I  most  nonsensical  and  ridiculous  state- 
I  ments  in  regard  to  the  liabite  of  j^lants  and 
animals,  as  well  as  tlie  influence  of  the 
planets  on  tlie  same. 
Now,  we  do  not  believe  any  man  ever 
conducteil  a  series  of  experiments  for  the 
purpose  of  determining  whetJier  the  moon 
Jiad  any  peroeptil  jIo  influence  ujjon  plants 
or  animals  on  this  earth,  without  coming 
to  the  conclusion  that  all  assertions  in  the 
affirmative  were  erronef»us,  or  so  near  to 
it  as  not  to  be  worthy  of  a  moment's  con¬ 
sideration.  If  the  believers  in  the  moon’s 
influence  would  oiily  stop  to  think  that 
they  are  in  an  infinitely  small  minority — 
taking  mankind  as  a  whole — and  that  999 
out  of  every  1 ,009  persons  in  the  world 
pay  no  attention  to  such  signs,  and  still 
they  succeed  just  as  well  or  better,  tlian 
those  who  take  them  as  a  guide. 
But  it  is  n(fl  altogether  of  these  myste¬ 
ries  which  have  becu  lianded  down  from 
father  to  son  until  they  liave  betiome 
“  bred  in  the  bone’'  that  we  complain  of, 
but  of  the  hundreds  of  mitior  items  of 
knowledge  which  seem  to  pass  ciinent, 
few  questioning  their  tnitlifuluess.  Time 
and  time  again  have  we  heard  it  stated 
that  the  seed  of  the  common  chess,  or 
cheat,  would  not  germinate;  w'hile  the 
men  inaking  the  sUitomcnts  could  Jiave 
convincoil  themselves  of  this  error  by 
sowing  a  few  seeds  in  a  Uowor  pot  filled 
with  sand,  if  they  ilid  not  care  to  trust 
them  in  tlio  open  grouml,  Himdrods  of 
times  has  it  been  said  that  cions  of  peacli, 
apple,  Ilium  and  similar  fruits,  if  set  in  a 
stock  top-end  down,  would  produce  fruit 
having  neither  core  nor  seed,  I’ractical 
men  have  tested  this  method  of  grafting 
ami  learned  that  inverting  tif  a  cutting  or 
cion  ha«  no  intluence  whatever  on  the 
fruit,  and  those  Avho  still  persist  m  ropoat- 
iug  such  errors  probably  do  mit  waut  to 
know  the  trutli.  Grafting  peacluis  upon 
willows  in  order  to  jiroctuce  stoneless  fruit, 
is  autitlier  iiroccss  reoommendt-d  by  per¬ 
sons  who  never  tried  it,  nor  do  not  liuow 
that  the  peach  fails  to  nuite  or  gi'ow  upon 
the  willow'. 
Similar  errors  are  promulgated  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  vurioiiB  domesticateil  nuimals 
as  Avcll  as  plants  and  insects,  many  of 
W'hich  miglit  roaxbly  be  disposed  of  by 
the  slightest,  investigation.  What  souse 
is  there  in  believiug  that  snakes  will  not 
crawl  over  an  ash  stick,  or  ants  cross  a 
white  chalk,  mark  or  a  ring  of  salt,  when 
it  is  so  easy  to  prove  that  such  statements 
are  fallueiuus  i  There  can  cei’taiuly  bo 
no  harui  in  trying  to  leiu-u  the  ti'uth  even 
if  you  fail,  provided  no  risk  is  run  in 
making  the  exiieriment. 
so  unfortunate  as  to  become  widows,  to 
assume  their  own  again ;  but  Ave  could 
never  see  any  good  reason  for  it  unless  it 
was  for  the  purpose  of  aimouuciug  whether 
or  not  they  were  in  tlio  matrimonial  mark¬ 
et.  We  may  be  reminded  that  in  society, 
the  Ghristian  name  of  not  one  married 
w'om.m  in  tAventy  is  kuoAAii  hut  to  her  most 
intimate  acqiiainhincea.  We  adrnit  that 
is  the  case,  except  among  the  Friends, 
and  answer,  iVIore’s  the  pity.  When  avo 
hear  a  man  spoken  of  as  ‘‘  Mrs.  Kobin- 
sox’s  husband,”  Ave  at  once  infer  that  his 
intellectual  status  must  lie  considerably 
below  the  average  if  he  can  sliine  only  by 
i-efleck-d  light,  and  we  oi'c  at  a  loss  to 
uuderstaud  AvJiy  a  woman  should  not  be 
allowed  to  stand  up  on  her  own  merits 
A  NATIONAL  ILLUSTKATED 
ANDREW  S.  FULLER,  Editor 
ELBERT  S.  CARMAN 
Associate  Editor. 
X.  A.  WILLARD,  A.  M.,  Little  Falls,  N.  Y., 
Euitob  or  Tax  DxrxiiTMXNT  or  Daisy  IIdsxakuby, 
<>!.  A,  C.  BARNETT,  Tiilillalicr 
TERMS  FOR  1876,  IN  ADVANCE, 
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RURAL  NOTES 
Address 
RURAL  PUBLISHING  QO., 
78  Duane  Street,  New  York  City 
SATURDAY,  AUG.  5,  1876, 
PREPARING  FOR  THE  FAIRS, 
On  auotlicr  jiage  we  give  a  list  <if  state 
and  local  fairs  to  be  held  during  the 
autumn  mouths.  A  few  tvords  in  com¬ 
mendation  of  these  useful  organizations, 
as  well  as  the  patronage  Mhich  they 
should  receive  at  the  hands  of  the  public 
is  quite  oi>portune  at  this  time.  It  is  to 
be  regretted  that  agricultural  and  liorti- 
cultural  societies  receive  far  less  patron¬ 
age  than  thm'r  importance  demand,  not 
only  from  those  persons  whose  calling 
makes  them  most  du'cctly  intorested,  but 
from  the  public  at  large.  The  residents 
of  cities  aud  villages  wJio  are  not  tillers 
of  the  soil,  seldom  consider  themselves 
interested  parlies  when  there  is  to  be  nn 
exhibition  of  the  jjroducts  of  the  farm  or 
garden,  or  that  these  shows  call  for  any 
spedul  attentions  or  sup})ort  on  their 
part,  hence  they  take  little  interest  be¬ 
yond  the  oiqjortuuity  of  whiling  away  an 
hour  or  two  among  tlie  cattle,  cabbages 
and  roses  or  to  see  the  fun  at  the  plowing 
match,  or  liorse  trot,  forgetting,  if  not 
particularly  intorestod  as  producers,  they 
cannot  avoid  being  so  as  cousiuners. 
They  may  not  care  who  raises  the 
largest  or  best  beets,  or  makes  the  best 
Vmtter,  or  how  it  is  done,  but  the  fact  of 
its  being  done  cannot  fail  to  intei-est 
them.  For  these  reasons  if  nothing  else, 
every  individual  should  consider  himself 
personally  interested  in  the  products  of 
the  soil.  'The  residents  of  our  cities  and 
villages  often  complain  of  the  poor  fruits 
and  vegetables  wliich  they  are  forced  to 
purchase  in  market  iu  the  absence  of 
better,  but  few  of  them  ever  thiuk  that 
any  change  could  lie  made  throiigh  their 
direct  influence,  as  it  doubtless  never 
entered  their  heads  that  sujiply  follows 
demand. 
If  those  who^^desire  the  best  of  everj'- 
thing  will  learn  -whut  to  ask  for  there  is 
little  doubt  of  its  being  fiu'uished  and 
there  is  no  better  jflace  of  obtaining  this 
information  than  at  the  hundreds  of  agri- 
cultui’al  and  horticultural  fairs  held  aunu- 
WHAT’S  IN  A  NAME? 
Cotton  Spinning-  in  the  South. 
— Much  a.s  the  people  of  the  Southern 
States  neglected  home  manufactures  iu 
days  gone  by,  they  have  at  last  waked  up 
to  tlieir  iiuportaoce,  especially  to  the 
using  of  the  raw  staplesinsteud  of  sending 
them  abroad  to  eui-ieh  the  capitalists  of 
other  localities  aud  countries.  This  is 
clearly  shown  iu  tlie  spinning  of  cotton, 
the  great  staple  of  the  South,  fur  wliile 
in  1869  only  14,561  bales  were  worked  up 
at  home,  tlie  number  had  iucreused  144,- 
066  in  1875.  TJiis  is  a  good  showing, 
altliough  only  3i  per  cent,  of  the  cot¬ 
ton  raised  has  been  manufactured  at 
home,  the  remainder  having  been  sent 
aijroad  to  give  employment  to  foreign 
cajjital  and  labor.  Further  progress  iu 
the  w-ay  of  home  manufactiu'es  is  needed 
to  bring  peace  and  plenty  to  the  South  as 
Avell  as  North. 
A  coBKESPONDENT  asks : — “  When  Sa- 
KAu  Eliza  Jones  and  John  Smith  are 
married  what,  thereui'ter,  is  tlie  proper 
and  legal  name  of  the  lady  ?” 
It  is  always  j^reBumed  that  a  w’oman 
loses  nothing  but,  ou  the  contraiy-, 
gains  I  ly  marriage.  She  certainly  giuiis 
uuother  name.  We  are  not  aware  at 
Avhat  period  in  history  this  custom 
was  introduceil,  but  evidently  it  was 
not  until  after  JBible  times.  It  is  now 
uulversal  in  Cliristiaii  lauds  although,  so 
iiu'  as  wo  know,  there  is  nothing  in  any 
marriage  service,  with  one  e-vcejition,  rel¬ 
ative  to  it.  Tliat  exce}itioii  is  the  sensible, 
beautiful  and  imiirossiveform  used  by  tlie 
fctocielj  of  Friends,  or  QuakiirB,  in  which 
the  woinan  iuvmally  assumes  the  name  of 
her  husbaud. 
Wiieu  tJie  absurd  custom  of  giving  a 
gii-I  a  multiplicity  of  Christian  names  has 
been  fallowed,  it  is  deemed  best  that  she 
drop,  at  maii-iage,  all  but  the  one  by 
which  she  has  been  generally  known. 
This,  w-ith  her  surname — cir  more  projierly 
sirename — aud  that  of  her  husband  be¬ 
come  and  are  thenceforth  her  proper  aud 
legal  name.  In  tlie  case  above  named  the 
lady  ivould  probably  discard  Eliza  and 
add  Smith,  writing  as  her  signature,  Sa¬ 
bah  Jones  iSanrH. 
Women  ai'e  often  known  only  as  the 
M-ives  of  their  husbands,  ha\'ing  theii'  iu- 
dividuali^  blotted  out  at  once,  and  many 
of  Sabah’s  frieuds  would  be  likely,  fol¬ 
lowing  a  custom,  to  addi-ess  theii’  letters 
to  her  as  “Mrs.  John  8mith,”  This 
should  not  be  done,  Tlie  Clu'istiaii  name 
of  the  husband  ought  never  to  be  used  in 
connection  wiUi  the  wife  except  when 
both  ai'c  spoken  of  at  the  same  time  ;  then 
it  may  be  as  “Ml',  and  Mrs,  John  Smith,” 
or  “John  Smi'xu  and  v-ife,”  but  never  as 
“  John  Smith  and  lady.” 
We  are  aware  that  it  has  become  quite 
common  for  married  ladies  to  use  their 
husband’s  instead  of  their  ow'u  Cluistiau 
name,  ou  thek  visiting  oiu'ds  and,  when 
riie  L)aii\>  B  nil  (ling-. — In  another 
column  will  be  found  an  mioroutiug  letter 
oonceining  the  management  of  the  Dairy 
Building  at  the  Centenm'al.  Events  are 
rapidly  justifying  our  strictures  as  etlito- 
rially  expressed  a  few  montlis  since  ;  aud 
while  wo  sincerely  deplore  a  state  of  affairs 
BO  inimical  to  an  important  Agricultural 
industry,  wo  coifld  not  logically  expect  a 
different  result  from  the  practical  api^lica- 
tion  of  false  views  and,  to  exiiress  it  mild¬ 
ly,  careless  direction  of  an  imjiortaut  trust. 
Ii<'  people  would  learn  to  be  more  skep¬ 
tical  and  less  confiiling,  truth  might  in  a 
great  measure  take  the  place  of  error. 
But  it  is  so  much  easier  to  accejjt  a  state¬ 
ment  as  truth  tluin  to  investigate  aud 
A-noic  it,  that  a  majority  of  persons  chtxise 
the  former,  absorbing  w-liat  is  generally 
termed  knowledge  just  as  a  sponge  does 
Avater,  taking  in  the  impure  as  readily  as 
the  jjure,  possessing  neither  a  desire  or 
power  of  making  a  selection.  This  is  es¬ 
pecially  the  case  iu  most  tilings  pertain¬ 
ing  to  “Eui-al  Affairs,”  hence  the  re- 
lieated  and  constant  cii-eulation  of  the 
RURAL  BREVITIES 
We  leara  that  Fred,  Mather,  Saperiutendent 
of  Aquai'ia,  Ceiiteimial  Exposition,  has  resigned. 
“Our  CouNTRy."— Wo  arc  obliged  to  omit 
the  continuation  of  the  Historical  article  this 
week— but  it  may  be  expected  regularly  here¬ 
after. 
The  Editor  of  the  Now  England  Farmer  owns 
up  to  having  been  sold  by  a  tree  ptsldJer.  He 
purchased  somo  genuine  Versailles  currant  bushes 
which,  when  they  came  into  bearing,  produced 
small,  soiu',  white  fruit.  Wo  could  toll  a  story 
twice  as  good  as  that  played  upou  us  by  a  nurs¬ 
eryman  in  good  standing  not  a  hundred  miles 
from  Boston. 
