don’t  know  what  lilacs  are  and  that  the 
last  of  June  is  not  the  time  when  they 
appear  to  the  best  advantage. 
net  returns  of  sales  after  deducting  first 
cost  and  expenses  of  conducting  his  busi¬ 
ness,  although  tliis  may  be  consumed  in 
his  own  personal  expenses  or  that  of  his 
family.  The  farmer  however  counts  only 
the  clear  gains,  over  and  above  what  has 
been  used  for  himself  and  family  during 
the  year.  This  is  not  a  fair  way  of  mak¬ 
ing  up  the  account,  or  making  a  compari¬ 
son  with  city  people  who  have  no  greater 
amount  of  capital  invested  in  business. 
Now  the  farmer  usually  lives  in  his  own 
house,  therefore  has  no  rent  to  pay  to 
exacting  landlords,  he  also  has  his  horses 
ami  vehichw  to  carry  himself  and  family 
to  inUl  unii  to  meeting  without  extra  cost, 
luxiOTcs  which  few  men  in  a  city  with  five, 
ten  or  twenty  th»)usand  dollars  invf'sbKl 
in  business  can  seldom  afford.  Then, 
again,  the  fanner  is  not  ohligetl  to  put  his 
hand  into  liis  pocket  every  time  a  head  of 
lettuce,  cabbage,  or  peck  of  potatoes  is 
wanted  in  the  kitchen.  Stale  vegetables, 
adultonitcd  milk,  addled  eggs  and  a  thou¬ 
sand  other  necessaries  which  the  residents 
of  cities  meet  dfiily,  are  or  should  be  un¬ 
known  in  the  country. 
It  is  also  well  to  take  into  the  account 
the  freedom  of  country  life  from  the 
thousand  of  petty  annoyiinces  which  can¬ 
not  be  avoided  in  cities.  If  farmers’ 
wives,  06 is  often  claimed  and  perhaps  just¬ 
ly  so,  do  work  harder  than  their  sisters  in 
the  cities,  they  are  compensated  for  it  in 
part  at  least  in  seeing  their  children  grow 
up  more  robust  and  healthy,  thi'ougb  the 
inhalation  of  a  purer  atmosphere  and  a 
wider  field  for  exercise.  It  is  however, 
still  a  mooted  question  whether  the  city 
woman  does  not  ns  a  rule  labor  ns  hard  ns 
those  of  tJic  conutiy  to  meet  the  demands 
of  society  in  which  she  moves.  It  may  be 
diflicuK.  *  to  get  everything  to  work  as 
smoothly  and  evenly  as  we  would  all  de¬ 
sire,  still  the  advantage  and  disadvantages 
of  location,  as  well  as  occupation  and  po¬ 
sition  in  life  are  about  equal  when  sifted 
of  all  extraneous  matter. 
posed,  left  a  large  fortune,  every  doUar  of 
which  he  had  made  by  industiy,  economy 
and  strict  attention  to  the  small  details  of 
business. 
While  the  farmer  cannot  calculate  the  ; 
cost  of  his  productions  so  closely  as  the 
manufacturer,  that  should  be  no  reason 
why  ho  should  not  do  so  as  well  as  he  can. 
But  how’  many  can  tell  what  it  really  costs 
him  ti)  raise  ton  acres  of  corn,  wlieat  or 
potato(!S  and  bow,  if  be  docs  not  know  the 
relative  expense  of  production,  can  he 
know  which  is  the  most  profitable  for  him 
to  raise  ? 
A  collector  of  Internal  llevenue  for  a 
iMiral  district  comi)ri8ing  four  or  five  town- 
Rhqjs,  told  the  writer  that  in  all  liis  dis¬ 
trict  he  found  but  one  farmer  who  pre¬ 
tended  to  keep  any  account  with  his  farm 
and  he  was  a  physi(!inn,  who  had  rotinsd 
from  practice,  and  few  were  found  wlio 
had  any  idea  of  the  amount  of  farm  j)ro- 
duct  consumed  by  the  family.  1 1  seems 
to  us  that  a  little  more  thought  and 
care  in  .these  matters  would  be  of  great 
advantage,  both  by  way  of  economizing 
and  of  directing  labor  to  those  channels 
where  it  pays  best. 
And  in  this  connection  we  beg  to  say  a 
word  to  wives  and  daughters.  It  used  to 
be  an  old  saying  in  Yankee  land  that  it 
was  the  man’s  business  to  bring  borne  the 
momjy  and  the  woman’s  to  see  that  it  Aviis 
used  judiciously  and  economically.  But 
there  i.s  a  sad  Avant  of  knoAvledgo  of  do¬ 
mestic  economy  in  the  land  and  no  school 
is  more  needed  than  a  school  for  house¬ 
keepers.  Who  can  tell  how  much  it  costs 
ti)  make  a  loaf  of  bread  or  half  a  dozen 
I)i(!8 — Avhether  it  is  more  economical  to 
use  eggs  for  food  or  sell  them  at  the  mark¬ 
et  rales — how  much  a  pound  of  beef  will 
lose  in  roasting  or  boiling  ?  Thcj’e  are  a 
I  hundred  of  these  little  domestic  connn- 
ilrums  that  <;ould  be  studied  to  advantage. 
We  doubt  if  there  l:io  one  Avho  reads 
this  that  <‘-au  tell  CA'en  the  apj)roximato 
value  of  the  provisions  he  consumes  in  a 
year.  What  difference  does  it  make  if  we 
know  or  not?  .lust  thLs — that  Avith  a 
thought  about  it  AAdll  naturally  come  the 
endeavor  to  get  the  best  results  from  the 
expenditure  of  the  least  money.  It  is  the 
little  things  that  count.  Two  and  tAvo 
make  four.  We  made  tliat  axiomatic  ex¬ 
pression  to  n  young  laxly  a  few  days  ago, 
in  reference  to  certain  minor  expenditures. 
“I  know  it,”  said  she,  “  but  it  don’t  seem 
as  if  it  did.”  She  took  the  idea  at  once. 
Remembering  the  coat  of  every  article,  Ave 
see  the  sum  total  in  a  different  light. 
We  might  continue  this  subject  by  look- 
ing  at  it  in  its  various  aspects  and  may 
take  it  uji  again  some  time.  We  have  so 
far  had  in  mind  the  cost  of  material  things. 
The  cost  of  habits  would  give  room  for 
much  moralizing.  The  cost  of  smoking 
the  first  cigar,  for  instance  ;  aaIio  can  cal¬ 
culate  it — whether  considered  pecuniarily, 
physically  or  morally  ? 
“PROGRESS  AND  IMPROVEMENT.” 
MOORE’S  RURAL  NEW-YORKER, 
A  NATIONAL.  ILLUSTRATED 
ED8AI,  11TKU8I  AND  Will  NKWSPAPUB. 
Cheap  Postage  on  Plants.  —  At 
the  late  meeting  of  the  Nurserymens’ 
National  Association,  Mr.  J.  S.  Hubbard 
of  New  Y^ork  moved  that  a  committee  be 
appointed  to  comraunicate  Avith  Congress 
and  endeavor  to  got  a  reduction  on  third 
class  matter,  but  as  Western  men  do  not 
worship  or  stand  in  awe  of  their  reiire- 
sentative  in  Congress,  one  of  them  Mr. 
D.  B.  WiKR  of  Illinois  offered  the  foUoAv- 
ing: 
Jicgolved,  Tliat  wg,  tho  nnrRGrymcn,  florists 
and  Hesdsmen  of  Iho  United  States,  in  Conven¬ 
tion  nssomljled.  demand  it  as  onr  right  of  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  tliat  the  rates  of 
imstage  on  seeds,  eions,  plaiiLs,  etc.,  be  restored 
to  the  rate  of  1  cent  for  each  2  ounces. 
The  roiuilntion  was  unanimously  adopted. 
This  has  the  ring  of  true  metal,  and  if 
our  ])Cople  Avould  demand  more  of  their 
l>ubiic  servants  aud  cringe  less  Avith  sup- 
l^liant  petitions  for  rehef,  AA'hen  oxjpressed, 
political  demogogues  might  be  taught  to 
do  their  duty  AAuth  becoming  good  man¬ 
ners. 
ANDREW  S.  FULLER,  Editor. 
ELBERT  S.  CARMAN,  -  -  Associate  Editor, 
X.  A.  WILLARD,  A,  M.,  Little  Falls.  N,  Y., 
K..ITO«  OF  in.  D.FA.t«.»T  OF  DaIKY  HCBAFr-.Y 
C.  BARNETT,  I’uhllnher, 
TERMS  FOR  1876,  IN  ADVANCE, 
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rsfNu  advertisement  Inserted  for  less  than  $3. 
Tlie  New  Raid  ou  Pruning. — 
Our  uneasy  theorists  among  horticultur¬ 
ists  have  had  a  rather  dull  time  for  seve¬ 
ral  years  past  and  the  late  tirade  of  Shik- 
LEY  Hibbbrd  of  England  upon  tho  (gen¬ 
eral  practice  of  pruning  trees,  has  given 
tho  discontents  something  to  talk  about. 
We  rejoice  over  this  one  foreign  convert 
to  Apostle  Sau.vdkks,  old  tinifi  theory  of 
no  pruning  for  fruit  tiTCs,  still  wo  believe 
that  the  old  fanner  was  about  right, 
when  advised  to  pinch  back  his  black- 
beiTV  bushes  to  make  them  bear  big  ber¬ 
ries,  replied — Tliat’s  so  !  I  can  remember 
Avhen  1  lived  doAvn  in  Dartmouth  that  we 
always  found  the  biggest  blackberries  ou 
tho  bushes  that  the  old  cow  browsed  off 
in  spring.  We  had  much  rather  hat^e  on 
old  cow  loose  in  our  garden  than  to  put  it 
in  charge  of  one  of  tlieso  non -pruning 
gardeners. 
■ - -  #♦# - 
Smoke  Injuring  fjrape  Vines. — 
For  many  years  the  vineyardists  on  the 
banks  of  the  Hudson,  who  happened  to 
be  located  near  brick  Id  Ins,  have  com¬ 
plained  of  the  injury  to  the  vines  from 
smoko.  We  uuav  loam  that  51.  C.  IIcasoN 
has  addre-ssed  a  pa2ier  to  the  French 
academy  of  Bcioaces  on  this  subject,  show¬ 
ing  that  vineyardH  iu  close  proximity  to 
lime  kilns  ai'e  frtxiuently  badly  injured 
by  the  smoke  therefrom,  and  in  many  in¬ 
stances  the  fruit  became  so  impregnated 
Avith  noxious  odors  as  to  be  unfit  for  m.ak- 
ing  Avine.  Those  Avbo  are  eultiATiting 
vines  near  brick  or  lime  kilns,  or  manu¬ 
factories  from  Avhence  much  smoko  is 
given  off,  may  have  occasion  to  look  into 
this  matter  if  bad  flavors  are  discovered 
in  their  A'^ines. 
Address  PUBLISHING  CO., 
78  Duane  Street,  New  Afork  City 
IMPLEMENT  EXHIBITION, 
SATURDAY,  JULY  8,  1876, 
From  onr  Ceutennial  Correspondence 
on  another  page  we  are  enabled  to  judge 
how  fill'  short  of  the  original  intention 
this  Department  of  the  Exhibition  has 
fallen.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  struggdo 
of  the  manufacturers  to  bring  their  im- 
liortimt  interest  to  the  notice  of  progres¬ 
sive  people  against  the  attempt  of  tho 
Commission  to  hide  this  light  imder  a 
bushel.  The  miuinfacturcTS  went  into 
the  thing  with  great  earnestness  and  a 
full  desire  to  forward  the  objects  of  the 
International  Exposition  so  far  as  time, 
money  and  labor  of  (Mir  own  would 
accomiAlish  it.  The  Commission  attempt¬ 
ed  to  snub  them  ;  but  lortiinutely  the 
lai*ge  majority  of  them  belong  to  a  class 
of  intelligent,  shrewd,  straightforward  sort 
of  men  that  don’t  suuli  Avortli  a  cent. 
Fully  apjiroeiating  Hie  old  adage,  that 
“half  a  loaf  is  better  than  no  bread” — 
denied  the  i>rivilege  of  a  Competitive 
Field  Trial,  they  went  into  the  Field  Ex¬ 
hibition  (the  next  best  thingi  Avith  enthu¬ 
siasm  and  numbers  which  plainly  bespoke 
for  them  a  steadiness  of  juirpose  not  easily 
balked  Iiy  official  stupidity.  The,  Chief 
of  the  Agricultural  Bureau  too,  is  not  a 
man  to  be  easily  turned  from  a  good  ijur- 
pose  by  trilling  obstacles.  Let  him  con¬ 
tinue  to  maintain  his  Department  in  the 
face  of  official  obstructions  hereafter  as  he 
has  done  in  the  past  and  he  AviU  come  out 
of  tlie  aft’air  in  November  Avith  flying  col¬ 
ors,  which  wall  be  a  striking  contrast  to 
the  position  of  many  of  those  managere 
who  are  neglecting*  the  objects  of  their 
appointment  in  their  general  quarrel 
over  their  finances. 
COUNT  THE  COST, 
and  completely  aud  accurately  balance 
his  books,  to  knoAv  bow  he  stands  with  the 
wairld,  his  credit  becomes  impaired  and, 
as  a  rule,  his  failure  is  inevitable. 
If  a  manufiiotiu-er  should  commence 
business  aud  liaA'’e  in  A'ioAV  only  the  fact 
that  he  must  sell  his  goods  for  a  price  as 
low  as  or  lower  than  his  neighbors  receive 
for  similar  wTircs,  without  estimating  their 
cost,  his  margin  of  profit  Avould  be  cnor- 
m'lus  to  prevent  his  soon  finding  himself 
wdthless  money  than  he  commenced  wath* 
At  a  book  trade  in  Ngav  York  a  feAV  years 
ago,  Appleton  &  Co.  declined  on  offer  for 
.500,000  copies  of  Webster’s  Spelling  Book 
Avhich  was  only  one-eighth  of  a  cent  below 
their  price.  They  knew  what  the  book 
cost  them  to  make  aud  were  not  satisfied 
Avith  the  profit  that  w'ould  be  left  after 
the  deduction  of  that  small  amount. 
Tho  jiroprictor  of  one  of  tho  largest 
bakeries  iu  Nbav  York  insisted  on  having 
his  accounts  so  concisely  kept  tliat  his 
books  were  balanced  daily  at  12  o  clock. 
The  superintendent  of  every  department 
at  that  time  rendered  an  account  of  what 
fl  lur  and  other  material  had  come  into  his 
hands,  what  remained  aud  wluit  products 
he  had  delivered  to  salesroom.  The  su¬ 
perintendent  of  the  salesroom  accounted 
for  evei'ything  rocei\’ed ;  if  sold,  how  and 
to  whom  ;  and  if  on  hand,  a  regular  ac¬ 
count  of  stock  was  rendered.  The  book¬ 
keeper  was  required  to  tubulate  these  re¬ 
ports  and  to  add  to  them  the  estimate  of 
the  day’s  expense  for  rout,  labor,  w'ear  of 
maebiues,  interest  ou  iiiA'Ostments  every¬ 
thing,  not  eA'cu  the  sweepings  were  neg¬ 
lected,  and  every  night  the  proprietor  w'as 
fui’uishcd  with  an  abstract.  That  man 
acquired  a  reputation  for  giving  better 
bakers’  products  for  the  same  money  than 
any  other  baker  iu  New  York.  He  died 
about  tw’o  years  ago  and,  as  might  he  sup¬ 
RURAL  BREVITIES, 
A  poujfD  of  conporas  dissolved  in  a  gallon  of 
water,  in  stud  to  he  sure  de:ith  to  currant  wormB 
aud  even  more  efficauioiiB  than  white  Hellebore. 
The  great  racing  event  of  the  year,  in  Eng- 
gland,  the  Derby,  has  passed  and  the  victory 
won  by  an  “  illiistrious  Mtrauger  ”  from  Hungary 
called  i  he  Mineral  colt,  but  hereafter  to  be 
known  as  Ki.sber,  after  the  estate  where  he  was 
bred  in  Austro- lluugary. 
The  San  Juan  Guide  is  the  name  of  a  bright 
little  sheet  published  at  Topeka,  Kansas,  the 
tii'st  number  of  which  is  received.  We  have  no 
doubt  it  Avill  prove  an  efficient  guide  to  those 
who  may  seek  homes  in  the  West,  as  well  ae 
teach  its  readers  how  to  live  aud  prosper. 
"  Moon's  Bee  World”  is  what  the  boy’s  would 
call  a  “stinger”  among  the  bee  journals.  Its 
correspondents  are  “  live  men.”  and  some  of 
them  “brag  ”  of  tbeir  lovely  crop,  aud  are  ready 
to  back  up  theii’  opiuions  with  something  more 
substantial  than  words.  Its  a  pleasure  to  see 
men  in  earnest  in  whatever  they  undertake,  even 
in  beekeeping. 
We  are  indebted  to  Beach,  Son  &  Co.  of  this 
city,  for  a  bunch  of  fine  lilies,  composed  of  the 
gorgeous  LUium  aurahim  (or  Japan  Golden- 
banded_)  and  that  old  aud  universal  favorite,  Uie 
Liliuvi  cajididium.  Our  editorial  sanctum  was 
made  redolent  with  the  refreshing  fragrance  of 
those  gorgeous  flowers,  aud  we  return  many 
thanks  to  the  donor. 
The  first  meetiug  of  the  National  Nurserymen 
Association,  was  hold  at  Chicago,  June  14  and 
15,  passed  off  with  satisfaction  to  all  parties  oon- 
eemed.  Nnr.serymen  from  most  of  the  NorthCTU 
States  were  pres’eut  and  discussed  matters  of  im¬ 
portance  to  tho  trade,  which  will  doubtless  re¬ 
sult  in  a  more  fraternal  feeling  among  tho  mem¬ 
bers  if  nothing  else. 
PKOriTS  OF  KURAL  PUESUITS. 
Large  fortunes  are  not  as  frequently 
made  iu  farming  and  other  rural  pursuits 
as  iu  Avhat  are  generally  termed  commer¬ 
cial  enterprises  conducted  in  our  larger 
cities  and  villages  and  as  an  offset  to  this 
it  may  be  truthfullj’  said  that  fe-wer  are 
lost  after  haA'iug  been  acciunulated.  The 
gain  in  almost  ever)'  occupation  of  man 
corresponds  Avith  tlie  risks  taken,  and  if 
the  farmer  has  a  less  number  of  chances 
to  make  a  fortune  than  the  merchant,  or 
stock-broker,  he  also  runs  less  risk  of 
losing  Avhat  little  he  may  have  gained. 
But  from  the  frequent  complaints  Avhich 
rcitoh  us  from  the  country  we  must  con¬ 
clude  that  there  are  a  great  number  of 
discontented  persons  among  our  rural 
poimlatiou  as  Avell  as  among  those  residing 
in  cities.  The  question,  however,  Avliich 
concerns  ourselves  and  a  majority  of  our 
readers  most  is,  Avhich  of  the  tAvo  classes 
are  really  the  worse  off  imder  the  present 
depression  of  trade,  or  as  it  is  generally 
termed  “  hard  times  ?  , 
It  is  doubtless  the  fact  that  the  method 
of  counting  profits  of  country  and  city 
people  are  quite  different.  Tho  city  man 
who  labors  for  a  living  looks  upon  the 
EURAL  NOTES  AND  OUERIES 
June  Lilacs  iu  Brooklyn. — There 
is  nothing  more  gratifying  than  to  read 
the  lines  of  a  Avriter  whose  words  impress 
you  Avith  the  feeling  tliat  he  knows  Avhereof 
lie  speaks.  Yon  feel  that  you  are  in  the 
comiiany  of  a  master  and  surrender  at 
once  all  thought  of  preyaoiisly-attained 
knowledge  to  giA'e  place  to  his  teachings. 
“  Here,”  you  say,  “is  one  to  whom  hom¬ 
age  is  due.  Hjs  Avritings  combine  the 
results  of  accurate  obseiwation  and  culti¬ 
vated  reasoning.”  But  Avould  such  an 
one  have  Avritten  the  lines  Ave  cut  from  the 
Brookljm  (N.  Y.)  Eagle  for  Jtme  27  : 
“  The  city  just  uoav  is  one  vast  floAver  gar¬ 
den  and  whereA'cr  one  turns  the  odor  of 
lilacs  aud  sweet-scented  clover  greets  the 
senses.  ”  That  writer  is  a  little  Avorso  than 
the  average  Avho  do  the  floriculture  for 
our  daily  paisers.  But  it  is  probably  bis 
misfortune,  rather  than  his  fault,  that  he 
BUSINESS  NOTICES 
The  “  Phoenix”  brand  Pure  White  Lead  is 
corroded  by  the  only  true  method,  known  as  the 
“  Old  Dutch  Proces.s,”  and  is  sold  with  the  positive 
assurance  of  absolute  purity. 
