JAN. 2 
oics and Uftannet|s. 
OUR CONVERSAZIONE. 
THE BEST OF THE PREVAILING FASHIONS. 
To attempt to follow “the fashions,” in 
these days of nondescript fussery, is a. huge 
folly. The best any woman of moderate 
means and moderate sense can do is to find a 
happy medium—that is, enough in the mode 
not to be noticeably ancient, and above all 
one that is becoming. The weight of cos¬ 
tumes worn by women during the last five 
years has come to be almost unbearable. 
The heavy, flounced petticoat, the mass of 
stuff draped and puckered and looped in 
tunics, together with the great heaviness of 
jet, have made w.tlkiug a torture instead of 
a pleasure, and constituted for the wearers a 
worse slavery than the “tyranny of man.” 
The most deplorable feature of extreme 
fashion is that, in following it, the devotee 
fails to appreciate the harm done to her 
health until it is done. It is in wearing 
heavy skirts as in torturing the feet in ill- 
fltting or tight boots ; one endures the suf¬ 
fering until the feet are injured for all time, 
and then in desperation exclaims :—“Well, I 
don’t care how my feet do look ; I mean to 
be comfortable .” 
Women naturally desire to look well, and 
justly so, but no amount of flummery can 
Figure 2. 
add so ranch to a woman’s grace and beauty, 
;is it usually conceals of what she received 
from nature. “Be guided by nature,” is a 
very easy thing to say ; It is finite another 
to follow it; and they are always only the 
most cultivated and artistic people who are 
so guided. It is only when an individual 
h .b como to see how much more beautiful 
the free, natural lines of the human form 
are than the artificial ones fashioned by 
dressmakers, that the latter become to him 
painfully distasteful. The young woman 
who piles fulse hair on the crown of her 
head and on the top cf that perches her 
head-gear, will see, if she takes the trouble 
to look at her head from various points by 
the means of a hand-mirror, something of 
the ludicrous effect it produces upon behold¬ 
ers. But all this preaching is not quite to 
the point; we started out to say that in our 
chit-chat about the great question of “ what 
to wear, we shall endeavor to be as greatly 
practical and the least fantastical as possi¬ 
ble— to simplify difficulties and help our 
readers, instead of muddling their brains 
with names, fabrics and styles of no earthly 
u?e but tanr.alization. As we value health 
and comfort inexpressibly, we shall do all 
we can to promote them, and invite sugges¬ 
tions to this end from our readers. 
Among the sensible fashions of the year is 
the high-necked chemise, with sleeves reach¬ 
ing to the elbow. It has everything in its 
favor and nothing against it, especially for 
cool-weather wear. It keeps the dress 
linings clean, protects the. top of the shoul¬ 
ders, dispenses with the ugliness of a band 
about the bust and days of embroidery. It 
is cut precisely like a long, loose sack, as 
shown in illustration (Fig. 1). Women who 
have already adopted it declare their aston¬ 
ishment at not having always worn it. 
It is quite the era of frills. They are be¬ 
coming to women of all ages, and, like a 
collar fit better if separut • from the dress ! 
than if basted in it. Figures 2 and 8 show 
how they should be made. Strips of Swiss 
bordered with narrow Valenciennes lace 
(Italian imitation), fine linen, or cambric, cr 
Brussels net, which washes well, all serve 
nicely for the manufacture of frills. 
A youthful fashion of dressing the hair is 
to lift it all to the crown of the head and tie 
it with a ribbon about two fingers wide, of 
length sufficient to tie a double bow knot, 
with ends falling over the hair to the length 
of eight inches ; the falling hair is all combed 
down in one mass, the ends plaited and 
turned up under a small bow of ribbon like 
that on the top. Thus is stylish and tidy, and 
called the “ Catogan coiffure.” 
Figure. 4 illustrates a style of house dress 
much in vogue because of its beauty, sim¬ 
plicity and manifold uses. Ttie skirt is quite 
plain, demi-train, the. large box-plaiting in 
the back being so kept in place as to keep 
the folds almost if not quite to the bottom of 
the skirt. The tablier (apron tunic) fastens 
Jliutd ^prtmeni 
FROM BAXTER CO,, ARKANSAS. 
Eds. Moore’s Rural New-Yorker A 
“Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., correspondent of 
the Rural,” desiring information in regard 
to land &c., will hardly find the country he 
wishes, in every respect; but behoving this 
part of the country will come as near “tilling 
Figure 1. 
at the back with a large bow and ends of the 
same, or a broad ribbon to match. The 
cuirass (sleeveless jacket) of the same ma¬ 
terial, buttons straight Vp in front and, is of 
pointed or rounded basque, in keeping with 
the outline of the bottom of the tunic in 
front. The fancy now for rows of fringe on 
the tunic, simulates so mauy tunics over¬ 
lapping each other. The sleeves are Uke the 
skirt. A tablier and cuirass of black silk, 
velvet, cashmere or cloth, serves for a plain 
silk dress of almost any color. However, if 
the dress be brown, gray, or any of the nega¬ 
tive hues, it is in better taste to make the 
tablier and cuiraase of material a shade dark¬ 
er in the same color. The trimming is a 
matter of taste and may be varied in a thou¬ 
sand ways, or none at all used. For evening 
a tablier < f black net, dotted and trimmed 
with jet, with a lace fichu to match or the 
same in white net ornamented with white 
jet, with a bright sash at the back, or the 
cuirass and tablier in any of the fancy colors 
c f satin or silk, are very pretty. The style 
adapts itself to old or passe dresses, making 
oftentimes a pretty costume from two un¬ 
wearable frocks. 
Figure 5 illustrates the latest collarette for 
a child —a collar both pretty and useful. 
Our drawing is from one formed of three 
ruffles of as many different widths, which 
the bill” as any, probably, In the world, I 
thought I would givo a brief description of it 
and let him judge for himself. This is quite 
a healthy country ; good springs of pure 
water abound ; the climate is very mild ; 
have but two or three months of very cold 
weather during the year; stock of all kinds 
do well, as we have a boundless range for 
hogs, cattle, sheep, &o. Corn, wheat, oats 
rye, cotton, and almost all kindsof vegetables 
grow very well. Apples, peaches, pears, 
cherries, &e. do well. 
There is land here that belongs to “ Uncle 
Sam ” which can bo taken up under the 
“Homestead law,” but, of course, there are 
no improvements on it ; and if a man locates 
that class of land ho may expect to draw 
veiy heavily on his physical capital to place 
upon it the necessary buildings, &c. Good 
improved land can be bought for four or five 
dollars per acre. This may seem strange to 
some people, nevertheless it is true. We 
have no railroad nearer than Springfield, 
Missouri, which Is about seventy-five miles 
North of this, and consequently we are com¬ 
pelled to take our cotton and other produce 
to that point, before wo can get ready sale for 
it. This explains in an eminent degree why 
lands are so cheap. Unlike most backwoods 
countries, especially in the Southwest, we 
are blessed with schools, churches, &c., and 
Figure 4. 
round up at the back and fasten by cotton 
or linen cord and tassels. The material Is a 
sort of pique with embroidered edge; but 
muslin or linen will do equally well, the edge 
being ornamented according to fancy. They 
may be worn by boys under six years, and 
by girls to the age of sixteen years. 
The newest Paris cloaks are cut long, quite 
to the knee, in sack shape, half fitting the 
figure. Mlntwood. 
it is the most peaceable country I have ever 
seen, especially this County, and I have lived 
North, South, East and West. There is not 
a drop of liquor sold in this County, except 
for medicinal purposes. 
This is quite a new County ; has only been 
organized about two years, yet the County 
seat (Mountain Home) is quite a flourishing 
little town containing stores of various kinds 
and also has a large and flourishintr Educa¬ 
tional Institute located in it. In fact, all 
that any emigrant to this country needs to 
make a handsome competency in a few 
years, is a few dollars in money, physical 
strength, and a disposition to use it in de¬ 
veloping its resources, the aforesaid disposi¬ 
tion being a thing of very great importance. 
Nevertheless many who are here, almost 
ignore t hat, and it is not necessary to state the 
consequences. 
As our Comity is not so fortunate as to 
have a place on the map, 1 guess it would tie 
best to give itR location : It was formed out 
of portions of Ozark, Fulton and Marion 
Counties, and lias principally between White 
and North Fork Rivers ; is bounded on the 
North by Ozark Co., Missouri. Our crops, 
the present, year, were not so good as com¬ 
mon, yet plenty was made for the sustenance 
of the people, if our fanners would quit 
raising so much cotton and pay more atten¬ 
tion to stock and grain, it would be better 
for them. The soil is a clay loam, and wo 
ratee on an average 13 to 20 bushels wheat, 
80 to 40 bushels corn and from 800 to 1200 
lbs. seed cotton per acre. Fertilizers are cot 
used on any crop.—Corn is worth 80 cents, 
wheat, 00 cents, and cotton in the lint 17 
cents per lb. John Horton. 
i -♦♦♦- 
FROM BUCKHEAD, MORGAN CO , GA. 
I sometimes see in the RuralNew- Yorker 
inquiries about the South, from those who 
Figure 3. 
wish to move from the cold winters of the 
North and West, and who seek a home where 
health and comfort can be found. I would 
like to call the attention of those, to our sec¬ 
tion of country. 1 will say at once, that I 
have no land to sell, nor am I interested in 
any party who has ; hut I am interested In 
wishing to get actual farmers settled here, in 
our neighborhood, for wo need live people, 
white people,—and they farmers. Any one 
coming from the North, should settle among 
or adjoining other Northern people; for 
although the Southern people appear cordial 
and nse us well when we meet them, yet 
their traditions, habits, customs, stylo of 
farming, anil care of stock, are all of another 
school, and those little, agreements, and cus¬ 
toms of lines, fences, pasture for stock, ex¬ 
change or partnership in expensive imple¬ 
ments, and co-interest, so common in the 
Granges of the Western States, (of which we 
read) cannot be expected here, except among 
those brought up in the same way of think¬ 
ing. 
Our climate is all that can be desired. Wo 
can plow any day in the winter when the 
land is not too wet; yet we have frequent 
frosts at night to benefit the upturned soil. 
The water Is unsurpassed both for drink, 
mill powers and stock ; and the land, natur¬ 
ally of great fertility, can be restored to more 
than its former condition, lor it has only 
been scratched to the depth of two or three 
Figure r>. 
inches, in all its cultivation, so that a farmer 
by keeping stock, saving and increasing the 
compost pile, frequent and gradually deeper 
plowing, and with cash to keep himself and 
family until the second crop comes in, can, 
and will, if be he a working man, makehim- 
aelf a, comfortable and healt hy home. Fruit 
of all kinds thrive well. Cattle requires but 
little fodder in the winter. Hogs will raise 
themselves in our pastures, and fatten upon 
the mast, from the Oak and other trees. 
Lund can be bought at from five to fifteen 
dollars per acre and manv of our Northern 
farmers here will be glad to lease land to 
those coming here, and sell it if they are 
suited, for wo need more neighbors, to keep 
up our old social customs, and to help found 
churches and schools. 
Buekhead is in Morgan Co., Georgia, on 
the Georgia Railroad, 96 miles from Augusta 
and 67 miles from Atlanta. Madison, our 
County seat, is 7 miles west. 
C. V. S. WlfisoN. 
