ititrjr of it |lur;tli. ( it. 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
FROM THE DIARY OF A GENTLEMAN NEAR NEW YORK CITY. 
Planting Scarlet Sage.— June 10.—The 
Salvia tplendem, or Scarlet Sage, is one of 
our most showy ornamental plants, especial¬ 
ly during the latter part of Summer and ear¬ 
ly Autumn. The plants are usually sold by 
our florists in Spring, grown in small pots, 
the same as verbenas and other bedding-out 
plants, and but veiy few persons seem to 
know that they can be grown from seed 
twenty times cheaper than they can be pur¬ 
chased. “ Save your own seed," is my rule 
with everything that l can, and especially 
with choice plauts. Early in Spring I sowed 
a quantity of homo - grown Scarlet Sage 
seed in my hot-beds, and from time to time 
the plants have been set out in the border 
about my lawn. I raised a thousand plants 
or more without any expense, except the 
little time required in saving and sowing 
the seed, which, of course, amounts to 
nothing with those who love flowers. Had 
I purchased these plants they would have 
probably cost me fifty dollars, but by rais¬ 
ing them from seed my garden will be made 
brilliant at very little expense. The idea 
which I wish to impress upon all who love a 
garden, is to learn how to make one with¬ 
out unnecessary expense. If certain per¬ 
sons would try to employ their own brains 
more, there would be less necessity of pur¬ 
chasing the products of others. 
Tying Up Raspberries.— June 11.—I 
never could understand how any could 
think of raising a good crop of raspberries 
without either trellises or stakes, as some 
small-fruit, cult mists recommend. If the 
young caries are not tied to some support, 
they are broken off by tho wind and rain 
when not more than two or three feet high, 
and tho old canes, when loaded with fruit, 
are beaten down by every shower and the 
berries become covered with dirt. 1 have 
tried tire pinching off of tho young canes 
when not more than two feet high; also 
checking latteral growth; but have found 
no system so cheap or satisfactory as thor¬ 
oughly staking every hill. A heavy rain, 
with high winds, a few days since, broke 
down a good many plants, and we have been 
over the plantation to-day making all se¬ 
cure. Good strong twine, or buss, is required 
to hold a large number of canes secure to a 
stake, but the increase in quantity and 
quality of fruit will more than pay the cost. 
Then, how much more readily the phints 
can be cultivated when tied up, and how 
neat and trim a plantation of raspberries 
or blackberries looks when the plants are 
kept secured to stakes or trellis! I am well 
aware that some of our extensive cultiva¬ 
tors of these fruits use neither stakes nor 
other means of support; but a glance at 
their plantations is enough to give any man 
who has any neatness in his composition 
the hysterics. 
Cleaning Roads and Pence Corner#. 
—June l '.!.—If there is any one thing which 
I hate more than another about a farm, It 
is to have the road walks and fence corners 
filled with brush and weeds. It Is from 
these places that the Canada Thistles and 
other noxious weeds become scattered over 
the farm, and who does not know that 
weeds in roads and walks are a sure mark 
of slovenliness on the part of tho owner? 
Just mow all tho brush and weeds from the 
fence corners and roadsides; hoe and rake 
your garden walks, and see what a wonder¬ 
ful change it will make in the general ap¬ 
pearance of your place. What a very bad 
hat is to an otherwise well-dressed gentle¬ 
man, weedy walks and roads are to a good 
farm or garden. 
When 1 was a boy, my father taught mo 
to hoe out my row, which meant to the 
center of the road, or close up to the fence, 
not permitting the weeds and grass to 
annually encroach upon that portion of the 
land occupied by crops, I know it is a hard 
lesson to learn, and it takes a long time for 
some men to understand the importance of 
hoeing out their row, but by persistent 
effort my workmen have succeeded, and, as 
a result, the roads and walks are usually as 
free of weeds as any other portion of the 
grounds. 
Double Creuate - Leaved Dutzia. — 
June 13.—If everybody who owns a garden 
has not already obtained this queen of orna¬ 
mental shrubs, I would advise them to get 
it as soon as possible. Do not forget the 
scientific name, which is Dutzia ermata 
plena. It is a large, upright-growing shrub, 
producing long spikes of beautiful double 
flowers, the outside row of petals being 
tinged with red, the others pure white. It 
is readily propagated by cuttings or layers, 
and wo presume good sized plauts can be 
purchased for twenty-five cents each. I do 
not know of a more beautiful shrub or one 
that will give more general satisfaction. 
My old plants (and I have a goodly number 
growing about my garden) are now in full 
bloom, and they are the admiration of all 
who chance to see them. Writedown the 
name and get a plant next fall or spring, 
aud if you are not pleased with it, set rae 
down as a poor judge of shrubbery. 
stir (Bcouottm, 
if ttiitt'pnt. 
PRUNING GRAPES IN SUMMER. 
After reading several articles on ‘‘grape 
pruning,” T will give you my experience in 
pruning grape vines in summer. I had 
heard different persons say that to prune 
the vines closely in summer would greatly 
increase the size of the bunches, besides 
producing a more delicious flavor in tho 
fruit. There being two very vigorous vines 
in our yard, f thought I would try the ex¬ 
periment. Accordingly, one very warm 
day, toward the latter part of June, last 
year, armed with a good knife, and confi¬ 
dent of having a splendid crop of grapes, I 
proceeded to the vines and commenced 
pruning with a will. Nearly every shoot 
was cut off, leaving only one or two leaves 
beyond the last bunch. ‘ This was done in 
the supposition that the whole strength of 
the vine would now be t hrown into its fruit. 
Il&ving completed the work to my satisfac¬ 
tion. 1 now waited patiently, expecting to 
see them bending with grapes whoso bunch¬ 
es, in size, would rival those in the land of 
Canaan. Hut you may imagine my disap¬ 
pointment in tllo result. Lnatuad of the 
clusters being large, they were small, having 
increased but little in size after t he pruning. 
Instead of a delicious flavor, those on on® 
of the vines were almost tasteless. Yet, 
this is not the worst of it. On examining 
the vines in t he beginning of winter, l found 
nearly every shoot that I luvd trimmed was 
dead—all, except about two or throe inches 
at tlie base How they will do the coming 
Summer remains to bo soon. I give these 
facts as the result of the experiment. If 
any or the renders of tin; Rural have had 
successful experience in this method, will 
they not give us a little information oil the 
subject, especially on the proper time for 
pruning, and where to cut the shoot.? 
Landisburg, Pa. A Reader. 
We do not wonder our correspondent’s 
experiments in Summer pruning were un¬ 
satisfactory. Wo do not know that any¬ 
body over had the hardihood to recommend 
such Summer pruning as ho describes. Wo 
have always found that lungs were neces¬ 
sary to the health of the individual; and 
loaves are the lungs of a plant, in a sense ; 
cut off the foliage of a plant and you kill It, 
as surely as you will kill a man to take the 
lungs out or his body. We advise our lriond 
to get some good work on grape culture and 
study it; also one on vegetable physiology. 
UNPRODUCTIVE SCUPPERNONG. 
1 HAVE been a subscriber to your paper 
for several years, and, seeing that you some¬ 
times have plants sent you for name, eto., I 
last year sent you specimens from some 
Wcuppernong vines, but saw no mention of 
them. I inclose in this specimens from the 
same two vines- both are upwards of ten 
years old, and in tho Spring are both in full 
bloom. At present I see no difference in 
the blooms; hut in a few days the blooms of 
one will open, t he outer covering will fall to 
the ground and will he soon followed by the 
petals of the flowers, while the hloom, or 
fruit, nf the other will steadily grow to ma¬ 
turity. Tho vines are both luxuriant, in the 
same soil, and only about fifty feet apart, f 
have never seen or heard of a vine with tho 
peculiarity of the non-bearing vine. Can 
you tell why it is so, and i[ iL is hopelessly 
unproductive ? Hoot and limit pruning have 
both been tried without any result.. Tho 
two bunches tied together ure the unpro¬ 
ductive. 
1 also have a rose bush, several years old, 
very luxuriant, but which lias never borne 
flowers or any signs of buds. I have never 
known a case like this. M. M. M., Colum- 
bun On. 
Similar instances of unproductive vines 
are quite common among seedlings of other 
species of our native grapes. Sometimes 
we find vinos in which the stamens ure de¬ 
formed, as in the well-known Taylnr’a Bulllt 
and Oporto; and the vines bear but little, 
unless in close proximity toother and more 
perfect flowering sorts. Occasionally a vine 
is produced in which the pistils of the flow¬ 
ers are eit her ent irely wanting or deformed, 
aud in such instances there can be no fruit, 
no matter how or where cultivated. The 
flowers scut are not in a proper condition 
for us to determine theirchunusLcr, although 
we have met very old vines in t he Sout hern 
as well as Northern States, that never pro¬ 
duced anything but Btmnlimte (male) flow¬ 
ers, and of course there was no fruit over 
seen upon them. It was long ago discovered 
that all our American species of vino were 
occasionally dioecious—that is, the stamens 
and pistils are m separate flowers on differ¬ 
ent plants. 
We cannot account for the rose bush not 
blooming; but wait, there is good reason to 
believe that it will bloom in time. 
THAT WEEK’S BILL OF FARE. 
Mrs. M. N. It. of Varian Springs has a bill 
of fare for one week. She commenced get¬ 
ting breakfast with baking potatoes, frying 
ham and eggs, making coffee (which, of 
course, was lately browned by her own 
hands), then scalds milk to drink In It, fries 
buckwheat cakes, sets table, which she 
asserts must bo done as nice as if expecting 
company; and she has, beside other things 
mentioned, bread, butter, sirup, fried cakes 
and crackers. We think the breakfast will 
do if the appetites are not too dellvate. 
She says after breakfast she is going to bake, 
so as to havo more of a variety. Wo will 
venture to suppose that husband buttons 
those little waists and laces tho little shoes, 
or perhaps she may live far enough East so 
that those little ‘‘responsibilities’’ never 
trouble her. However it is, wo think she 
does not have utility small children to set*, to, 
or much milk to skim before breakfast, or 
she could not speud so much time in getting 
tho cloth just so even, warming plates, put¬ 
ting napkins, glass ware and other fixings, 
which shu mentions, in just such a precise 
manner. 
We will suppose they havo eaten their 
“ frugal " meal and got things cleared away. 
As it is Monday, washing would naturally 
come next 111 order, though she says nothing 
about that. Perhaps where there is such 
exact order tho dirty clothes know enough 
to take care of themselves! She then com¬ 
mences tho dinner. First, her sponge for 
bread is light. While that is rising she 
makes mince pies, cakes, cookies, ginger- 
snaps and fruit-cake. Now the baking is 
done, she is going to have roast beef, pota¬ 
toes. turnips and squash. Then she must 
have grape jelly, pickles, brown bread, 
white crackers and ginger-snaps. For des¬ 
sert she has mince pie, cheese and apples. 
She thinks in a family of five or six persons 
one kind of meat will do. She intended to 
have had soup, but did not get round to it, 
but thinks if they are all well and hearty 
they will make out a good dinner. 
We want. t>> learn this lady’s “ knack ’’ of 
doing work, as we never could get all this 
done, which she tells of doing, the same day 
we wash. With us, a family of eight per¬ 
son*, we practice going to church every 
Sabbath; then, as every housekeeper knows, 
things are more out of place on Monday 
than any other day of the week; and be¬ 
side sweeping, making beds, washing, churn¬ 
ing (which latter always will manage to 
come on Monday), wo could not. find time to 
do so much cooking, even if wo bud the, 
strength and disposition. Wo think, per¬ 
haps, Mrs. M. N. It.’srules may do for peo- 
plo who live in towns, but we think they 
will not bo applicable to farmers’ wives. 
Perhaps you may hear from us again, if we 
succeed in get ting husband to buy some of 
tliuHo nice patent, pans whioll 1 lately saw at 
neighbor Drake’s; they will save so much 
time, aud labor, too. And then, perhaps, 
Bennie and Willie, our two youngest, 
will get the measles, which, if such a thing 
should happen, our spare time will be all 
occupied. Mrs. W. F. T. 
♦ »»- 
HOW SUMMER SUITS SHOULD BE 
WASHED. 
Summer suits are nearly all made of 
white or buffliuen, pique, cambric, or mus¬ 
lin, and the art of preserving the new ap¬ 
pearance after washing is a matter of the 
greatest importance. Common washer¬ 
women spoil everything with soda, and 
nothing is more frequent than to see the 
delicate tints of lawns and percales turned 
into dark blotches and muddy streaks by 
the ignorance aud vandalism of a laundress. 
It is worth while for ladles to pay attention 
to this, and insist upon having their sum¬ 
mer dresses washed according to tho direc¬ 
tions which they should be prepared to give 
their laundresses themselves. In the first 
place, the water should he tepid, the soap 
should not be allowed to touch tho fabric; 
it should be washed and rinsed quick, 
turned upon tho wrong side, and hung in 
the shade to dry, and when starched (In 
thin boiled but not boiling starch) should be 
folded in sheets or towels, aud ironed upon 
the wrong side as soon as possible. But 
linen should bo washed in water In which 
hay or a quart bag of bran has been boiled. 
This last will be found to answer for starch 
as well, and Is excellent for print dresses 
of all kinds, but a handful of salt la vory 
useful also to set tho colors of light cambrics 
ami dotted lawns: and a little ox gall will 
not only set but brighten yellow and pur¬ 
ple tints, and haa a good effect upon green. 
—Scientific American, 
ODDS AND ENDS. 
Strawberries and Raspberries.—Aline, 
in Germantown Telegraph, says:—"These 
cau be preserved for ice-creams or cakes or 
for tarts, without boiling. They should be 
picked when the fruit is dry, and put at 
ouco into a deep bowl or pan, and bruised 
gently. Mix with an equal weight of best 
“sifted" sugar, and put Immediately iuto 
wide-necked bott les; cork these iirmlv with¬ 
out delay, and tie bladders over the tops. 
Keep in a cool place or the fruit will fer¬ 
ment. This mixture should be stirred soft¬ 
ly, and only just sufficient to blend the su¬ 
gar and the fruit. The bottles must be per¬ 
fectly dry, and tho bladders, after having 
been cleaned in the usual way, and allowed 
to become nearly dry, should be moistened 
witli a little whisky or alcohol on the side 
next the cork. I have thus successfully put 
up both strawberries aud raspberries for 
future use.” 
Lemon Butter.—We find the following 
highly recommendedOne pound of white 
sugar, one quarter pound fresh butter, Rix 
eggs, juice and grated rind of three lemons, 
taking out all the seeds. Boil all together 
a few minutes, till thick as honey, stirring 
constantly; put in small jura, or tumblers, 
covered with paper dipped in white of egg. 
One teaspoonful is enough for a (art or 
cheese-cake. This will keep a long time in 
a cool, dry place. 
To Color Kid Gloves a Beautiful 
Black.—Take four ounces of alcohol and a 
handful of logwood chips; dissolve the chips 
in the alcohol; put the gloves on your hands 
and put the liquid on with a sponge.— J. A. s. 
m 
NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
IHuhIc mhe Performed nt llie World’s l’cace 
Jubilee.—Uoitun: Oliver intsou & Co. 
Twenty thousand copies of this handsome 
book, of ITS pageB, have been given by Mr. 
Ditson for use at tho Jubilee, and it is now 
offered to the public, not ouly for use by 
tho audience, or even us a souvenir to bo 
preserved in memory of the Jubilee, but ns 
a really good selection of the best choral 
music, for uso in singing societies and in 
choirs, for practice, and special perform¬ 
ances. The music is good, well printed, 
cheap—what more can be needed ? 
Fables and l.egcmli* of Many Countries. By 
John U. Saxe. Huston : Jus. It. 0&«uuct & Co. 
A collection in rhyme of tunny of the 
later aud shorter poeuis of this well-known 
author. Saxe is always readable, usually 
amusing, and frequently very funny. Tho 
book contains thirty-five poems, and is ded¬ 
icated to Mr. Saxe’s " three daughters." 
The poems have uli tho delicious llavor for 
which his writings are celebrated. 
The Nether Side of New York i or, Tho Vice, 
Crime amt Poverty Of the (treat Metropolis. By 
EijWAUD CHArSEY. New York.: Sheldon & Co. 
A book of much interest, albeit most of 
tho articles It contains have appeared in the 
Galaxy. Mr. C’rapsey is a careful writer, 
and has given his subject much attention. 
Tho book is decidedly rcaduble and sensa¬ 
tional, aud will bo apt to Impress country 
readers with the extent of crime aud wick¬ 
edness in this olty. 
Pansies. By A. D. T. Whitney. Boston: J. R. 
Osgood A Co. 
Mrs. Whitney has long been known as a 
pleasing poetess, as well as a writer for 
young folks. In this handsome little vol¬ 
ume, “for thoughts,” there are many pleas¬ 
ing and rare geina of poetry, which will 
delight hundreds of readers. Her war 
poems are sad and beautiful, calliug vividly 
to mind the awful days of the great Rebel¬ 
lion. _ 
School of Miues, Columbia College, 1S71-72. 
A valuable pamphlet of fifty pages, 
giving a full account of the College, its 
course of instruction, eto. 
if $)tinier. 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-June 15. 
Illustrated Relies No. 24.— He who waits 
for deud men's shoes may have to go a long time 
barefooted. Correct answers have been received 
up to the time of going to press from Mrs. D., 
Nettle E. Betts, Chas. a. Sprout, I.. A. Smith, J. 
M. Simmons, Will M. Pryne, Samuel Parsons, H, 
K. Bradley, Aubrey Howie, K. Jeffers, K. If. 
Harvey. 
Puzzle No. G.-l, C; 2, At: 3, Cat; 4, All: 5, 
I. Na and Lina; «, Cataliu ; 7, Catalina. Correct 
answers havo been received up to going to press 
from Thomas W. Fagan, Will M. Pryne, Mrs. A. 
A. Macomber. 
