costumes for girls and for women. Any two 
combining colors may be used; in this the 
materials are percale, checked and plain, 
stockings to match and straw hat trimmed 
to correspond. Exquisite costumes can be 
gotten up similarly—with jacket and tunic 
5, Hollyhocks and pansies are not perfectly 
hardy in all the Northern States, but usually 
survive if given protection in winter—yet if 
covered too early or planted in damp or wet 
soils, are very likely to rot, the moisture 
being more injurious than cold. It. is difficult, 
to give the exact information required for 
culture of such plants in all localities and 
soils, experience in each being of more value 
than the best and moat practical essay which 
could be written on the subject. 
WIHTERINO ABOTilONS. 
May 11.—The A bullions, as a class, are 
really elegant, tender shrubs, but soon be¬ 
come too large for ordinary greenhouse or 
window culture, although by severe pruning 
they may be kept within moderate limits. 
But a strong, stocky plant makes such a fine 
show in full bloom that one dislikes to make 
a dwarf of a thing which looks so much bet¬ 
ter when allowed to grow naturally. A year 
ago 1 planted out a group of the different 
species and varieties, with the intention of 
allowing them to remain out all winter, or 
until killed by the frost, but bust, fall they 
had become so la rge that I concluded to try 
and save them by storing In the cellar instead 
of, as formerly, potting and keeping in the 
greenhouse. 
After the frosts had killed the leaves and 
the young, tender twigs, the plants were 
lifted with whatever soil remained attached 
to the roots and then placed in the cellar, the 
roots only being covered with moist sand. 
To-day I have taken out the plants and find 
them alive and apparently in excellent con¬ 
dition for growth this summer. If I succeed 
in the future as well as the past winter in 
keeping Abutilons over in a cellar, I certainly 
shall not. discard old plants nor object to 
them because of large size. They all bloom 
profusely aud continuously throughout the 
summer, making a splendid show as border 
shrubs, but many of the species are rather 
too largo for house culture, at least when the 
plants become old aud fully grown. I heeled 
in a number of A ant (Mias along with the 
Almtilonx, but they all died. A specimen of 
the herbaceous “Coral Plant” (Erythrina 
her bast a), however, came through safely, 
and 1 hope will bloom this summer. Some¬ 
body sent me this from the South, where it 
is a native, but the name of the donor failed 
to reach me ; hence I have not been able to 
thank her or him for it through the “ Diary.” 
While on the subject of “Coral Plants” I 
will say that there is another species from 
Brazil which far surpasses the herbacea in 
size and brilliancy of its flowers. It is known 
as Erythrina Crista-yalli, and was a few 
years since quite common among our large 
floral establishments, but of late T think is 
becoming somewhat scarce. It is a magnifi¬ 
cent plant for the borders in summer, and 
Llie large, fleshy roots and coarse, woody 
stems remain quite sound in almost any dry, 
warm place daring winter. 
This is one of the old but valuable plant6 
likely to be crowded out by new and easily 
propagated but far less desirable kinds. 
RURAL CONVERSAZIONE 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
SUMMER DRESSES. 
Wakm weather is so tardy in making its 
advent that it is difficult to believe that any 
other than woolen garments will ever be 
needed. But as wc know the June roses and 
July harvests, with their scorching suns, will 
inevitably come, so will cool dresses be re¬ 
quisite for comfort. The Rural readers in 
the sunny South may smile at this lack of 
faith on our part, but as I write Broadway 
belles are only comfortable in winter attire, 
although 1 read in a friend’s letter from 
Texas of rose hedges four miles long, in full 
bloom ! 
There are many new fabrics in the summer 
list of goods, of both foreign and domestic 
manufacture. The chief difference is in the 
price. American percales cost 25c. a yard, 
of the same width and design as the French, 
which cost 40o. Niue-tenths of the Ameri¬ 
can goods sold are ticketed with a French 
label. The only way to break up such a 
systematic line of falsehood is to ask for and 
insist upon having home-made goods. It is 
not only patriotic but aristocratic so to do. 
Merchants affirm that most women will not 
buy American goods in preference to foreign, 
which I brand as a libel upon my country¬ 
women. YVhat. we do object to is the silly 
deceit practiced by shopmen under such de¬ 
lusion. Three percales are in all colors, a 
yard in width, and with or without a bor¬ 
dered edge to be used as trimming. Among 
the fabrics is batiste, 42 inches wide, and 
costing $1.80 per yard. Iu color it is ecru 
(pale, dull yellow), and is woven in open¬ 
work stripes. It. bears laundry tag well, and 
is very pretty, stylish and serviceable for 
overdresses or fall costumes. Hamburg em¬ 
broidery. mostly in ecru, is 28 indies wide, 
From the Diary of a Gentleman near New 
York City. 
AN INQUIRY A80UT BERRIES. 
May 10. — Will ' Daily Rural Life ’ please 
answer the following questions ? 
1. How shall 1 proceed to cultivate succes- 
fully the Kittatiuny blackberry, Doolittle 
raspberry, Russell’s Prolific and Triomphe 
de Gaud strawberries 1 
2. Should the t.wo varieties of strawberries 
named be planted side by side, and in little 
hills or row *'{ 
3. How far apart, should the raspberry and 
blackber ry bo set ? 
4. Will they spread much by producing 
suckers and if so how best, to manage them ? 
Must they be plowed and hoed frequently ? 
We want to know tire easiest, and most 
practical methods of cultivating these fruits, 
as my husband’s health is poor and wo can¬ 
not afford to hire a gardener, but want fruit 
none the less. 
5. Do so severe winters, like, the one just 
past, usually kill Chinese Hollyhocks of the 
first season’s growth ? Mine are all dead, 
also my pansies, although they were well 
protected. Mas. M. C. 
Memphis, Mo.. 
1. All that rs required in our Eastern 
climate is to secure good roots of these plants, 
set them out in good soil, and then keep the 
grasses and weeds down lroin around the 
roots. But 1 presume the difficulties in the 
Way of success in Missouri are greater than 
here. Tiic richer the soil the more weeds; 
hence the necessity of increased culture. 
2. The t.wo varieties of strawberries named 
would probably tin better if planted side by 
side than separate, as the Russell’s Prolific is 
pistillate, requiring some other sort t,o fer¬ 
tilize. its flowers. The Triomphe de Hand is 
a perfect-flowering variety and will bear 
without the presence of any other. I think 
that all the pistillate sorts should be thrown 
out of cultivation, for there is nothing gained 
by keeping such imperfect-flowering varie¬ 
ties, as there are plenty of good ones without, 
them. Iu planting any of the large and im¬ 
proved sorts I think wlmt is termed the 
single-raw system is preferable to the wide- 
bed massing or even the hill system. Plant 
iu rows about two and a half or three feet 
apart, and set tiie plants a foot, or eighteen 
inches apart in the row's, 
-- - 
Figure 2. 
iu lieu of polonaise, as one fancies—of blue 
sleeves and petticoat, with ecru overdress, or 
of white, trimmed with blue ; or of pink and 
white, or blue and gray, or brown, or of 
Mexican, with plain overdress; petticoats 
may be trimmed or not,; but for young girls 
t he plaided ones are made plain and narrow, 
and are easily laundried. Price of the skirt 
pattern, 15c.; for polonaise, 15c. From 8 to 
4 yards of goods necessary for a girl from 
six to eight .years old. 
Edgings of Hamburg embroidery are used 
elusively for polonaises, overdresses and 
basques. It is in imitation of the hand-em¬ 
broidered fabrics first, in the Parisian market 
last year, and which now Cost here $18 per 
yard. Its appearance is that of cloth em¬ 
broidered all over in com pass-work pattern, 
tilled in with “ wheel stitch.” As a sleeve¬ 
less jacket aud tunic it is especially pretty 
over sleeves and petticoat of black, blue, 
amethyst or brown silk. Another fabric for 
ovei'dresses is guipure net, in black, all silk, 
at $3, about % of a yard in width, and in 
silk with a mixture of other material for 
less money, but not recommended ; in ecru, 
called Mexican guipure, in linen, for $4 aud 
upward, some qualities less. The garments 
in black are trimmed with guipure edge, and 
those in ecru with guipure edge in similar 
color aud material. Mexican grenadines in 
large, colored plaids, 27 inches wide, made of 
linen, cost fi-om 75c. to $1.50 per yard. Mexi¬ 
can pongees, of silk and w'ool, cost from 75c. 
to $2. Plain ecru linen for suits, with fine 
knife pleatings for the trimmings, ready 
made, cost $6 the. suit. Grenadines cost 
from 50c. to $3 a yard ; none under 75c. a 
yard is worth buying. They are in beauti¬ 
ful design-, in large meshes, cross-barred or 
striped. Unless one can afford a variety, 
black grenadine is most px-efei’able, as it is 
most serviceable and very becoming to most, 
women. It should be worn over black silk, 
and looks best self-trimmed, unless very 
narrow bindings of satin be employed. A 
grenadine is a very expensive dress, because 
Cultivate thor¬ 
oughly the first summer with hoe and culti¬ 
vator, but do not admit a plow’among them. 
Permit a few' runners to take root along the 
l'ows, just enough to fill up the spaces be¬ 
tween the old or original plants, making a 
continuous narrow row of plants. In the 
fall, when the ground begins to freeze, cover 
the entire beds and plants with some coarse 
kind of mulching, such as bog or prairie hay, 
to the depth of an iuch or more. Wheat or 
i-ye straw is vei'y likely to contain some gx-ain 
which will fall out and take root and next 
spring cause more trouble than the natural 
grasses or weeds. 
The following spring go over the beds, 
shoving aside the mulch from over the 
crowns of the plants, leaving it on the space 
between the rows, t o act us a mulch to keep 
the ground moist and kill the weeds, also to 
keep the fruit clean. 
After the fruit has ripened and been 
gathered, the mulch may bo removed and 
the gxound thoroughly cultivated as in the 
previous season. All runners which start 
out into the vacant space between the rows 
may be cut off with the hoe or destroyed 
with the cultivator, the same as though they 
were useless weeds. 
This is the system (^culture I have prac¬ 
ticed for many years, with excellent and, I 
may say, profitable results. When the plants 
became old and feeble, I plow under and 
plant anew. The winter protection is par¬ 
ticularly beneficial Iu regions where there 
is little snow in winter, as in Missouri and 
other Western States. Summer drouths, 
unless very severe, will seldom seriously af¬ 
fect the yield of a heavily mulched straw¬ 
berry plantation. 
3. In planting the vai-ieties named, rows 
six feet apart and the plants four in the row 
will be a fair distance, although some culti¬ 
vators give more space between the rows. 
4. The Kittatiny blackberry produces suck¬ 
ers very freely, but this is not a fault worth 
mentioning, because if one cultivates his 
plants the suckers uot wanted may be easily 
cut down as weeds aud at the same time. 
All suckers which spring up between the 
rows may be plowed up or cut down with 
the cultivator, and those between the hills 
not required for fruiting, should also be cut 
out with the hoe. Four or five canes in each 
hill are sufficient and all others should be cut 
off as they appear above ground. 
lax-gely fox - trimming cambric aud percale 
dresses. It is put on with a bias baud of the 
goods, or a plaited ruffle, as heading : it en¬ 
ters largely into the ornamentation of every 
species of women’s underclothing, especially 
in petticoats. 
Fig, 3867 shows a chai'ming design for 
overdress, apron, or even dress for misses 
from three to nine yeai*s of age. It may be 
made of any material aud ornamented to 
suit one’s taste and pui’se. If worn over a 
petticoat of different color, the sleeves may 
be made, of material like it. Pattern in seven 
sizes ; price 20c.; 4 yards of 27-inch goods re¬ 
quired for a girl of six years. 
Fig. 8860 illustrates a girl’s calico wrapper, 
with Spanish flounce ; sleeves and flounce 
may be made of plain Chambry und the 
body of the wrapper of figured percale. 
Patteixis for girls from three to nine years of 
age, price 20c.; for a girl of seven, from 6 to 
yards of goods required. Summer is es¬ 
sentially the season for w rappers ; for com¬ 
fort they ai'e indispensable, aud are as eco¬ 
nomical as comfortable. In our next fushion 
feuilleton we shall give a design for wrapper 
for an adult, of cut and fit particularly suited 
to washa ble fabrics. 
Ln the making of dresses modistes make 
use of elastic for holding the fullness of pet¬ 
ticoats and tunics to the back. The elastic 
strap is sewed at each end to the back edge 
of the side seams on the underside, and in 
length varies from 4 to 8 inches ; it is a. great 
improvement upon tapes. Parasols are cov- 
ei'ed with ecru guipure net to match over¬ 
furnishes a guide for dresses of such fabric. Mixtwood. 
A PEEP INTO OUR ORCHARD 
I have been out into the orchard this 
morning to see the busy folks at work, doing 
up their spring cleaning. In t he center, so 
as to be handy for reaching from every part, 
stands a large boiler under which a fire is 
kept burning. In this boiler is placed soft 
soap, lime, lye, pickle and w r ater, which 
when thoroughly mixed is applied to the 
trees with a brush. First two of the little 
boys, with a scraper, take off the loose scales 
and bark : a larger boy follows and saws off 
the dead limbs and branches, keeping a sharp 
look-out for bora's. and the chrysalis of any 
depredator. Then follow' the w'hitewashers, 
one on each side of the tree, and the hot ap¬ 
plication must I should think sicken a great 
many of these troublesome enemies. A tub 
is caiTied from one tree to another and 
dipped into every time the brush gets dry, 
and this is thoroughly rubbed into the cracks 
xuid forks of the tree and up to the branches 
as far as possible. The borers are making 
sad havoc among our trees, and although we 
have applied this three years in sucession we 
regi*et that we did not begin when the trees 
were younger. A family of children can be 
taught to search for and destroy many of 
these pests and become quite enthusiastic in 
such work. Annhc L. Jack. 
This is all very well, ana the lime prevents 
the beetles depositing their eggs upon the 
barks. As the beetles appear in May, and 
some species at a later season, it is well to 
wash tiie trees moi’e than once dui'ing the 
summer, in fact keep their stems well 
coated until the first of September if thex-e 
ai'e apple tree borers about. 
