MOOSE’S RURAL WEW-YORKER. 
11 SEPT.IS 
Jmlttsti|ial ®omp. 
agriculture in the united states. 
J. M. Smith of Illinois, in an address be¬ 
fore a State Convention of farmers, gave a 
pleasant picture of the present and future of 
farming in this country, from which we take 
the following : 
“ In all that goes to make up the ordinary 
comforts of every-day life we are the most 
wealthy people upon the earth. This inay 
seem a strange statement, to some present, 
and I do not mean to say that we have more 
gold and silver than any other people ; but, 
gentlemen, did it never occur to you that 
the West and Northwest is the only territory 
of any size in the world where the masses of 
the people can alTord to have wheat bread, 
butter and meat us the main articles of their 
daily food. And yet such is the fact. No 
nation, either ancient or modern, lias ever 
before been able to provide the above-named 
articles in sufficient quantity and at prices to 
place them within the reach of the laboring 
classes as articles of daily food. Our stock 
of all kinds is almost incomparably in ad¬ 
vance of that of any previous to this cen¬ 
tury. In short, the last quarter of a century 
has almost completely revolutionized the 
science of agriculture. 
“ We have. Just entered upon the last quar¬ 
ter of the nineteenth century, and if I retain 
my life and health until its close 1 shall ex¬ 
pect to see vast improvements made, not 
only in the cultivation of wheat, but in t he 
fertility of the soil and in tile quantity and 
quality of nearly or quite all of our crops. T 
shall see the noble specimens of different 
breeds of stock, now held by comparatively 
few, scattered far and wide throughout all 
our State. I shall see the great mass of our 
farmers much better educated than most of 
us are to day. I shall see homes made more 
comfortable and pleasant than they are to¬ 
day. Farmers’ sons will not be so anxious 
to desert tiro farm l'or a clerkship or law 
office, as heretofore. The books, the papers, 
the music and the comforts of a farmer’s 
Neither the Government nor the express 
companies have gained anything by this late 
advance in rates on third-class matter, for a, 
less quantity has been distributed, while the 
masses are put to serious Inconvenience in 
obtaining such articles as were formerly sent, 
through the mails at low rates. Every far¬ 
mer, seedsman and dealer in plants should 
join in asking for a restoration of the old 
rates. The constituents of Congressmen 
throughout the country should write to or 
petition their Representatives, demanding 
that the change bo made immediately Upon 
the reassembling of Congress, or as soon 
thereafter as possible. 
if onr public servants will not do the bid¬ 
ding of their employers, let us put men in 
their places who will. It is now high time 
to begin in this matter, if seeds aud plants 
are to pass through the mails for xise next 
spring and at reasonable rates of postage. 
Damestic d^oitomjr. 
REFORM IN COOKING. 
The British people have evidently taken 
hold of the cookery reform in their usual 
solid way. The recent annual meeting of 
the National Training School of Cookery 
was held at Stafford House, the residence of 
the Duke of Sutherland, and was well at¬ 
tended by u the nobility and gentry.’’ The 
Princess Louise was present, and the Duke 
o : Westminster took the chair. The Secre¬ 
tary’s report showed that the school had 
been in operation since March, 187-1 ; TOo 
pupils have passed through it, of whom 108 
have presented themselves for examination 
and have obtained “ learners’ certificates.” 
These have obtained full diplomas as teach¬ 
ers and remunerative employment. 
The lady Superintendent of the school, 
Lady Baker, has announced her resignation, 
being about to leave England, A beginning 
has been made in teaching cookery in ele¬ 
mentary schools, and Sir H. Cole announced 
that the Committee of Council of Education 
home will be much more pleasant to them 
than the home of strangers. Fewer of them, 
after having borne their parents to their 
silent homes, will return to the old home¬ 
stead and sadly soy, ‘Tins old place is all 
run down and worn out and will not support 
us in comfort, and wo must lea ve it for other 
business and other homes.’ But they will 
rather say, ‘ Father has made this a pleasant 
home, he has kept the farm improving for 
years, and has so taught us that we can still 
go on with improvements and make it still 
more pleasant, as well as more profitable, 
than he was able to do ; and o we will stay 
and make the old homestead our abiding- 
place aud our home.’ There will be fewer 
pale-faced, care-worn wives and mothers 
seen upon the farm, toiling from early morn¬ 
ing till late bed-time, until the daughters, 
warned by their mothers’ ceaseless toll and 
labor, declare that they shall ‘never marry 
a farmer.’ i shall see the profession of the 
farmer elevated far above what it has ever 
been in the past or is now, not only finan¬ 
cially, but socially, morally aud intellectu¬ 
ally. The aged man as ho retires from the 
battle of life may look back upon the years, 
not with sadness or regret, but thinking that 
he has done something for the elevation and 
comfort of hia race. The young man may 
look forward to the profession full well as¬ 
sured that he is in possession of a business 
which, if intelligently aud industriously pur¬ 
sued, will lead him, not only to a competence 
in his old age, hut to the front rank of influ¬ 
ence, as well as of distinction, among his 
fellow-men.” 
4 4» 
POSTAGE ON SEEDS AND PLANTS. 
Oxe ot tne most shameful acts of Con¬ 
gress during its last session was the doubling 
of the rates of postage on all third-class 
matter, which includes seeds, bulbs and 
plants. There was no call or excuse for 
such a change, beyond the fact that the ex¬ 
press companies desired to drive all such 
articles from the mails, that they might do 
the carrying themselves and at such rates as 
they chose to make. Of course the express 
companies had no difficulty in finding tools 
to do their bidding, and the act was passed 
of which wo and all sensible men complain. 
If the express companies would agree to 
carry packages to every village and hamlet 
reached by post, even «l the advanced rates, 
there might be some show of reason for a 
change, but it is well known that they do 
not, nor will they attempt to do so ; hence 
seeds and plants must go through the mails, 
or nine-tenths of our people be deprived of 
such necessary articles. 
have ordained that every girls’ school where¬ 
in the pupils pass an examination in ‘‘food 
and its preparation” and in “clothing and 
materials” will receive an addition to its 
annual grunt. 
Iu training colleges, also throughout the 
country, the practical teaching of cookery 
will now, to the extent of two-thirds, bo 
paid for by the State. One speaker said 
that he had lectured in Cambridgeshire, 
where a farmer complained that ho would 
make the. men unwilling to work by show¬ 
ing them how to live on four pence a day. 
W ith this example in England, training 
schools for cookery will doubtless soon be¬ 
come numerous and fashionable in this coun¬ 
try. 
-- 
FRENCH RECIPES FOR COOKING POTA¬ 
TOES. 
Puree of Potatoes .—This differs from 
mashed potatoes only iu the employment of 
more milk and butter, and iu the whole being 
carefully reduced to a perfectly smooth, 
thick, cream-like mixture. Where economy 
ia a great object, and where rich dishes are 
not desired, the following ia an admirable 
mode of mashing potatoes. Boil them till 
thoroughly done, having added a handful of 
salt to the water, then dry them well, and 
with two forks placed back to back, beat 
the whole up till no lumps are left. If done 
rapidly, potatoes thus cooked are extremely 
light und digestible. 
Potatoes Sautecs .—These are even more 
agreeable with meat than fried potatoes. 
Cold boiled potatoes are sliced up, and tossed 
up in a saucepan with butter, mixed with a 
little chopped parsley, iill they are lightly 
browned. Pure goose or other dripping is 
by many cooks preferred to butter for this 
purpose. 
Potatoes Soufflees.- -These delicious blis¬ 
tered potatoes are prepared as ft Hows : The 
potatoes, if small, are simply cut in halves; 
if large, cut into two or three more slices; 
these arc fried in the usual way, but arc 
taken out before they are quite doue, and 
Set aside to get cold; when wanted they are 
fried a second time, but only until they are 
of a light golden color, uot brown. 
■-*-*-♦- 
STEAM POWER vs. HOUSE WORK. 
Attention, inventors ! The farmer of the 
period has a large amount of labor-saving 
machinery, so that where he used to hold 
the plow the plow holds him. But the farm¬ 
er’s wife has to do her work in the same 
manner as did her grandmother, or else use 
cumbersome machinery, the chief value of 
which is not in saving labor, but simply in 
transferring it from the women to the men. 
Now, if we cannot have better machinery, 
let. us save work and prolong our lives by in¬ 
venting an engine of low power and simple 
in construction to do the washing aud wring¬ 
ing, churning, etc.; also to cut wood and 
Iced, pump water, etc., art lih. Such an en¬ 
gine would be of more account than a small 
boy. “ Farmer’s Boy.” 
-♦♦♦- 
PANTRY WINDOWS. 
The other day T was taking a ride with 
Grandma SMITH, whose eyes are sharp yet, 
notwithstanding her age, when she re¬ 
marked “ T can always tell what kind of a 
housekeeper a woman is by the looks of the 
house outside under her pantry window. If 
there is a streak of grease or other doubtful 
shades, reaching from the window to the 
ground, showing that dirty water or other 
objectionable things are constantly being 
thrown out, t set them down eis imperfect 
housekeepers. It makes no difference about 
the habit, if the window is on tlio backside 
of the house, if water, egg shells and other 
refuse from the pantry arc. thrown from the 
window, it causes a bad odor and looks un¬ 
tidy in the extreme.” Farmer’s W ifk. 
-♦♦♦- 
Extract of Lemon. —Best alcohol, 1 pint; 
oil of lemon, 1 oz.; peel of two lemons. 
Break the peels and put in with the others 
for a few days ; then remove them. It does 
not cost but a trifle compared with that 
which is kept for sale at the stores. 
Hggi^tuf information. 
WORK NOT ALWAYS A REMEDY FOR 
DYSPEPSIA. 
The Rural, New-Yorker of June 1(1 con¬ 
tains an article concerning dyspeptics, from 
Dr. Dio Lewis. He asserts that “nine out 
of ten could be cured by.going to work.” 
Nov/, if his assertion meant me alone I 
could let it pass ; but it includes many more 
who, T have no doubt, do, or have done, 
for more hard work in one month than he 
has done in six. It reminds me of a certain 
minister who frequently lectures his con¬ 
gregation upon intemperate habits, especial¬ 
ly that of eating at late bed-time, but 1 never 
saw his equal In consuming rich pastries and 
sweetmeats at ten and eleven o’clock at 
night, and he not only indulges himself, but 
permits his family of little ones to do the 
same. 1 greatly four Dio Lewis preaches 
hard work for his patients while he does not 
practice what he preaches. 
My father was an extremely hard-working 
man, and until fifty years of age a farmer— 
one who knew how to hold the plow and 
guide it through the pine roots of New 
York and the beech stumps of a more West¬ 
ern State. He was one who meant to be no 
sluggard In the use of the scythe and cradle 
of old imi times—no child’s play, 1 presume 
any farmer would say. And yet I have seen 
him suffer untold agony with dyspepsia for 
days, and when nothing could bring relief, 
go out aud use his ax to sec if exercise could 
relieve it. Hard work did uot cure him, 
neither will it cure me, Dio Lewis to the 
eonfrary notwithgt&tiding. 
Perhaps the Doctor had better try hard 
work himself. It might be. a benefit to his 
mental disease, ami when he gets in a more 
healthy condition we dyspeptics will thank¬ 
fully receive his aid. r. w. h. 
- Albany, WIs., IN5. 
-t-»~*- 
HYGIENIC NOTES. 
Kerosene for Ivy Poisoning.—A writer 
in the Florida Agriculturist says that kero¬ 
sene will relieve, the irritation occasioned by 
poison from ivy Iu forty minutes, and eradi- 
«ate the poison entirely in as many hours. 
With the point of the finger, or a soft brush, 
rub a small portion of the oil over the places 
where the eruption appeals, repeating the 
application three or four times a day. Re¬ 
lief from the itching will be almost imme¬ 
diate, and the cure certain and speedy. 
Other cutaneous diseases, he adds, such as 
ring-worm, itch and the lighter type of 
tetter, can be cured by the same treatment, 
and the minutest drop of kerosene will kill 
bedbugs quicker than lightning. 
Pumpkin as a PoulUec .—-A correspondent 
of the New York Farmer’s Club gives an 
instance in which a woman’s arm was 
swelled to an enormous size and painfully 
inflamed. A poultice was made of stewed 
pumpkins, which was renewed every fifteen 
minutes, and in a short time produced a 
perfect cure. The fever drawn out by the 
poultices made them extremely offensive, as 
they were taken off. 
Treatment of Typhoid Fever.— Dr. George 
Johnson, in the London Practitioner, takes 
the ground that in the treatment of typhoid 
fever careful nursing and feeding are of 
primary importance, while, as a rule, no 
medicines of any kind are required, and 
when not, required they are often worse 
than useless. Diarrhoea is a less frequent 
symptom than before tills plan was adopted, 
and when it does occur It is far more tract¬ 
able, while tympanitic distension of the 
abdomen is a rare event. 
®Ite ^putsman. 
KILLING A RHINOCEROS. 
Southern Africa is of ah countries the one 
where the hunter finds the. greatest abun¬ 
dance of large game. The elephant, the 
lion, and the immense rhinoceros still abound 
though rapidly diminishing in number be 
fore the guns of the sportsmen. Of these 
animals the most dangerous is the rhinoceros, 
because he does not wait to bo attacked, but 
charges on any human being who comes in 
sight. 
Anecdotes of the ferocity, bad temper, and 
cunning of this animal might be told suffi¬ 
cient to fill a volume. They will wait iu the 
thick jungle till you almost touch them, and 
then rush out at you. When they do catch 
an unfortunate man, they knock him down 
and knead him with their feet until nothing 
but a shapeless mass remains, uttering all 
day their shrill squeal of rage. Hon. W. D. 
Drummond relates an unfortunate experi¬ 
ence of this kind. On a journey the atten¬ 
tion of his party was called to the presence 
of upetyane (as the natives call the rhino¬ 
ceros) by a flock of rhinoceros-birds hover¬ 
ing over a tliicket, aud contrary to his advice 
his companions determined to hunt it. 
We went on, and in scarcely five minutes 
I saw it, having already heard it snorting 
like a steam-engine, trotting along, toasing 
its head, and looking like mischief personified, 
having evidently got the wind of some of 
us, and being quite us anxious to find us as 
we it. It was about fifteen yards off, and I 
instantly let di ivo with both barrels into its 
shoulder, springing as 1 did so into the tree 
under which I was. 
My unluckly companion, who was at a little 
distance on one side, camo running toward 
the shots, and absolutely mot the brute face 
to lace. lie at once fired and turned to run, 
but it was too late, and he was caught ou the 
spot, thrown up with u single toss, which 
must probably have stunned him, and was 
then trampled out of all semblance to hu¬ 
manity by the bloodthirsty brute. 
I could do nothing, for my gun-bearer had 
disappeared, seeking safety in some ottier 
spot, and I. found that I had not a siugle 
cartridge left ; but after a minute I could 
stand the inaction no longer, and getting 
down from the tree unperceived, L stole 
away, and as soon as I was out of reach 
shouted to the others. 
Two of tliem soon came up, whenwe,went 
buck to the spot until we got sight of the 
brute, still trampling and squealing, when, 
kneeling down, we fired at it together. It 
was only, however, after repeated shots that 
we succeeded in finishing it. 
--■»»»- 
RABBITS FOR MARKET. 
In breeding rabbits the location should be 
high. Low and swampy g.tound is fatal to 
rabbits ; rough, rocky or sandy ground, cov¬ 
ered with hushes, is just the spot. A piece 
sufficiently large should he inclosed with a 
picket fence, or pointed boards are better ; 
have it close enough, to exclude vermin and 
prevent the escape of young rabbits. The 
hoards should be driven Into the. ground to 
the depth of three or four inches. Rabbits 
seldom burrow when they have a plentiful 
supply of their natural food. I think when 
rabbits are addicted fo burrowing or gnaw¬ 
ing that starvation is the cause. An essen¬ 
tial part of the project is to have two or 
throe underground harbors. A large, strong 
box, entirely buried, with an entry extend¬ 
ing a few feet off, is as good as any. In case 
of any unusual noise, the rabbits will in- 
sFnctively retreat to tnis refuge. Care 
should be taken that it is not constructed so 
as to fill with water. There also should be 
some means of allowing ample ventilation. 
The thick stratum of earth which covers the 
habitation causes coolness in summer and 
warmth in winter— Cor. Germantown Tele¬ 
graph . 
