4o6 
June 10 
OUR COUNTRY BOY. 
How many times we hear young men 
say, “ I don’t know what I’ll do for a 
living yet; perhaps something may 1 turn 
up ’ in the future so that I may have an 
opportunity to venture for myself in some 
occupation. ’ But there is another clasB 
of young men who may be heard express¬ 
ing themselves in an entirely different 
tone—one well saturated with enthusi¬ 
asm, “If I am blessed with life and 
health I shall in the near future be a 
farmer, a fruit grower, a minister, doctor, . 
lawyer or merchant,” whatever occupa¬ 
tion or profession he may feel he is best 
fitted for, and depend upon it he will 
leave no honorable resource untouched 
that will advance him toward the fulfill¬ 
ment of his hopes. And it generally fol¬ 
lows that a young man of this class will, 
early in life, have a snug home of his 
own, which is the coveted goal, as it 
should be, of almost every steady, clear- 
minded youth. 
A young man must have a love for his 
chosen business, or it will be a heaviness, 
a drag upon his life, which entirely pro¬ 
hibits that brightness and happiness 
naturally arising from being associated 
with, and surrounded by objects and 
conditions which are a continual source 
of pleasure even though the work be 
hard at times. 
The country boys, in choosing their 
business, will either stay on the farm or 
go into the city, and in a great many cases 
I fear they choose the city life because 
they imagine they can achieve greater 
success, earn a greater reputation, in 
fact become “ greater” in every sense of 
the word. This is a mistake which many 
boys make when they start in life for 
themselves. 
Now should we not, as country boys, 
if we are so fortunate as to be blessed 
with a good country home, try to culti¬ 
vate a love for some branch of the 
healthful, enjoyable and profitable coun¬ 
try life, and let others who are not so 
well situated pursue “greatness'’ and 
other kindred uncertainties of city life ? 
Do not for one moment entertain the 
idea that a young man cannot make a 
success in the country, for if our whole 
mind and energy is applied to our chosen 
business we shall surely succeed. Those 
who are successfully engaged in rural 
occupations are the most independent 
class existing. A very wealthy young 
business man of our city recently said 
to me, “ I almost envy you country peo¬ 
ple when 1 see you with whole loads of 
good, fresh fruits and vegetables, and 
realize that I can’t have even a bunch 
of green onions without getting out my 
little old money and paying for them.” 
An intelligent young man who has 
grown up in the country and feels an 
absorbing interest in the beauty and 
growth of Nature’s products, has the 
essential foundation for a good business. 
And what business affords such inter¬ 
esting and delightful work, abundant 
and varied rewards of the finest luxuries 
the world can give, as horticulture? 
The young man has not only the oppor¬ 
tunity of receiving a liberal yearLy in¬ 
come, but he has at the same time a 
chance to erect a beautiful little h ;me 
in the midst of his trees, plants and 
shrubbery—just the spot of all the world 
he would, in his love for his chosen 
business, select as a dwelling place. 
How many parents there are, who 
would gladly give their boys a chance at 
home, if the boys were only sufficiently 
interested in this or that branch of 
farming. 
Now let us compare the lives of two 
boys who have always lived as neigh¬ 
bors; both are honest, ambitious boys ; 
they were educated together ; both 
have good homes and kind parents 
who are in moderate circumstances, 
owning 50, 75 or 100 acres of land. 
One of the boys is pluming himself as 
a leading business man of the future, 
in this or that city. The other is just 
as enthusiastic in his cherished plan 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
of some time owning a model little 
fruit farm, where he can have all the 
trees, plants and vines that he can man¬ 
age. Now the former must go into the 
city to find employment, which is rarely 
found where any one has a personal in¬ 
terest in him. He must work constantly 
at only one kind of labor, and be sur¬ 
rounded by the same objects and con¬ 
ditions day after day; he must board 
where he can save the most money ; he 
must dress as cheaply as possible; in 
fact, to make a success, he must do with¬ 
out a host of comforts he had been ac¬ 
customed to at home. And by the time 
he feels that he is able to buy that little 
house and lot in the outer edge of town, 
several years of hard work and rigid 
economy must have passed by. 
As to his young friend, our “ country 
boy,” he accepted a little corner of the 
homestead with permission to do what 
he pleased with it, and if he succeeded, 
to pay for it. He has been having a 
‘ ‘huge old time” from the very first plants 
he set. “ Why the pleasure of seeing 
them grow,” was, he thought, a sufficient 
reward for the perfect cultivation he 
gave them. But he now has his four, 
six or eight acres well set to choice fruits 
of every kind, purchased with the first 
profits of his small fruits, which bore the 
second year from planting. There is not 
a tree on his plantation but what is an 
intimate friend of his, and woe unto any 
evil-minded “ bug, big or little,” which 
his vigilant eye detects, for he will surely 
make “ fertilizer” of it. 
In that part of his grounds nearest the 
highway is a cosy little cottage, sur¬ 
rounded by healthy young trees, which 
are just beginning to give him a few sam¬ 
ples of the beautiful apples he has often 
dreamed of. Neat buildings spring up 
here and there, and the little fruit farm 
is beginning to look very business-like. 
His parents are almost as enthusiastic 
over his success as he is, for he has not 
only a prosperous business almost within 
hailing distance of them, but he is, as he 
ever has been, ready and willing to help 
them in every way he can. 
But the main point is, how much inter¬ 
est and happiness it has afforded “ our 
country boy ” to see his own home liter¬ 
ally grow out of his own labor and intel - 
ligent planning. He will enjoy it a hun¬ 
dredfold more than if it had been con¬ 
structed from an abundant fortune left 
him by others. F. h. ballou. 
Ohio. 
value of both picture and frame. We 
again say,be shy of advertisements which 
are worded to catch the unwary. It has 
always been a source of wonder and sur¬ 
prise to ui that parents allow papers 
containing such advertisements to come 
into their homes, and be read by their 
children. _ J- J. *>• 
SUBSTITUTES FOR COFFEE. 
The German peasantry make a substi¬ 
tute for coffee by mixing equal parts of 
roasted malt and chicory. From this 
mixture, steeped in boiling water, a nour¬ 
ishing beverage is obtained which is said 
to be of agreeable taste and flavor. 
In addition to the coffee substitutes 
mentioned in The Rural of May 27, are 
several others having some local reputa¬ 
tion in parts of Pennsylvania and the 
South. Among these are sweet potatoes, 
asparagus, berries, peanuts and persim¬ 
mon seeds, all of which are dried and 
mixed with a little sugar or molasses 
before roasting. The root of the wild 
dandelion mixed and roasted along with 
wheat, rye, or wheat bran and molasses, 
the latter being the well known “ black 
strap ” of the South, was during the re 
hellion a common substitute for coffee 
in the Southern States. 
Traveling in a remote New England 
district some years ago, the writer had 
set before him, by an old Vermont moun¬ 
taineer, a not unpleasant drink some¬ 
what resembling coffee. It was made 
from the roasted seeds of the sugar 
maple. frank w. sempers. 
A Pickpocket’s Game. —Visitors to 
the city are warned atrainst this game 
lately adopted by pickpockets : 
The pickpocket, clad in fine raiment 
and carrying a stick, stands upon the 
rear platform of a street car, facing the 
dashboard. He struggles with a pair of 
tight gloves, and, having vainly essayed 
to button one after putting on the other, 
appeals to the kindness of the man facing 
him on the platform. In nine times out 
of ten he picks the right man, and, while 
the benefactor buttons the glove, the 
pickpocket with his disengaged hand 
takes the other’s watch. The confederate 
inside is at hand to baffle the pursuers in 
case the theft is detected. 
Affections op the Liver, Bilious Dl orderr, Sick 
Headache, etc., are thoroughly cured by Pr. Jayne's 
Sanative Pills. Acting as a general laxative they re¬ 
move all Irritating and fecal matter from the bowels, 
gradually change the vitiated secretions of the sto¬ 
mach and liver, and restore these organs to a healthy 
condition .—A dv. 
FREE TO HOME-SEEKERS. 
The Northwestern Home Seeker is the 
name of a newspaper just issued, giving 
valuable information regarding the agri¬ 
cultural, mineral and other resources of 
South Dakota. 
This new State is enjoying a wonder¬ 
ful prosperity, and any person IcokiT g 
for a desirable location, or interested in 
obtaining information concerning the di¬ 
versified resources of South Dakota, will 
be mailed a copy of this paper free of 
charge by sending his address to W. A. 
Thrall, General Passenger Agent, North- 
Western Line, Chicago.— Adv. 
Beware of Imitations. 
NOTICE 
AUTOGRAPH 
OH 
LABEL 
_ ATTD GET 
THE CENU1ME 
HARTSHORN) 
Blood 
Builder 
. WILLIAMS* 
MEDICINE CO., 
Schenectady, N.Y. 
*nd Brockville, Ont, 
Nerve 
Tonic 
p«r box. 
• for *4.50. 
ISAVE MONEY 
3 *150 Top Buggy.*75.00 
3 SlOOTopBuggy.*52.50 
- *85 Top Buggy..#40.00 
• *85 Spring Wagon...#43.50 
; *10 Single Harness....#5.25 
; #28 Team Harness...#14.50 
; #16 Texas Saddle.#9.545 
; ALL GOODS FULLY WARRANT. 
ED and shipped anywhere to any. 
Wagons, Harness, tjaoaics, ere. oena a. oiiw 
^ catalogue. CASH BUYERS' UNION. 
W. Van BurenJ$**.H 5 6, Chicago, !#• 
dlCTCLE 
T# AICY HOT OK fill 
Ulliftnljiool NOMOWf 
MACNkENJHHY and SUPPLIES. 
D. 6. Trench Co., Chicago, Ill., and 
Mtntion this paper. 
PLAYS 
Dialogues, Speakers, for School, 
Club and Parlor Catalogue free. 
T. DENISON. Publisher,Chicago 
The select colorings and 
designs of the season. 
_ a g—% ^ /mm ■ . . . mm m m 100 samples for S cents. 
A. L. Diament & Co., 1624 Chestnut Street. Philadelphia. 
WALL PAPER 
“PORTRAITS GIVEN AWAY.” 
A subscriber from Illinois sends us a 
circular letter from a Brooklyn art con¬ 
cern, and asks us if it is not another 
fraud. The letter discredits other firms 
because they oblige one to purchase a 
frame of them in order to secure the por¬ 
trait free. This concern “ goes one bet¬ 
ter” and offers “ one of our best life-like 
portraits” and “one of our new-style 
frames ” both absolutely free. 
Some time ago this concern sent us an 
order to run its advertisement making 
this very liberal offer. We called at its 
place of business to satisfy ourselves of 
its methods, and to learn, if we could, 
why it took interest enough in our read¬ 
ers to pay us $100 or more for telling our 
patrons that it had something to give 
away. The gentleman who represented 
himself to be in charge told our repre¬ 
sentative that the concern did really give 
away both portrait and frame, but that 
there was a charge made for packing and 
shipping. It was admitted that the 
charge for this secured a small profit on 
the picture and frame. We couldn’t see 
how a scheme of this kind would be of 
any advantage to our readers, and we re¬ 
fused to run their advertisement. 
We notice, however, that most of the 
other farm papers are running it, and 
telling their readers that they believe 
the business is all right. The method of 
doing business practiced by this concern 
may come within legal hounds, hut no 
one will question that the offers are de¬ 
ceptive, nor that its patrons pay the full 
The Most Important American Book on Live Stock. 
SECOND EDITION, 
Revised and Enlarged. 
Horses, 
Cattle, 
Sheep 
and 
Swine. 
By GEO. W. CURTIS, M. S. A., 
Director Texas Ex. Station and Professor 
of Agriculture In the Agricultural and 
Mechanical College of Texas. 
Nearly 100 full-page engravings, after 
sketches from life hy the best artists, 
representing nearly every breed of 
horses, cattle, sheep and swine. 
Already Adopted as a Standard Text 
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the Leading Agricultural Colleges of 
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Origin, History, Improvement, Description, Character¬ 
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Breed, with Data regarding Its Registry Association, Scale 
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The Hints on selection. Care and Management are 
supplemented hr letters from well-known and success¬ 
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THE SECOND EDITION has been carefully pre¬ 
pared by the author, the text thoroughly revised, brought 
down to date, numerous additions trade, and many val¬ 
uable suggestions from competent stockmen ana Instruc¬ 
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chapter on “ Selection of the Horse for Speed,” Is now 
especially complete, the author having embodied therein 
a carefully prepared “ Study In Animal Physics,” regard¬ 
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“This Is a careful scientific consideration of the mechan¬ 
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All the new breeds established, or brought before the 
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Engravings, with explanatory text, have been especi¬ 
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value to the student of animal husbandry, whether In the 
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Price, in handsome cloth binding, #2; half sheep, 
#2.75; half morocco, #3.50. 
THE RURAL PUBLISHING COMPANY, New York. 
