SyiOOBE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
giarg of it UitraM 
DAILY RURAL LIRE. 
From the Diary of a Centleman near New 
York City. 
“ WHY DON'T YOU SHOOT IT ? " 
A >i(i. 1.—A few moments since a neighbor 
who was driving by halted and said, “ 1 say 
neighbor there is a wild rabbit down there 
in your garden,” (pointing in the direction 
he had just seen it). Well, said I, what of 
it ? Why don't you shoot it ? said he, with as 
much earnestness as though he had discov¬ 
ered a wolf among a (lock of sheep. But 
when I informed him that I did not allow 
shooting in my grounds lie drove on, think 
ing, no doubt, that there were some curious 
people in this world. 
The rabbit he saw is a wild one which lias 
for the past two years made her home 
among the shrubbery or bedding plants on 
my lawn, where she has raised several lit¬ 
ters of young, and although we frequently 
catch a baby rabbit, not one has ever been 
killed. T believe the mother knows that 
she mid her progeny are perfectly sale, hence 
the boldness and tenacity with which she 
sticks to her garden home, In the fall and 
winter the young rabbits venture, to the 
wood or into neighbors Holds, whcie they 
meet the usual fate of such game. Now 1 
am well aware that a number of rabbits in 
a garden or orchard would not be very 
desirable, but I doubt if those frequenting 
my place have ever damaged plants to the 
amount of fifty cents per annum. 
It is not. however, from nnv sentimental 
ism, or love for rabbits that 1 shield the one 
or more specimen* which frequent my gar¬ 
den, but as a kind of counter action or pro¬ 
test, against .the all pervading habit of killing 
every creature, large or small, just for the 
little pleasure derived from performing an 
act of Cruelty. That many persons take as 
much pleasure in being cruel, as others do 
in being kind, is as well known as any human 
trait, and one is just as natural as the other. 
Thu boy murderer, of Boston, tortured 
Ids victims because he derived pleasure from 
the act; and the baby burner, of which so 
much has been said in New York city papers 
of late was, doubtless, greatly pleased at the 
prospect of burning up a baby, when she set. 
fire to its clothing, but we need not go back 
to Adam, or any far distant ancestor, to find 
the cause of such cruelty. Like begets like, 
and brutal fathers and mothers are very 
likely to have brutal children, and all the 
wonderings of either parent, as to “where 
that boy got Iris cruel disposition from,” 
can usually be quite readily answered. 
“ Why don’t you kill that rabbit ?” is u key 
to the whole social problem which lias 
racked the brains of philosophers and hu¬ 
manitarians in all ages, and is still lo some a 
great mystery. Although I have, like all 
farmers and farmers'sons, been obliged to 
aid in killing animals, still from an inherited 
dislike for such a business 1 have never been 
able to work my feelings up to pleasurably 
performing (he operation. 
When a boy of twelve my father gave me 
a gun and taught me how to use it, also init i- 
ated me into the mysteries of various traps, 
and the peculiar habits of wild game, for 
there was plenty of it in the region where 
we lived at that time, blit he also directed 
me not only what to kill but why it might 
be killed. Soon alter entering this field of 
“sport" my companions informed that tan¬ 
ned woodchuck skins made excellent strings, 
and for a whiplash there was nothing equal 
to it, but muskrat or squirrel skins would do 
very well if ono hadn't anything better. 
Then coon skins could be sold for twenty-five 
cents a piece and muskrat skins for ten. 
Mink skins brought the enormous sum of 
fifty cents each (now worth three to six dol¬ 
lars). These hints front my companions raised 
my ideas of the value of game very consider¬ 
ably. But 1 received a check to my aspira¬ 
tions in this direction which lias lasted me 
even to this day, and it happened in this 
wise, One evening after a successful excur¬ 
sion to the woods 1 sharpened my pocket 
knife and started to the back yard for the 
purpose of skinning my game. No one inter¬ 
fered with nvy operations, bub after the job 
was done, my father said, boy, let me tell 
you a story, which was in substance as fol¬ 
lows:—Once upon a time I had a poor 
neighbor who was very fond of hunting and 
fishing, so much so that the family frequent ly 
suffered for the necessaries ol' life. He would 
follow the track of a mink through the snow 
all day, or even two days, for the sake of 
getting his hide, worth fifty cents, while he 
could have earned three dollars in the same 
time and not worked half OS hard. He 
would sometimes dig all day to get, a wood¬ 
chuck, or muskrat out of bis hole, and occa¬ 
sionally Ids wife and children were obliged 
to eat the flesh of those animals for want of 
something better, but he was very particu¬ 
lar to save the hides of all the animals 
killed, whether large or small, and his old 
baru was usually half covered with these, 
being nailed upon the boards to dry. The 
more time lie spent in hunting the less there 
was done on the farm, and when a cow, 
horse or sheep died of disease or starvation 
(for with such kind of farmers the two words 
mean the same thing), my neighbor prac¬ 
ticed the strictest economy and never neg¬ 
lected to take off the hide before burying 
the carcass, his children always helping on 
such occasions, consequently they soon came 
to think that every dead animal must be un¬ 
dressed before being put out of sight. The 
man’s mother was a member of ius family, 
■and by-and by “Granny” sickened and 
died, and the neighbors, as usual on such oc¬ 
casions, eamo in to assist in preparing for 
the funeral. The next day after the good 
old lady’s remains had been put in the coffin, 
Johnny, a little Rix-year-old, appeared to be 
quite uneasy at the way tilings were going, 
but at lust lie made bold to go up to liis 
fat,her and said “Pa, when arc we going to 
skin Granny.” 
Well, I have seen many a family an exact 
counterpart of the one mentioned above, 
and if brutality and vulgarity lire exhibited 
among children it is the legitimate result of 
the examples set them by their parents. It 
is not necessary that a boy shall help at hog- 
killing as soon as he lias donned pants, or 
taught to be brutal before he is manly, for it 
is to the e early impressions that we owe 
much in the formation of character. The 
story related above and the explanation 
which followed modified my young ideas of 
becoming a sportsman wonderfully, and it 
lias stuck to me through life. 
QUERIES FROM A FARMERS WIFE. 
Daily Bun ax. Line.— Will you please an¬ 
swer the following questions ?—(1.) Does it 
injure Peonies to cut off their tops after 
flowering / (3.) Which is the best time to 
set, out Blackcap Raspberries and Currants, 
spring or fall ?—A FaUMKB’b Wife, 1’ilIn- 
ford, N. A r . 
Any. 3.—The leaves of Peonies are of 
course necessary for the growth of roots and 
(lower buds for the ensuing season, and the 
cutting away of the entire tops soon after 
flowering would be likely to weaken the 
plants. Better wait until the leaves turn 
brown in ripening than to remove them be¬ 
fore. * 
Ol.) Currants will usually do better trans¬ 
planted in autumn than in spring, because 
the plants commence growing quite early 
and mature about midsummer, or a little 
later, at which time they may be safely 
transplanted. If transplanted the last of 
August or first of September, new roots will 
be produced before the winter, although no 
signs of growth may bo apparent in buds or 
leaves. This is also the best time for making 
and planting cuttings, for the same reason. 
But iu transplanting Blackcap Raspberries 
the circumstances are quite different, be¬ 
cause the old plants are seldom used for 
making now plantations, but young plants 
are produced from the ends of the canes, 
which bend over and take root in the earth. 
These “tips,” as they are termed, are pro¬ 
duced late In the season, and, after the fall 
rains, Commence and continue to grow, and 
the new roots increase until the ground 
I ivezes up iu winter. Of course there are no 
serious objections to transplanting the tips 
in the full, provided they can be obtained of 
sufficient strength and vigor. But, taking 
everything into consideration, I prefer early 
spring to any other time for setting out these 
plants. 
THE FLIGHT OF TIME. 
Just, as 1 had finished the above, Mrs. 
“ Ruralist” came in to remind me that this 
is my birthday, briugiug with her some 
simple presents from herself and friends. 
Bless me ! how views in life do change ! for 
t here was a time when these birthdays were 
st e] pi tig-stones which I hailed with joy and 
cheerfully passed >,n in search of the next— 
a long wav off, as it seemed to me then ; but 
these marks of Heeling years appear lo be 
nearing each other rapidly, and one is 
scarcely out of sight before another is at 
hand ! For one, however, I have no desire 
to live my life over again, To day is better 
than yesterday, for increase of capacity and 
materials bring* an increase of pleasure. 1 
nui frequently reminded of the flightof time, 
but seldom more vividly than a few moments 
since, when Mrs. “It" handed me a little 
book which I gave her us a philopena forfeit 
when she was fifteen, us the date of a note 
on the fly-leaf in my own handwriting 
plainly proved. Well, well! to think that 
the pert miss who badgered me on my want 
of keenness then should afterward have be¬ 
come. as she still is, my “ bettor half,” re¬ 
maining young in my eyes us when first we 
met a long, long while ago. 
|l;it rails of ^ltsbandrg. 
GRANGES IN THE SOUTH. 
It is admitted by Southern papers that 
the establishment of Granges of the Order 
of the l’atrons of Husbandry has been pro¬ 
ductive of many benefits to that region. 
They have given an impetus to white im¬ 
migration, so much needed to occupy and 
fertilize the lands trampled over by hostile 
armies, and denuded by the calamities of 
civil war. The area of acres planted In 
cereals has greatly widened in the last few 
years, rendering certain localities indepen¬ 
dent fol“ home supplies of food. Manufac¬ 
tories arc also springing up, wherein the 
abundant raw material of the South is 
prominent Patron of Hennepin Co., Minn., 
addressed a letter to Grand Master Adams of 
the National Grange, making inquiry on this 
point, to which he received the following 
emphatic response : 
YVaukon, Imva, July 11th, 1874. 
Dead 8tn and Brother :—Your favor at, 
hand, and in reply would say :—I have no 
doubt but the Master of your State Grange 
wiil promptly apply the correction to any 
subordinate Grange which so far forgets its 
constitutional obligations us to take part in 
partisan politics. ( fully agree with you 
that our Order must not, as such, become a 
lolltieal organization, but I most earnestly 
iope that our members will be true to their 
duly as American citizens, and take an active 
and prominent part iu molding the institu¬ 
tions and laws or our country. 
Fraternally Yours, 
Dudley W. Adams. 
wrought into fabrics, which, before the war 
were, almost entirely imported. Georgia has 
attained pre-eminence in this respect. The 
State now boasts numbers of col^on mills, 
m which several thousand operatives are 
employed, and which impart a degree of 
prosperity that is felt by all classes and con¬ 
ditions of society. The Patrons have besides 
exercised an influence in toning down the 
rancor of party spirit, which had a most 
demoralizing effect upon industrial pur¬ 
suits. The avowed object of the Patrons 
Is tu stimulate the growth of agriculture, 
and to improve the condition of those who 
engage in it. This mission they have accom¬ 
plished, not only in such of the Southern 
States as have adopted the order, but 
throughout the ent ire country, and if they 
continue to practice upon the design which 
has been declared to be the paramount 
object in their organization, the measure of 
their usefulness will be as boundless as the 
wide field in which they propose to conduct 
their operations.— Call. 
-♦♦♦- 
PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. 
The relative strength of the order in the 
various State* of the Union and Canada on 
the 1st day of June is given in the following 
table, showing the number of subordinate 
<3 ranges iu the different States and Prov¬ 
inces, compiled from the official records of 
the National Grange: 
Aliibamn. 
Arkiinsii*. 
(Uilirornm. 
Connecticut. 
Delaware. 
Florida. 
(ieors’lu..... 
Illinois.,.. . 
701 Now Jersey. 
Cl New York. .. 
-',,0 North Carol ina. 
3;Ohlo. 
Ill 
54 
. titO 
. 1.4SI 
Iniliaaa. 
Tn 
21 »! 
32U 
747 
Oregon. H>4 
Pennsylvania.2S4 
Smith Carolina.2*.fif 
I'cnnessec. !«■> 
i’OXtl*. 4(11 
Iowa.1,1194 Vermont. 120 
Kansas.Lift'! West Viprinm. .v> 
Kentucky.1,1(0 Virginia. 200 
LmilMunii. 120 OuUirtu. . 15 
Maine. 27;Wisconsin. .... 407 
Maryland. ml 
Massachusetts....... . At 
Miclit”uu. 4(1 
Mlnnnsol.ii. Kli 
Colorado.'._ lit 
Dakota. 55 
District of Columbia i 
Idaho. 7 
MIssisslppl... 51)2 Mont,IIrm. IV 
Missouri .I ,1129 Wash ington. SS 
Nebraska... 577 Canada. I) 
New Hampshire. 31 
This make ;* an aggregate of 1(3,493 subor¬ 
dinate granges on the 1st day of June. 
Granges are being organized at an average 
rate of twenty-live per day, which up to 
the present would swell the number to 
30,000. These granges, ou an average, 
number fifty voters, and it requires no 
figuring to show that to-day there are in 
the United States 1,000,000 voters who are 
Patrons of Husbandry'. 
-- 
ADVICE TO PATRONS. 
Hon. Jas. B. Beck, a Kentucky Congress¬ 
man, made a speech to the Grangers at a 
barbecue in Ins State recently, when betook 
occasion to give them this advice:—“The 
Grangers have it iu their power, without 
departing from their determination to ex¬ 
clude polities from their organization, to do 
the country more service than they are, 
perhaps, aware of, simply by resolving not 
to vote for ail)* man for Congress or the 
State Legislatures who is iu any way con¬ 
nected with any of the great corporations 
or organizations which are seeking special 
legislation or exclusive privileges, it is im¬ 
possible to have just and honest legislation. 
State or Federal, so long as representatives 
are sent who owe their election to, or are 
personally interested in, great moneyed cor¬ 
porations or monopolies—no matter whether 
they call themselves Democrats or Republi¬ 
cans, they are not the representatives of the 
people, they are simply the agents and at¬ 
torneys of those who seek, by taxing the 
masses, t o enrich themselves, whenever they 
owe their election to monopolists, or are 
themselves interested in class legislation.” 
-♦-#->- 
THE PATRONS AND POLITICS. 
In order to fully satisfy himself regarding 
the introduction of politics in the Grange, a 
f 
CHEAP BABBITRY. 
Dr. Pond of Cassadaga, N. Y., gives the 
following direstionsin the Chautauqua Far¬ 
mer for constructing Rabbit hutches so 
cheaply as to be within tlie means of any 
boy : 
Rabbits have been and are kept in common 
dry-goods boxes, with the cover fastened on 
by Leather hinges, and a few holes bored 
around the side for ventilation. In this 
primitive manner most, excellent success has 
been attained. Of course in such quarters 
cleanliness i-indispensable. The box must 
bo cleaned, out and fresh litter given every 
day, or at least every other day. 
Another simple arrangement is a shoe box. 
This is usually about 8 to 8j £ feet long, 15 to 
18 inches deep, and about IS inches broad. 
This is placed on the side on supports, or 
fastened against the wall, with the door or 
lid hung from the upper side, thus lifting up. 
The door may be of wire-cloth, lath, or ■-imp¬ 
ly the lid of the box with a few holes bored 
in it, and hung by iron liingos or strips of 
leather. One end of this box may be set off 
by a partition for a nesting-room ; this need 
not be over 9 inches wide. On this point I 
differ with most other writers on this sub¬ 
ject ; they advocate a nesting-box of 1 i to 15 
inches in width, and the depth of the hutch, 
whether 1 or S feet from trout to rear. My 
experience is, with these large nesting-boxes 
tlie young Rabbits, as soon as they are able 
to crawl, will often get out of the nest and 
get chilled, and are unable to get back again. 
Having lost a number of litters in this way, 
1 have reduced the size of these boxes to 10 
inches diameter for Lops and Belgians, and 
to 9 inches for the smaller varieties, and also 
when the hutch is deep, 1 place a sc mi par¬ 
tition, about 3j { or 8 inches high, across the 
nesting department, about 1 foot from the 
front of the hutch—ent rance to the aparment 
by the door being by an opening in the back 
part of a hutch through a hole <> inches wide 
and8 inches high. Hutches of thiskinri may 
be placed in tiers two or three or four high. 
Another and still simpler mode of keeping 
Rabbits is iu alt unoccupied room in any out¬ 
building. This can be divided into apart¬ 
ments by boards, the partition to be carried 
up to a liight of 8 1 qr I feet. The ap art¬ 
ments may be of such size and shape a.- suit 
the fancy of the amateur. In one corner of 
the pen pul a box, say about 10 by 15 inches, 
with a round hole 6 or 7 inches in diameter 
cut in one end ; hinge the cover and fasten 
it down by n simple book or button, so as to 
afford better opportunities to exam nc the 
young. Care must be taken t o exclude cuts 
and rata from the room. For young stock I 
especially recommend keeping them in this 
hist manner. My pens are four in number, 
about, 5 feet wide by Id feet long, and in one 
of these I have had as many as. thirty-five 
Rabbits at one time, varying from six weeks 
to four months old. They have ample room 
to exercise, and seem to thrive much better 
than when in more confined quarters, even 
in small numbers. 
-♦♦» - ■ 
RABIES IN ANTS. 
Corrosive sublimate, it is said, has the 
most remarkable effect upon ants. The 
powder, strewed in dry weather across their 
path, seems to drive every ant which touches 
it crazy. The insect runs wildly about, and 
fiercely attacks its fellows. The news soon 
travels to the rest, and the fighting members 
of the community, huge fellows some three 
quarters of an inch in length, make their 
appearance with a determined air, as if the 
obstacle would be speedily overcome by t heir 
efforts. As soon, however, as .they have 
touched the sublimate, says the narratorm 
the Naturalist in Nicaragua, ul) the stateli¬ 
ness leaves them : they rush about; their 
legs are seized hold of by some of the smaller 
ants already affected by the poison, and 
they themselves begin to bite, and in a short 
time become tlie centers of balls of rabid an is. 
As these insects are one of the scourges of 
tropical America, destroying vegetation m 
immense quantities, it is probable that this 
extraordinary remedy may beof considerable 
service to agriculturists. 
3 
