PUBLISHER’S SPECIAL NOTICES. 
tlow to Do It.—It If not tioceaaary to have all 
our “ documents'' in order to form a club. On the 
contrary, any subscriber, or other reader til the 
paper who knows Its merits, can qo to work fit oner. 
By showing a number of the Bubal. and talking to 
friends and neighbors, almost any erne can form a 
club of from ten to fifty, without other assistance. 
Wo will send all requisite aids, but If not received 
you need not wait, their arrival— and a little Timely 
Effort will secure you a ValwiMs Premium, 
Itymss of the 
CURRENT TOPICS. 
The Chlef-JustlceshlOi 
HOME NEWS PARAGRAPHS. 
be forwarded to the San Francisco Distributing 
Post-Offloe. The rates of postage an; 10 cents 
to the Sandwich Islands and 12 cents to the 
Austral.udon Colon lea. Prepayment is required. 
The total expenditures of N. Y. State public 
schools during the year were $10,946,230.82. Of 
this, $7,417,179.89 was paid to the teachers, and 
$1,991,932.32 was expended for school houses, 
repairs, Ac. The estimated value of school 
property is $27,070,310. 
FOREIGN N0TE8. 
December Is the Best Muntb in which tb form 
clubs, and hence .Yowls tin Very Time for nor Agents, 
and all others disposed to secure "Good Pay tor Do¬ 
ing Good ”—to help the IttricAt, and benefit them¬ 
selves—to open anti push the Campaign lor 1874. 
Many have already commenced, and wo trust every 
Club Agent who hns not “opened the ball " will do 
so at once. Our Premiums are so liberal t hat every 
one forming u club will be Well Rewarded. 
CHIII Agents who cannot act for the RmAt dur¬ 
ing the ensuing year, will confer a special favor by 
inducing some active, wide-nwnke and influential 
friend to do so—notifying us of the fact. Extra doc¬ 
uments—Premium Lists, Show Utils, &c.,—will be 
sent to all such new Agents, and Indeed to all dis¬ 
posed to do u JLUtle Good Work for a barge Howard. 
The Dnemnents Ready.—Our Show Bill, Pre¬ 
mium bist, Ac., are now ready, and. together with 
specimens of tlic piper, will bo sent promptly—on 
day of receipt of request—to all disposed to form 
clubs or otherwise aid In extending the circulation 
of the best combined RURAL, LITERARY and FAM¬ 
ILY Weekly. Semi tor the documents ! 
Since Otir last issue, President Gi'flnt has 
been compelled to withdraw t he nomination of 
Caleb Cushing for the position of Chief-Justice. 
This he did at Mr. Cushing’s request who, how¬ 
ever, in his letter asking Its withdrawal, says: 
Permit me to add that the charges of disloy¬ 
ally to the Union and I lie Constitution which 
have been brought against, mo in this connec¬ 
tion are utterly destitute of foundation intruth 
or in fact. T indignantly repel the Imputation. 
In all the time anterior to the commencement 
of hostilities in t lie Southern States every act 
of my political life, in whatever relation of par- 
lies, was governed by the single dominant pur¬ 
pose of aiming to preserve the threatened in¬ 
tegrity of the union,and to avert from my coun¬ 
try the calamity of its disruption and of conse¬ 
quent fratricidal carnage. How could such ft 
purpose be prompted ntliorwlee thun by politi¬ 
cal association or personal intercourse with cit¬ 
izens of different States, Including those of 
States professedly disaffected to the Union? 
Should the o nly possible means of laboring to 
prevent, civil war bo stigmatized as disloyalty 
to the Const itution V Immediately on the oc¬ 
currence of the first blow of hostility tr» the 
Union lieiug struck in the State of South Caro¬ 
lina, I took my stand with the Union and Its 
Government. I publicly announced my adhe¬ 
sion to them in the most unequivocal terms. 1 
tendered my services to tin*Government in the 
field, or in any other way which might testify 
my fidelity to it, and I have continued from 
that day to this, as well in official ad unofficial 
action, to tread in the path of unswerving de¬ 
votion to the Union, whether duringthuactual 
progress of hostilities against it or in the sub¬ 
sequent events of itH reconstruction and of the 
successive amendments of the Constitution, 
rendered necessary Jij' the changed conditions 
and relat ions of the several Stat es of ( lie United 
Stales and of their respective Inhabitants. 
While my nomination w*» undergoing consid¬ 
eration in the Senate, it would have been unbe¬ 
coming for mo to speak in explanation of my 
acts or my opinions; but now, with relative In¬ 
difference to whatever else may have been said, 
either honestly or k|»U 4 ioiti&ly. to my prejudice, 
it belongs to mv sense of public duty, and it is 
my right to reaffirm and declare that I have 
never, in the long course of a not inactive life, 
done an act, uttered a word, or conceived a 
thought of disloyalty to the Constitution or the 
Union. 
Tne Boston Grange. 
A Boston telegram dated Jau. 11 says:—The 
officers of the Boston Grunge were installed in 
due form this oveptng by Charles W. Felt, 
Worthy Lecturer of the State Grange. At the 
close of the service he communicated the pass¬ 
word for 1874, thus putting the Grange on an 
equality with the other Granges of the State. 
Being thus regularly organized, recognized by 
the National and Slate officers, and in posses¬ 
sion of the password, the members congratulate 
themselves that the difficulties under which 
they have labored are cloared away, and they 
expect to be able to overcome all opposition 
which* may be brought against them in the 
meeting of the National Grange, to which they 
will send three delegates. 
The German correspondent of a London con¬ 
temporary says that the Khivan expedition has 
brought. Into notice a rival to the celebrated 
German Erbswurat. The Russian soldiers were 
fed chiefly on biscuits composed of one-third 
of flour of rye, one-third of beef reduced to 
powder, and one-third of sauerkraut also re- 
due,etl to powder. The poldicrB are stated to 
have bad u great relish for this food, and their 
good health during the expedition is attributed 
In a great part to the use of it. 
Specimens of Canadian meat have been ex¬ 
hibited at Liverpool, It was killed two days 
before the vessel sailed from Montreal, and was 
then frozen and stored in a cool, dry place on 
board, with the most satisfactory result, it 
proving sc perfectly fresh that it had the ap¬ 
pearance of having been killed only a few days 
previously. A company Is to be organized to 
introduce this meat into England., 
Henry Bet,knap, a passenger on the steamer 
Vilie du Havre, writes that the French Trans¬ 
atlantic. Steamship Company, relying upon Hie 
exculpation of their officers by the French 
Court, refuse to Indemnify parties for the loss 
of friends and property by the disaster, and 
sufferers propose to seek redress in the New 
York Courts. 
Woman suffrage is declining in England. The 
liberal party originally supported the move¬ 
ment ; but It is found that, so far. the women 
who have voted on the basis of property quali¬ 
fications develop Into full-grown tories as surely 
as the polywog becomes a frog. 
Late advices from Rio report that the termi¬ 
nation of the war lu Entro Rios has officially 
been declared. Gen. Jordan, the leader of the 
rebellion, had been totally defeated, and was a 
fugitive. His adherents had given in their sub¬ 
mission to the Government. 
.Advices from Newfoundland point to the 
speedy overthrow of the present Bonnet Gov¬ 
ernment, The late elections in that Province 
have led to dangerous feelings of hostility be¬ 
tween the Orangemen and Catholics in some 
parts of the Island. 
A LARGE Are occurred In Hie Purls mouth, 
Eng., dockyard, Jan. ID. Thousands of pounds’ 
worth of stores, which had accumulated there 
fertile Ashantoe expedition, were destroyed. 
TtiE Persian Minister in London authorize* 
Baron lieu ter to say that no advices of l ho re¬ 
vocation of the Shah's concession are received 
at tbo Legation. 
Japan is to be represented at St. Petersburg 
by Hanabusa Yashmuto, oue of the Undersec¬ 
retaries of tho Foreign Office, and recently En¬ 
voy to Corea. 
There has been an engagement between 
Spaniards and Cubans near Mol one*. The fight 
lasted six or seven hours, when the Spaniards 
retreated. 
A grand feto was to have been given last 
Monday at the American Legation, St. Peters¬ 
burg, in honor of the Duke of Edinburgh's 
marriage. 
TitK surrender of Cartagena to the Spanish 
authority is believed to have been the result of 
treachery on the part of the Insurgent leaders. 
Tn® iron-clad Numancia, in which the Car- 
tageninns escaped to Algiers has been delivered 
to a Spanish frigate by the French authorities. 
Chaiu.es Walcott Brooks is to return to 
San Francisco from Japan to resume his func¬ 
tions os Consul for Japan. 
M. BARTHOLDI, t he new French Minister to 
the United States, was to sail for Washington 
last. Monday. 
A CONTRADICTION’ is given to the report that 
Cardinal Antonelli is seriously ill. 
The Prince and Princess of Wales have ar¬ 
rived in St. Petersburg., 
THE SEASON, CROPS, PRICES, ETC. 
Des MoineS, Jan. 14.—Mr. Cowles, the oldest, 
postal route agent on tho Chicago and Rock 
Island Railroad, was to-day, by moans of a 
decoy letter, arrested by United States detect¬ 
ives for robbing the mails. 11 e finally confessed 
the robbery, which lias been going on for two 
or three years. It is supposed the money 
stolen will roach $90,090. Cowles is a brother-in- 
law of Schuyler Colfax, and was the last person 
to be suspected, owing to his previous good 
standing. 
The first steamer of the new line which car¬ 
ries the mail to the Australasian Colonies nut 
the Sandwich and Fiji Islands, will leave San 
Francisco on Jan. 31. Correspondence should 
lions; the present,one hundred and thirty-two 
millions—a difference of eighty-five millions. 
The reduction is heavy also in Iowa. The per¬ 
centage for New York 4s 98; for Pennsylvania, 
84; Tennessee, 91; Mississippi, 85; Arkansas, 
90; Texas, 75. Nebraska gives the lowest per¬ 
centage ; Florida the highest. A classification 
of the counties show that of 9NJ represented, 
652 return smaller products than those of 1872; 
185 larger, and 146 the same as last year. 
The quality of corn is reported poorer than 
last year in nearly all tbo States, the only ex¬ 
ceptions being Massachusetts, Virginia, Flor¬ 
ida, Alabama and California. The Western 
States give the lowest figuresIotfa, 88, (a de¬ 
preciation on the whole crop of last, year of 
one-sixth;) Illinois; 85; Indiana, 88; Ohio, 85; 
Missouri. 79; Kansas, 79; Nebraska, 76. Other 
States do not, exhibit a depreciation of more 
than ten per cent., except Pennsylvania, which 
is reported at 86. The prevailing characteris¬ 
tics of the season have been a wet spring, a 
summer too dry ami short, early frosts, in 
many places cool rains in early autumn. The 
citrljrtphintod corn ripened well; much of the 
late-planted was Immature when frost came, 
some of it so soft as to be of little value after 
thorough freezing. That portion of the early- 
planted which was deficient in drainage, either 
natural or artificial, was either “drowned out ’’ 
or Injured In its vitality and subsequent grow th. 
ThO winter set in too early for the in-gather¬ 
ing, one county in Wisconsin having ten inches 
of snow when only a third of the crop had 
been harvested. The losses always apparent 
through insufficient, or inefficient, culture are 
doubly manifest In a season like this. Indica¬ 
tions of this fact arc everywhere observable in 
such remarks ns these: “Intelligent cultiva¬ 
tion has produced good crops;'' “Traps sliorl- 
cnod one-fourth by bad culture“ Coni cul¬ 
ture is declining through a lack of rotation.” 
The lee Storm in Yorlhern Ohio.— Strongs¬ 
ville, <>., .Inn, 13.—7’ne beginning of 1874 will 
bo long remembered in this section. Never in 
the memory of tho oldest inhabitant has there 
been such a storm. From Monday evening till 
Wednesday evening it rained slowly and stead¬ 
ily, the air just, cold enough t n freeze. Tues¬ 
day morning everything was well covered with 
lee, but Wednesday morn we were awakened 
by the breaking of limbs on trees near the 
house. All day Wednesday the rain continued 
to fall, adding to the burden of the over-loaded 
trees, and all day the incessant crashing of 
falling IIml)?■ was hoard. Many hundreds of 
fruit trees in this town alone arc ruined, while 
a great many are badly injured. Our beautiful 
elms and maples look as if they w ould never 
recover. Out door* one can hear in the woods 
a half mile away tho Incessant fall of limbs 
from the trees, while quite frequently (lie 
heavier crashing and dull thud would tell of 
the fall of some ent ire tree many broken in 
the middle, others turned up by the root. I 
measured the ice on some twigs (less than a 
quarter of an inch in diameter); it v^ns an inch 
and a bait, while an old leaf was larger Hum 
my hand; a spear of grass is larger than a cane. 
Tho board fences facing tho storm are ono solid 
sheet of ice. Wednesday night, the weather 
grew colder, the rain changing to a light snow'. 
Thursday morning t hebterm ceased, I he clouds 
passed away, and the sun shining out clear 
turned everything to silver and crystal. 
“ Never before such enchantment 
’Wildcrnd you, wonderful trees.” 
The sky would have rivalled the sky of Italy 
for depth and purity, while the woods- every 
tree and shrub— shone and sparkled with a 
brightness which w«»s amazing. A lit11: i patch 
of dry, brown weeds is turned by the sparkling, 
reflected sunbeams into a perfect fairy-land, 
and as we look we stoop down to sec if wo may 
not catch a glimpse of Its little folk, for t hey 
must be here; but, alas! our eye* arc so daz¬ 
zled by Ihe blaze of the sunshine, the glitter of 
the precious gems, we cannot see thorn. But, 
oh ! tho tree* moved by the wind are flushing 
from their boughs more and brighter gleams 
of many-colored lights than ever shone from 
the crown ol' a king.—w. w. S- 
The Corn Crop of 1873.—The Department of 
Agriculture says:—This crop is so generally 
grown, Its Importance so great In the farm 
economy, that, the reports are not only numer¬ 
ous, hut more accurate than local estimates 
of the minor crops can be, and may lie relied 
on as approximating closely the aotual fact— 
possibly not so closely as census returns, per¬ 
haps in some cases » greater approach to ae- 
curacy. The present returns indicate another 
“ failure,” in the exaggerated language of crop 
conversation and random crop reporting a 
reduction of two hundred and thirty-three 
millions from that of last year. The per cent- 
age of the previous crop is 78. Only six States 
appear to have as ranch corn as in 1869, viz., 
Virginia, West Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Ore¬ 
gon and Rhode Island. Tho reduction in tho 
principal corn-growing States is made as fol¬ 
lows:—Kentucky, 4 percent.; Ohio, 11: Michi¬ 
gan, 17; Indiana, 28; Illinois, 39; Wisconsin, 
13; Minnesota, 10; Iowa, 28; Missouri, 32; Kan¬ 
sas, 31; Nebraska, 40. Last year’s estimate for 
Illinois was two hundred and seventeen mil¬ 
—p. f. ». 
ger, T. C. Maxwell. T, IT. Babcock : Nomencla¬ 
ture '—Charles Downing, P. Batry, D. W. Beadle, 
Geo. H. Eilwanger: Kntomnlogii— H. T. Brooks, 
K. W. Sylvester. E. W. Herendeen, and Mr. 
Saunders of Ontario: OmamtnM Plant* and. 
Tne #—George Kthvanger, W. S. Little, T. C. 
Maxwell, G. Zimmerman; Garden Vegetable#- 
E. S. Hayward, John Craine. .1. W, Gray; Onti- 
tholOffU —G, S. Fish, H. T. Brooks, E. VV. Heren¬ 
deen ; Jiotany— W. C. Barry, J. J. Thomas, D. 
W. Beadle, C. M Hooker. 
Uonvrntlnn of the Working Officers of the Ag, 
Morleties of .Yew York.—It is announced in the 
Journal of the N. Y. State Ag. Soe. that “In 
tho absence, likely to be more or less protract¬ 
ed, of Uni Chairman, and In view of the short 
notice that could be given, the other members 
of the Committee to which was referred t.be 
subject of the proposed convention of the work¬ 
ing officers of tho Agricultural Societies of the 
State, have decided not to call such convention 
at this time. Correspondence on the subject, 
with the view of ascertaining whether it la 
largely or generally desired that such a conven¬ 
tion shall be. held at. a future time, and whether 
WHAT SOCIETIES ARE DOING. 
tlon shall bn held at a future time, and whether 
useful results may bo expected from it.is so¬ 
licited." 
New York (state \g, «oc.— The annual meet¬ 
ing of this society will be held at Albany Jan¬ 
uary 21. Andrew H. White. President of 
Cornell University, Is announced to deliver an 
address on “Agricultural, Mechanical and Gen¬ 
eral Education in tho United States; Frank¬ 
lin B. Hough, Lowville, N. Y., a paper on the 
“ Necessity or Preserving and Planting For¬ 
ests.” It is also expected that a memorial of 
ex-Presidcmt Thomas Hall Faille, by ex- 
Presldent Concur, will he presented. 
The Farmers’ Institute of K«nso« is to meet 
at the Agricultural College at Manhattan, tho 
Drift week in February. The following Js the pro¬ 
gramme Tuesday—Undeveloped Resources 
of Kansas. Wednesday -Stock Growing. Thurs¬ 
day—Cereals and Grasses: Forest and Fruit 
Culture ; The best Education for the Farmer. 
Friday—Entomology : Farm Accounts; Agri¬ 
cultural Chemist ry ; Market Days ami Agricul¬ 
tural Fairs. 
Wisconsin Ag. Convention,.—Tho next meet¬ 
ing of the combined Agricultural and Horti¬ 
cultural Societies of Wisconsin will be held at 
Madison on the 4th, 6th and 6t h of February 
next. The annual address will bo delivered by 
Hon. W. C. Flagg, President Illinois Farmers’ 
Association. A reduction of 40 nor cent, on 
fares is promised to delegates by the Wisconsin 
railroads. W. W. Field, ceo'y. 
Carroll Co., Md. ? Ag. Koo.- Officers elect for 
1H?4 :—Prcs.—Q ranyili.e S. JIa iakh ; V. Pres. - 
George W. Mathews; Trees.- ft. Manning; See. 
Charles V. Wantz; Directors. ■Francis H. 
Orendortf, Henry E. Morcloek, Job Ilibbcrd, 
Thomas F. Shepherd and IS. J. (rumrine. 
The Caliiinliln t o, (N. Y.) Ag.tsor. has chosen 
the following officer*: Pres.— John D. Schl- 
kklt. Vico-Prcs, —E. W. BushnclI. Sec*—Cbas. 
H. Bell. Treat* —H. Milford Ford. 
The yinssnchusetts llort. Sec. has issued its 
schedule of prizes for the year 1874, which can 
be obtained by addressing E. W. Boswell Cor. 
Sec'.y, Boston, Mass. 
\ lion. 111., llort. Sor. —The officer:, elect for 
1874 are : Pres.— H. G. McPike. See.—O. L. Bar- 
ier. Treats—E. Hollister. 
SEMI-BUSINESS PARAGRAPHS. 
The Gold Medal of the Vicnna # Exposition 
for the Best Pianos awarded to George Steck 
& Co.— George Steck A Co. have nobly rep¬ 
resented the pre-eminence of the American 
Pianos abroad, for they have just received 
notification that the Imperial Commission in 
Vienna have awarded them for their Pianos 
the Gold Medal, the highest prize in their gift. 
Messrs. Stuck & Co. have well deserved tho 
splendid recognition which they have received 
according to the following letter: 
Vienna, Dec. 13, 1873. 
Geo. Steck, Esq. : 
Sir. 1 have the pleasure of informing you 
that I this day received from the Baron 
Schwarz - Senborn a Gold Medal awarded to 
you for the Pianos exhibited by you at the 
Vienna Exposition. 
Very respectfully yours, 
Thomas McElkath, 
United States Commissioner. 
THIS KARESTS. 
PRODUCE AND PROVISIONS. 
Hall'* Corner*, Ontario Co., \. Y., .Inn. 1 4,— 
We are having an open winter so far here. Tljc 
thermometer has only run down to 8" above 
zero once as yet: some plowing being done 
this month: tulips are pushing out of the 
ground. Prices as follows: — Wheat,, $2.50 to 
$2.60; barley, $1.25 to $1.35; corn, 65c. per 00 
lbs.; oats, 45c.; hay, $12 to $18; ajiplos, $3 per 
bbl.; pork, $7.50 per cwt. No sleighing since 
the 1st of December—t wo weeks in November. 
New Yokk, Monday, .Ian. 19, 1873. 
Receipt*.— The receipts of ihe principal kinds of 
produce for the past week are as follows: 
Cotton, bales. 36,300) Hops, bales. 465 
Dried Fruits, pkgs. 
Flour, bbls. 
Wheat, busli —... 
Corn, bush.. 
402 Fork, bill.*. 5,088 
90,100 Beef, pkgs. 917 
71BJ00iCut meat*, pkgs... 14,400 
182,500 Lord, tes.. 8,638 
Oat*, busl. 145,500 Butter, pkgs. 14,900 
Grass seed, bu»h... 2,230'Cheese, plcgs. 
Ilye. bush , . 1.R48 Peanuts, bags. 
llarlcy, bush.... . 1,600 Eggs, bbls... 
Beans, bush. 7.150 Milt, bush. 
Corn meal, bbls.6,130 Dressed Hogs, No.. 
Princeton, Ind., .Inn. lfi. — Weather here 
dear, cold- yesterday the coldest of tho seu- 
pon. No snow this winter yet. Wheat look¬ 
ing well, Markets improving. Wheat, $1.35 to 
$1.40; corn, 45c. to 50c. per bushel; hogs, $5.50 
net. Money very scarce ; can hardly be bought 
at any price.— n. c. g. • • 
Joncsvtlle, Saratoga Co., A. Y., Jon. 10.— 
Winter decidedly freaky. An April day to¬ 
day. The voice of the plowman can he heard : 
some farmers are building fence, ditching and 
plowing.—F. b. w. 
Corn meal, bags... 2.840.Wool bale®. 1,345 
Beeswax. -Supplies have been worked up 
promptly, under nn active trade from shipper:'. 
Sales at 30<g)32c. for Western and Southern. 
Beans nmi Peas.— Export* of beans for the past 
week,45*3 bbls,.; du. of peas, 5,880 bush. The receipts 
are largely in excess of the demand, and following 
a*- they do upon the former free deliveries, there is 
now considerable accumulation of stock. Mediums 
are very weak, and marrows, though attended with 
a fair export demand, seldom go above $3.35 tor fl nest 
lots. Pea bean* arc Mister. Kidneys tiro dull and 
quotations are nominal. Canadian peas In bbls. Ann.; 
bulk lots are 5e. higher, following an advance abroad. 
Green peas active ut full prices. B. K. peasa> before. 
Tb* onotations are:—For new mediums. t'M.l5 
Western New York Hurt. Soe.—At the recent 
meeting of this society, held in Rochester, tho 
following officers tvero elected -.—Prcs.—V. Hak¬ 
im ; i. Prcst s S, s. Graves, H. K, Hookt i ( 
L. Hoag; Ex. Com.— W. C. Barry, S. B. Yale, 
John J. Thomas, T. C. Maxwell, E. Moody; 
Com. on Native Emits—.1. J. Thumas, Charles 
Downing, W. C. Barry, George 8. Conover, W. 
Brown Smith; Foreign JPgulte—Oeargo Ellwaa- 
urcun ppas nesiYR u<, i un juices, is. K. pensasbemre. 
Tb* u notation rare:—For new mediums. 8201,2.15 
for prime, and iLlUtS 1.83 for other grades; primomur- 
rowlaie. $2.25®2.30t other grades, prime pea 
beans, t2.30t3i2.35: do. fair lota down to Z2.KK62.20; 
kidney, red. $3,50®3.66; kidney white,*2.35@?.75. Peas, 
new Canadian. in bbls., Zl,25661,30; do., tn hulk, 
fl.05®t.l0: Green, now. fl.60681.75; uld, $1.60®l,6u. 
Southern B. K. peas. $303.15 %* 2 bosh. bug. 
Broom Corn—Brings Urmer price*. The quota¬ 
tions are: 
New green burl at fits 10c.; now green brush and 
sttilk braid. »t 7@9e.; new red and red tipped, 5@7c., 
and are now selling at these rates. 
Buiter.—There has been a very fairlocal demand 
during the past week, which, though not active 
enough to he classed brisk, its addition to the steady 
outside shipment favors the high rule of prices. Ko- 
