 
entire  life-round  from  egg  to  adult  is 
undergone  in  less  than  two  weeks.  There 
are,  therefore,  several  annual  genera¬ 
tions.  The  insects  hibernate  as  adults, 
and  possibly  in  some  one  of  the  other 
stages.  The  most  important  work  to  be 
done  in  the  way  of  prevention  consists 
in  the  draining  of  the  swamps  and  stag¬ 
nant  ponds  where  possible,  the  treatment 
by  keroseue  of  restricted  bodies  of  stag¬ 
nant  water  which  can  not  be  drained, 
and  the  introduction  of  fish  into  fishless 
ponds  where  these  insects  are  breeding. 
These  are  methods  which  will  tend  to  the 
reduction  of  the  number  of  mosquitoes 
in  many  restricted  localities,  but  there 
are  many  other  localities  in  which  these 
means  are  not  practicable.  In  such  cases 
we  must  attack  the  adult  insects.  The 
best  thing  to  do  in  the  house,  after 
screening  the  windows  thoroughly,  is  to 
burn  pyrethrum  powder  and  sweep  up 
the  stupefied  insects  as  they  fall  to  the 
floor. 
About  English  Politics. 
Great  Britain  is  once  again  going 
through  her  septennial  political  election. 
It  is  accompanied  with  the  usual  boister¬ 
ousness  which  is  promoted  by  the  rough 
element,  for  the  fun  it  is  supposed  to  af¬ 
ford,  and  they  have  a  satisfaction  of  in¬ 
dulging  in  liberties  that  at  other  times 
they  have  no  privilege  to  practice. 
The  paramount  question  at  issue  and 
on  which  the  election  is  to  be  primarily 
fought,  is  that  of  granting  to  Ireland  an 
independent  legislature.  A  successful 
issue  of  this  would  no  doubt  satisfy  the 
sentiment  of  the  Irish  people,  but  no¬ 
body  can  see  how  any  legislature  can 
remedy  a  very  great  evil  that  confronts 
not  only  Ireland  but  England  as  well. 
That  evil  is  the  crowding  of  an  enormous 
population  on  a  comparatively  small 
piece  of  land.  Though  many  causes  con¬ 
tribute  to  distress  amongst  the  poorer 
classes,  this  is  really  the  very  root  of  it. 
In  bye -gone  days  the  Anglo  Saxons 
could  look  with  equanimity  at  the  fecun¬ 
dity  of  their  race,  for  large  and  fertile 
untilled  lands  in  other  parts  of  the  world 
awaited  them  and  bade  them  welcome  to 
the  surplus.  The  area  of  these  until¬ 
led  lands  is  now  diminishing  and  culti¬ 
vation  has  made  them  produce  food  in 
such  competitive  quantities  that  they 
have  caused  another  source  of  trouble  to 
the  Old  Country.  This  being  the  case,  all 
the  legislative  reforms  and  low  farm 
rents  could  hardly  be  a  remedy  for  the 
depressed  condition  of  the  agricultural 
interests  in  Great  Britain.  The  Liberal 
party  has  always  been  the  friend  of  the 
agricultural  classes,  while  the  Conserva¬ 
tives  have  always  fostered  the  foreign 
commercial  interests;  which  is  the  more 
profitable  is  debatable. 
[Have  not  the  Conservatives  always 
found  their  main  support  in  the  rural 
districts?  Is  not  the  “  landed  interest” 
chiefly  Conservative  ?  From  the  fight 
over  the  “  corn  laws  ”  to  the  agitation  in 
favor  of  “fair  trade,”  have  not  the  Con¬ 
servatives  uniformly  sought  the  favor  of 
the  agricultural  classes  ?  Before  the  re¬ 
cent  legislation  conferring  the  right  of 
suffrage  on  farm  laborers,  what  support 
did  the  Liberals  have  in  country  con¬ 
stituencies  ?  Isn’t  it  a  fact  while  the  Lib¬ 
erals  in  the  United  Kingdom  have  always 
favored  legislation  for  the  “masses” — 
for  the  multitudinous  populations  of  the 
the  towns  and  cities — the  Conservatives 
have  always  supported,  as  far  as  they 
dared,  the  landed  interests  ?  Of  late  the 
Liberals  have  been  paying  a  great  deal 
of  attention  to  agricultural  legislation, 
but  hasn’t  it  been  almost  exclusively  in 
favor  of  the  agricultural  laborers  and 
small  tenant  farmers? — EDS.  | 
A  peculiar  feature  of  the  political  situ¬ 
ation  is  that  the  agricultural  classes  are 
not  undivided  in  their  support  of  their 
parliamentary  champions.  Many  of  the 
country  Conservatives  have  some  irre¬ 
sistible  qualities  that  win  Hodge  and  his 
friends  over  in  large  numbers,  and  away 
go  the  votes.  The  inborn  love  of  rural 
sports  and  country  customs  is  so  strong 
that  those  who  endear  themselves  to 
“  Hodge  ”  by  courting  and  fostering  them, 
will  usually  influence  the  votes  to  a  very 
telling  extent. 
The  Liberals  advocate  the  parcelling 
out  of  the  land  in  small  holdings,  similar 
to  the  system  now  extant  in  France. 
This  would  provide  a  living  for  a  large 
number  of  people  for  some  time,  but,  un¬ 
like  France,  whose  population  increases 
very  tardily,  England  would,  in  a  few 
years,  face  the  old  evil  again  of  over¬ 
crowding,  and  in  a  worse  condition,  too. 
She  would  have  lost  forever  her  noble 
landscapes,  her  parks  and  rich  breathing 
spaces,  which  have  inspired  and  filled 
with  admiration  so  many  foreigners,  and 
none  more  than  our  own  immortal  Wash¬ 
ington  Irving. 
What  is  to  be  done  then  ?  Well,  let 
them  debate  and  do  the  best  they  can. 
The  source  of  trouble — too  many  peo¬ 
ple — they  can’t  legislate  to  control  the 
number.  Can  they  find  an  outlet  in  new 
colonies  ?  Where  ?  t.  j.  dixon. 
»  * 
A  Valuable  Experiment  Indeed. — 
Just  as  the  rosebugs  appeared,  a  seedling 
grape — a  cross  between  Lady  Washing¬ 
ton  and  Cottage — was  carefully  covered 
with  mosquito  netting  to  protect  the 
blossoms,  not  yet  opened,  from  these  de¬ 
stroyers.  Not  a  berry  formed.  The 
flowers  were  evidently  imperfect  and  de¬ 
pendent  upon  insects  or  the  wind  to  carry 
pollen  from  other  vines. 
“Don’t  Tobacco  Spit  Your  Life  Away” 
Is  the  startling,  truthful  title  of  a  little  book  just  re¬ 
ceived,  telling  all  about  Notobac,  the  wonderful,  harm¬ 
less,  economical,  guaranteed  cure  for  the  tobacco  habit 
in  every  form.  Tobacco  users  who  want  to  quit  and 
can’t,  by  mentioning  The  Rural  New-Yorker 
can  get  the  book  mailed  free.  Address  THE  STER¬ 
LING  REMEDY  CO.,  Box  179,  Indiana  Mineral 
Springs,  Ind. 
WALTHAM  and  ELGIN 
WATCHES 
At  Greatly  Reduced  Prices 
—  FOR  — 
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If  your  subscription  is  already  paid 
in  advance  and  you  want  a  watch, 
your  time  may  be  extended  or  new 
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alone  may  be  bought  by  subscribers  only 
at  the  prices  named.  Any  subscriber  can 
procure  from  us  any  Waltham  or  Elgin 
watch  in  any  kind  of  case  at  prices  that 
bring  good  watches  within  everybody’s 
reach.  We  describe  a  few. 
*  *  *  All  are  sent  prepaid  and  insured, 
by  registered  mail. 
Every  watch  in  this  list  is  guaranteed 
to  be  an  accurate  timekeeper.  Money  re¬ 
funded  if  watch  is  not  satisfactory 
and  returned  within  three  days  after 
receipt.  Please  write  your  opinion  of  the 
watches  received. 
Nickel  Silver  Watch,  Men’s  Size. 
No.  1  C  is  a  Waltham  or  Elgin  7-jeweled 
watch  containing  compensation  balance, 
safety  pinion,  etc.  It  is  in  a  solid  nickel 
silver,  open- face  case.  For  boys’  wear  it 
is  especially  recommended,  because  the 
front  and  back  screw  off  and  on,  mak¬ 
ing  it  dust-tight.  This  watch  need  not 
be  opened  at  all,  because  it  is  a  stem 
winder,  and  it  sets  by  pulling  on  the  stem, 
thereby  doing  away  with  the  risk  attendant 
upon  opening.  The  crystal  is  made  of 
plate  glass  that  will  stand  a  heavy 
pressure.  This  watch  is  full  men’s  size, 
and  the  works  are  good  enough  to  go  into 
a  gold  case.  Any  person  who  gets  one  of 
these  watches  will  find  that  some  of  his 
friends  have  watches  which  cost  $15  to  $20, 
containing  the  same  grade  of  works.  Sold 
to  subscribers  only  for  $5.50;  with  a  three 
years’  subscription,  for  $8.50. 
Gold  Watch,  Men’s  Size,  Open  Face. 
No.  2  C,  Waltham  or  Elgin ;  7  jewels  and 
all  the  improvements  mentioned  above. 
The  case,  which  is  open  face,  is  made  by 
taking  two  plates  of  solid  gold  and  filling 
the  space  between  them  with  a  fine  compo¬ 
sition  metal.  If  the  filling  were  removed 
a  solid  gold  case  would  then  remain. 
This  is  more  durable  and  just  as  hand¬ 
some.  Price,  $12;  with  a  three  years’  sub¬ 
scription  for  $15. 
Gold  Watch,  Hunting  Case. 
No.  3  C  is  the  same  as  No.  2  C,  but  in 
hunting  case,  richly  engraved  with  Ver¬ 
micelli  or  frost  work.  Price,  $14.35;  with  a 
three  years’  subscription,  $17.35. 
The  Great  Watch. 
No.  4  C.  For  those  who  want  the  best,  and 
are  willing  to  trust  our  judgment,  we  have 
selected  a  watch  which  combines  richness 
with  perfect  finish.  It  cannot  be  surpassed 
as  a  timekeeper.  It  is  full  jeweled,  the 
jewels  being  set  in  solid  gold.  It  has  the 
finest  and  simplest  patent  regulator  known, 
as  well  as  a  patent  safety  pinion,  compen¬ 
sation  balance  and  Logan’s  celebrated  Breg- 
uet  hair-spring,  which  is  bent  to  the  re¬ 
quired  form  and  then  hardened  and  tem¬ 
pered.  It  is  thoroughly  adjusted  so  that  it 
will  keep  accurate  time  whether  hot  or 
cold.  It  is  made  by  the  American  Walt¬ 
ham  Watch  Company,  and  called  “  P.  S. 
Bartlett.”  Hundreds  of  people  have  paid 
as  high  as  $125  for  this  watch,  and  the  usual 
retail  price  is  now  from  $85  to  $105.  We 
offer  it  in  a  solid  14k.  gold,  two  ounces  to 
2%  ounces  (40  to  45  dwt)  case,  hunting  or 
open  face,  handsomely  finished.  Price, 
$43.50,  with  five  years’  subscription  $47.50. 
People  who  want  this  magnificent  watch 
in  a  cheaper  case  can  have  it  in  gold  filled 
case  guaranteed  for  15  years,  for  $22  in 
hunting  case;  and  for  $19.50  in  open  face  ; 
for  $19  50  in  three  ounce  coin  silver,  hunt¬ 
ing  or  open  face ;  for  $12.75  in  nickel  silver, 
open-face  case ;  a  year’s  subscription  in¬ 
cluded  with  each  one. 
Ladles’  Watches. 
No.  6  C.  A  genuine  Waltham  or  Elgin 
lady’s  watch  with  7  jewels,  compensation 
balance  and  safety  pinion,  stem  wind  and 
set,  in  a  handsomely  engraved,  gold  filled 
hunting  case,  guaranteed  by  the  manufac¬ 
turers  to  look  like  gold  for  15  years.  Price, 
$14.90 ;  with  two  years’  subscription  for  $17. 
No.  15— A  beau¬ 
tiful  11  jewel 
movement,  full 
nickel,  in  a 
handsome  1  y 
engraved  hunt¬ 
ing  case  made  of 
14k.  U.  S.  Assay 
solid  gold,  usual 
retail  price  from 
$50  to  $75.  One 
of  the  prettiest 
watches  for  a 
lady  that  w  e 
have  ever  seen. 
The  illustration 
shows  the  case 
in  exact  size,  and  style.  Price  $25  net. 
You  Supply  the  Horse 
“  We  do  the  rest.” 
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