A US, 1 
M 0 9 B i ’ S BUBAL WEW-¥@BKEB 
FAULT-FINDING. 
Grown people are so apt to forget that 
they were once young ! It is a most lameut- 
able forgetfulness. There is no need of the 
heart growing old. Gray hairs may be the 
glory of old ago, but freshness of heart and 
soul are its beauties. 
“ What a dear, precious old man is that 
‘Father E-os you call him 1” exclaimed 
a lively young girl, after my “dear, pre¬ 
cious” elderly friend had bid us good night; 
“he seems to know just how young folks 
feel, and don’t ‘pooh’ and look nonsense at 
our ambitions and likes. I’d like to have him 
for my father, T would ; he isn’t always find¬ 
ing fault about everything, / know.” 
How many young men and women do you 
suppose are annually driven from the paren¬ 
tal roof by the fault-finding of father or 
mother, or both ? Wo know of no statistics 
to resort to, to ascertain the number, but 
usingour personal observation as a basis, 
the number is large. More boys leave than 
girls, because they are. boys. It is not un¬ 
common for girls to marry because they can 
have no peace at home. That is one outlet 
to them. It may give only a “change” of 
cultivation, however. Only a few mornings 
ago, we had a young girl committing suicide, 
because of the eternal wrangling and fault¬ 
finding of her parents. 
If wo wanted to make a child deceitful or 
a liar, we should find fault with him about 
great as well as small things. If he broke, 
or lost, or destroyed anything, we should 
give him such a lingual castigation that if a 
similar accident befei him again, he would 
rather lie, steal or run away, than to encoun¬ 
ter the parental ordeal the second time. 
When a child, we had a great number of 
very prominent “traits” that were cata¬ 
logued olf as “ faults.” As we had a propen¬ 
sity fur climbing trees and scaling fences, we 
naturally made considerable havoc with our 
calico dresses. But being deft with the nee¬ 
dle, we usually managed to make the rents 
keep “mum” until ironing day came, when 
the quick eye of mother or Bridget would 
ferret out the mischief. So ironing day be¬ 
came a sort of Day of Judgment to us. We 
never could get used to being found fault 
with, and were often put to our wits’ end 
how to escape the wrath we knew would 
surely overtake us. It. didn’t make us a bit 
more careful, and all the fault finding in the 
world never made any child more careful. 
There are words that will make them more 
careful and thoughtful, but they are not 
words of “fault-tinding,” 
Another one of our distinguishing “traits” 
was what seemed to be a propensity for 
breaking crockery. We had to dear away 
the table, and wash dishes when it took a 
stool to make us tail enough to get our hands j 
well into the dish pan ; so we received sev- \ 
eral castigations both of a physical as well as | 
spiritual nature for breaking dishes. And 
until this day, the sight of a girl carrying or ' 
lifting dishes makes us actually nervous for \ 
fear she will let them fall, and father or ( 
mother will give her such uu “awful scold- , 
iug,” when she feels badly enough about it . 
already. 
No child, in a normal condition, feels any- , 
thing but sorrow at misfortune or losses , 
which accrue from inishaps. Rut a generous t 
amount of fault-finding will harden some t 
young hearts into’a sort of “ don’t-care-ism.” t 
Sensitive natures Aviil be so overwhelmed A 
wit h the dread of the eternal fault-finding, as i 
to look out for an escape-valve, rather than t 
how to avoid another similar occurrence in 
the future. 
Fault-finding never cured us of tea ring our 
dresses or breaking dishes ; for we do both * 
unto this day, when we have a chance. Wo 1 
haven't traveled so far into womanhood m to ^ 
lorget how very, very miserable we used to 
be from much fault-finding—so very miser- 3 
able that we thought Goo even was ugly for ' 
allowing us to suffer ho, and wishing, oh, so C 
earnestly! for the time to come when wo " 
should be a woman and would break a whole C 
store of dishes, and not then be made to feel 
just, as had as if our little sister had died l! 
vv hy, people Will say, “ Not of the least con- ' 
sequence,” if a guest breaks a dish or spills s 
gravn*. But if their own little child does f 
10 ^ aine thing, they consider it a matter of <1 
great consequence—so great, that the child < 
is rendered as miserable as it can be, which 
is\ei \ miserable indeed, when we consider t 
our own capacities for misery. 0 
Talking with a gentleman on this theme a b 
iew evenings ago, he remarked “ I thought s 
my own childhood must have been an e:Jep- J A 
tional one, in point of unhappiness, until I 
grew up and compared notes with others.” 
“But what is the cause for such reports ?” 
we asked. 
“ I don’t know fully,” he replied. “I know 
my boy shall never pass such a boyhood ! I 
think perhaps ranch of it grows out of the 
old theory that children ought to owe every¬ 
thing to parents, when, in truth, it is more 
the reverse. Bringing souls into this world 
is a fearful responsibility, aud all that parent s 
can do for their children, it is their hounden 
duty to do. The most they can do for 11 lem 
will not even compensate for the inheritance 
of trouble and sorrow that is the birthright 
of every child born.” 
Ob, fathers and mothers ! We do not plead 
for your salvation, although wo know full 
well that Heaven will not be Heaven with 
fault-finders in it.. But. for the sake of your 
sons and daughters and those around you, 
whose happiness should moan more to you 
than t he gratification of your ill feelings, wo 
beseech you to abjure the spirit of fault-find¬ 
ing—a spirit that has nothing of Ciirist, or 
of Love, or of Nob.eness in it. v. a. e. w. 
fhiultn? IJanl. 
THE LAW OF DEVELOPMENT. 
HOW TO MAKE A WHATNOT. 
Lula Howard wants to know how to 
make a Whatnot. Here is my plan -.—Take 
three boards, cut them in the shape of a 
quarter of a circle, the bottom board the 
largest, 12 inches from the point corner to 
the round corner ; the next hoard the same 
shape, but. two inches smaller ; the top board 
the .same shape, only two inches smaller than 
the middle board and four inches smaller 
than the bottom board. Put holes in each 
corner of each board, half an inch from the 
edge. Take strong cord, pass it through each 
hole in the bottom board ; then take twenty- 
seven spools, all one size ; put nine on each 
cord ; then put on the middle board, and use 
the same number of spools as before. Put 
on the top board ; tie the cords together at 
the top to hang it up by. Take pasteboard 
five inches wide and just long enough to 
reach around the round part of the boards, 
scallop out one side to our fancy. You can 
make them deep or shallow ; tack the other 
side to the boards with scallops downward ; 
take all kinds of shells, acorns, small pine 
cones, corn, beans, anything you wish to put 
on ■ you call fasten these things to the paste¬ 
board with glue. To make it more fancy, 
take those little cedar bells that grow on 
cedar trees, hang them to the scallops below 
so as t.o form a friuge, two to odch string, 
three-fourths of an inch apart. You thus 
have a Whatnot. Hang it in the corner of 
your room, put on each shelf just what you 
please—any kind of ornament that you may 
have. Lizzie J. Lour. 
DOMESTIC BREVITIES. 
To Cook Cml'ijlawers. —Select those that 
have the fewest tiny leaves upon their sur¬ 
face and the whitest blossoms. The large 
leaves must be opened at the sides to make 
sure that no cabbage worms — those hateful 
pests—infest it. Wash the head in Btrong 
salt and water; pin it up closely in a cotton 
cloth and place it in boiling water; let it boil 
constantly for twenty-five or thirty minutes, 
according to size. Care must be taken not 
to boil it too much or it will fall to pieces 
when dished. Place It as whole as possible 
upon a platter and pour over it white butter- 
sauce made of half a pint of milk, a heaping 
teaspoonful of flour aud a small piece of but¬ 
ter. Tims served, it is one of the handsomest 
vegetables that you can place upon your 
table, and it goes charmingly with sweet po¬ 
tatoes, squash, corn and beans, aud meats of 
all kinds. 
Fish Chowder. — One layer of thin slices 
sweet pork and one of fresh fish; season with 
pepper, &c.; one layer of split crackers, and 
so continue to repeat until sufficient to cook. 
When done, cover the. whole with cold water 
and boil slowly cue hour, keeping it just 
covered with boiling water. After the whole 
once boils, add scalding new milk, let it boil 
• ip once and serve hot. Thin slices of onions 
can be added at first, If desired. 
lx my last paper I tried t.o show by the 
. example of the Game fowl, that if the atten- 
1 tinn of the brooders of a variety he mainly 
fixed upon one point, or set of points, other 
points will and must lose, while those sought 
increase in perfection. It will be found on 
examination that this law is general, and 
explains moat of those changes of fashion 
which can bo remarked in poultry-breeding 
But it will also be found ou examination that 
when perfection, or what is considered suffi- 
clent perfect ion, Is once reached, other points 
can be attended to without much deprecia¬ 
tion of the points already gained, provided 
only these last are not, as often happens, 
again comparatively lost Bight of. 
I have been singularly interested to observe 
how this simple law iH to be clearly traced 
through the past history or many breeds, as 
shown by the copious notes winch have been 
placed at my disposal by various breeders. 
A good example is found iu the Spangled 
Haoiburglis. Mr. Beldon— than whom there 
can hardly be a better authority—believes 
that the original of this breed was the York¬ 
shire Pheasant, fromwhich, by careful breed¬ 
ing, was made the Lancashire Mooney. In 
this breed, as is well known, the spangling of 
the hens was the one poiutsought, and it was 
obtained in glorious perfection. But in fast¬ 
ening attention upon this, other points were 
lost sight of, and accordingly the breed de¬ 
teriorated in neatness of head, in ear-lobe, 
and m the plumage of the cock, which, there 
can be little doubt, became hen-leathered 
through this close breeding to get well-span- 
gled hens, as it is still found that heavily- 
spangled cooks arc. the best for this purpose. 
After awhile the neglect**l points were re¬ 
quired by the judges, but Were only obtained 
at first by such a sacrifice of spangling in the 
hens that these could not be shown, the 
Mooney being required to be shown in this 
sex. By degrees, however the pullets pro¬ 
duced by the cross became better and better, 
till at length several Hamburgh breeders 
possess strains which breed first-rate Bilvcr- 
spangled cocks, while yet the pullets pro¬ 
duced are little inferior to the old Sliver 
Mooneys, which have consequently almost 
disappeared. Other instances could lie named, 
but one adequate illustration is as good as 
many, mid I am anxious to come to the 
practical application of what we have been 
considering. 
If I wished to put that into the fewest 
words, it would be those of the old proverb 
“ One thing at a time,” a maxim which de¬ 
serves writing in lettei-s of gold, so little is it 
understood by young and inexperienced fan 
ciors. As a rule they will not believe in It 
Gold and Silver Cake .—One cup sugar, 
half cup butter, half cup sweet milk, the 
whites of four eggs, two cups flour, one tea¬ 
spoon cream tartar, one-half teaspoon soda; 
for the gold cake use the yolks and flavor 
differently. — Mrs. H. S. Brown, Greene 
Co., N. Y. 
Salt Rising Rread .—I would like to hear 
through the Rural New-Yorker, from some 
of its readers, the process of making salt ris¬ 
ing and milk rising bread ; or are they the 
same? I am not posted in either process.— 
! Mss. A. 
till they have tried the other way and lost, 
heavily by it; and many never learn it at all. 
But 1 never knew a good breeder of any 
breed who did not act upon It, whether he 
thought lie did or not. The young amateur, 
however, goes on a different plan. Having 
mated his birds and bred his first-year’s 
chickens, he finds he has in his yard, in all 
probability, Some prevalent fault, lie buys 
a cockerel at a good price to reinddy this 
fault, and breeds again. Probably this fault, 
is somewhat better, but some other fault 
now appears, aud ho now perhaps buys 
another bird, or, if not, mates up his own, 
almost entirely with a view to remedy that, 
when he finds to his dismay that either the 
first fault, or perhaps a third, again appears 
to trouble him, and show that he is as far off 
perfection as ever ; and so lie. goes on. If 
has been the experience of hundreds. 
Now the reason of all this is, that he has 
never bred for any point or perfection long 
enough to really fix it in his yard. He never 
stays to secure what ground he has already 
gained, lmt thruws this away while trying to 
get some more. He has no fi xed ideas, which 
all good breeders have, and lie gets the pro¬ 
verbial reward of every man who works 
without a purpose or a plan. Ho tries to 
remedy fault after fault, just as it, appears 
the most glaring of the season to his eyes, 
and if there be any brief change of fashion in 
judging, as there occasionally is (generally, 
I believe, it will he found these changes of- 
fashion occur in order to counteract the 
faults of the day), he tries to meet, them too. 
In brief, he fails simply because he does not 
understand it must be one thing at a time. 
Every breed has its ideal standard or 
model. The amateur must first get this well 
into his mind ; or, if he thinks the. understood 
ideal faulty, he is at liberty to form in his 
mind a better—if he can. Few men think 
exactly alike on these things, and hence the 
difference wo see in different strains. Now, 
having formed his ideal, he has to consider 
what classes of points are at once the hardest 
to secure, anil the most valuable when made 
permanent. In nearly ail varieties these a,ro 
beyond question the points of color or feat her. 
As a rule, therefore, these should be the first 
points bred for, and breeding should for sev¬ 
eral years be mainly directed to securing 
them in the highest perfection, and in such a 
degree that the stock can be depended upon 
t(A breed birds satisfactory in this respect 
While doing this other points need not be 
altogether ignored, of coarse; but they 
should tic kept, somewhat subordinate, and 
only a general kind of attention be given to 
them to see that they do not become very 
bail, while the ground being more specially 
cultivated is made thoroughly secure. Then, 
when so much has been done, comparatively 
little care, will ho needed to preserve the 
points thus attained, and from the chickens 
bred from the strain thusdar formed such 
may bo selected as present other points de¬ 
sired. Crossing, or at least a thoroughly 
alien cross, should very rarely lie ventured 
upon, nearly always doing much harm from 
a more fancier’s point of view, for the simple 
reason that you can never be sure the bird 
selected has been the product of a similar 
“ course” of breeding to your own yard, and 
if not, he will introduce an element of uncer¬ 
tainty which is undesirable, and often dan¬ 
gerous. But by steadily persevering with one 
stock, working steadily towards a definite 
object, and securing all ground really gained, 
a gradual but sure approach to excellence 
will be ensured, aud every year will see some¬ 
thing evidently gained. 
This, then, is what I mean by tho law of 
development. You have simply to breed 
steadily towards any desired point, selecting 
those birds which show it best, and you 
infallibly get it (if the st andard you set up 
lie a possible one,) if you keep on long enough. 
While, doing this you can pay only subordi¬ 
nate attention to other points; but when 
done you can pay more to them also, since 
your fixed strain will give you so many birds 
with the points you first sought, that you 
OHII select from them all you want to secure 
. he next point. It, is simple as A, B, C, arid 
bears the same relation to the whole science 
>f breeding which those letters do to all 
written language. I am not sorry that the 
dillerencc between some breeds of poultry 
jiast and present, bus given me occasion for a 
few words upon it.— L. Wright 
■--.. 
YOUNG WOMEN AND POULTRY, 
Dear Mr. Editor :— I read with great in- 
I ei est everything that is presented in your 
. nultry Department. I sometimes wonder 
if other young women who rend the Rural 
New-Yorker delight in attending to poultry 
a* I do and find it as profitable. My poultry 
(and 1 have Dark and Light Brahmas, Ban¬ 
tams, Houdahs, Aylesbury ducks, Towlouso 
geese, and a. cote of fancy pigeons, and am 
going to have some fancy rabbits in addition) 
are my pets. They not only give me pleas¬ 
ure, but profit. I have purchased nil my 
clothing and had a modest supply of pin 
money from the products of my fowls the 
past two years. It does not consume much 
time either, to take care of them. 1 don’t 
spend any less time at tho piano, nor do I 
neglect my household duties in consequence. 
I think I enjoy ail my work the better for 
having the care of these pets. 1 learn sonie- 
l huig every day from them, and my young 
Udy friends “Wish they had something to 
care for,” aud watch mo as l look after my 
fowls with interest, but do not make any 
well-directed attempt to begin. It only re¬ 
quires the energy to start and the persever¬ 
ance and will to succeed, and one more very 
important attraction is added to the country 
home. 1 thank you again for what 1 have 
I earned from your poultry columns, and trust 
* itliers, especially the ladies who take interest 
in the management of fowls, will write for it. 
Please do not print my name. Maud. 
----, 
POULTRY NOTES. 
Canker in Pigeons, according +. 0 a great 
authority, should not be cut out, but the 
cankered place dressed twice a day with a 
solut ion of zinc or copper (cryst.alized), about 
half an ounce to a quart of water. Merely 
wash the sore with a flight feather. The lo¬ 
tion must not be too freely used in the mouth. 
Treatment of Young Turkeys. — N. N.— 
Doubtless your young turkeys get out of 
doors and into the wet grass too early in the 
morning. They should not bo allowed to do 
so. Let the sun get well up and the grass get 
dry before they are permitted to go abroad. 
