JULY 2 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
443 
Jar 3®omen, 
CONDUCTED BY MISS RAT CLARK, 
APPLE BLOSSOMS, 
Apple blossoms ! apple blossoms! 
Dainty sweet, and dainty fair. 
What on earth to mo so lovoly t 
What on earth to me bo rare ? 
In the SpriugtUno, in tho HprinijrtiTOe, 
In the childhood of tho year; 
When tho birds come buck to forests 
Now no loDgrer dark and drear. 
Then tho modest little violet, 
And the snow-drop pure aud white, 
Ope their eyes and hail the Spring-time 
Smiling in its happy light. 
Thou I hail ye, apple-blossoms. 
Then l watch yc bud and bloom; 
And I give you gladdest welcome 
As I breathe your sweet perfume. 
For a happy recollection 
Comes to mo of long ago— 
Of words spoken in the Spring-time, 
Of words spoken sweet aud low. 
And to mo they are far sweeter, 
Better, dearer every way; 
For 1 eat beneath their branches 
On that glad and happy day. 
Branches bending loving o'er mo, 
Waving gently in the air, 
Ringing sweet congratulations. 
Crowning mo .with blossoms fair. 
Do you wonder that-1 love them ! 
That to me tlioy still are dear ? 
That I call them my " good angels ?" 
Sweetest blossoms of they oar 1 
Apple blossoms' apple blossoms ! 
Dainty pink, and dainty white, 
Blessings shower down upon mo. 
Strew my path with flowers bright. 
In the Spring-time, in the Spring-time, 
Como ye back to mo each year. 
Bringing with your fairy presence 
Mem’rles bright old age to cheer. 
-♦ ♦ ♦- 
CONCERNING CORRESPONDENT’S QUES¬ 
TIONS. 
MART WAGKR-FISTIER. 
“ Improvement,” asked la Rural of April s, 
what Is necessary in order to possess a well cul¬ 
tivated voice, and what books are to be read for 
mental cu111vallon to a mind not well stored. I 
t.hlnk that, any voice can be greatly improved 
without tho aid of elocutionary training, by dili¬ 
gently and persistently toning It down to what 
are called “cnost tones." Moat Americans speak 
in head tones and nasal tones at that. A well 
modulated voice with distinct enunciation, la al¬ 
most Invariably, an agreeable one to listen CO, and 
these qualities can bo acquired Dy any one who 
has the earnest wish to do so. A young lady who 
was visiting mo a tew months ago whose voice 
and conversation were extremely charmlDg, said 
one day after I had alluded to the quality of her 
voice: “1 am glad you think so: but my mother 
is constantly saying to me, ‘ Bertha, you must 
key your voice to a lower pitch,’ and I’m all the 
time trying to get my volco down, down." My 
teacher says the great thing to do In order to ac¬ 
quire richness, fullness aud roundness or tone, is 
to constant ly try 10 get tho voice down ; io make 
It deep and round In tone.” This girl never spoke 
In a voice of high pitch, and yet everything she 
said was of perfect distinct ness. From early 
childhood she had been trained by her mother to 
speak and to talk, beautifully—to express herself 
In the best and simplest words the English lan¬ 
guage affords, and always to appreciate the fact 
that her voice In conversation should bo as finely 
and sweetly attuned, aH In singing. 
i thluk all parents who thtnk at all, realize tho 
Imrat'nso power of habit—of early training. It Is 
almost as difficult to oouvert. a vulgarly bred 
young person Into an elegant man or woman, as 
It would be to change the spots of the leopard’s 
skin. Repeatedly, have i seen men and women 
who have risen to social eminence by the force of 
character and talent, and who have “ taken on" 
much of the polish of society, betray at times in 
their manner, and In their conversation, their 
choice and pronunciation of words, their low bred 
origin. They were perfectly codscIous or these 
defects, but lound themselves utterly unable to 
root out of their being the vulgarities that had 
been Implanted In them In childhood, aud wnich 
hod taken such deep hold. Of course, all sensible 
people respect utid admire such persons none the 
less for their misfortunes; but they themselves 
suffer keenly from It, and bear the sense of Its 
humiliation to the end of Ufo. l nave often heard 
young people who have been well educated In 
schools, exclaim, “ What would I not give, If 1 
had only been uccustomed to hearlrg the English 
language well spoken In my childhood!” for no 
amouut, of grammatical study will ever atone for 
Illiterate habits of speech formed In youth. 
Fathers and mothers may think It silly and 
foolish and “ hi fa lu-tln,” may he, to talk in the 
best English they cau, it may he so to themselves, 
but if they have children they have no moral 
right lo talk or to behave In but the very best way 
they know. It matters Uttle whether tbev have 
money to leave their children, but. It (lce.it matter 
much, that they accustom them to exercise good 
manners, BO that lobe well mannered will be to 
them an every day garment, Burke said “ Man¬ 
ners are of more importance than Law,” and 
many of letter Importance than the great Eng¬ 
lish statesman, have recognized the ract. that a 
fine manner la more than money, beauty or ap¬ 
parel. There Is something hideous In a pretty 
girl who Is 111 mannered, while there is a great 
charm about a plain girl who Is sweet, gentle 
and polite in her demeanor. Truth, sincerity, 
gentleness, unselfishness and love for others lie 
at the bottom of all true politeness. 
While on this topic, I am reminded or the criti¬ 
cisms my comments on the way many people eat, 
have called forth. “A Farmer” asks “what is a 
saucer for?” and yet ho probably knows as well 
as anybody that It Is t.o set the cup In—a very 
necessary use, too. 1 never think It worth while 
to find fault with the ways of very old people, and 
If such find comfort In drinking tea from a saucer 
and puttlog food m the mouth with a knife (pro¬ 
viding they don’t cut themselves) It would be ab¬ 
surd to criticise their habit, or try to change It. 
But when younger men and women can form bet¬ 
ter and more modern habits, wby should they 
not? And should not the children have the bene¬ 
fit of the best examples? in no place does young 
or old person’s manners receive such signal Illus¬ 
trations, as, at the table, and I have seen persons 
at finely served tabloB sit m mortal fear because 
they felt that they didn’t know now to ochave. 
As to books, 1 would recommend to " Improve¬ 
ment” tho following, as a few that I myself have 
found to he of special value In the lino she sug¬ 
gests. Motley’s Rise of the Dutch Republic; 
Plutarch’s Lives; Vicar or Wakefield; Emerson's 
Essays; lllgglnson’s Young Folk’s History of the 
United States : Arnold’s “ Light of Asia;” Haw¬ 
thorn's and George Eilot’s Novels; Schiller's 
Plays; Seeky’s Intellectual and Moral Histories of 
Europe; Biographies, especially of eminent 
Americans, as Marshall’s Lite of Washington, and 
The Life of Farragut hy Ills son. The American 
Book Exchange—often advertised In the Rural— 
furnishes some excellent works at a trlfilog cost. 
Macauly’s Life of Frederick the Groat; Carlyle's 
Lire of Robert Burns, Lamartine’s Life of Mary 
Queen of Seotts, cost each, but three cents, post 
paid, while The Light, of Asia (the finest poem of 
the century, to my mind,) the vicar of Wakefield, 
and Baton Munchausen coBtbut jlre cents each, 
Bunyan’s Pilgrim's Progress costs but six cents 
These works alone, if i ftorousjhlj/ read and re-read 
until one knows them “ by heart” will give to 
any mind a cultivation of no mean sort, and the 
entire cost of them all Is thirty cents! What a 
wonderful age we llvo In ! As for a study, there’s 
nothing equal to Botany for making one see what 
there la In the world—In the works of tho Creator. 
To all persons Interested In silk worm culture 
and thlDgs pertaining thereto, you will get more 
Information than I can give you in two columns 
of this paper, by writing for circulars to the presi¬ 
dent or the Silk Culture Association. Mrs. Lucas, 
13SS Chestnut street, Philadelphia, Pa., send with 
your application a postage stamp. The circulars 
which contain all you want to know, probably, in 
regard to the matter or silk culture are gratuitous, 
and the Association Is a purely benevolent one. 
The women at the head of It are very patriotic, 
earnest and Intelligent., and tully charged with 
the belief that In the cultivation of allk, lies a 
great and profitable Industry to the women of 
the United States. 
-- 
HINTS. 
Usk ou Lemons. For all people, In sickness or 
In health, lemonade la a safe drink. It corrects 
biliousness. It Is a specific against worms and 
8klu complaints. The pippins, crushed, may also 
be mixed with water and sugar, and used as a 
drink. Lemon juice la the beat antl-acorbutlo 
remedy known, it not only cures the disease, but 
prevents It. Sailors make a dally use of it for this 
purpose. A physician suggests rubbing the gums 
with it dally to keep them in health. The hands 
and nails are alHO kept clean, white, sort and sup¬ 
ple by tho dally use of lemon Instead of soap. It 
also prevents chilblain?. Lemon lx used in inter¬ 
mittent fevers mixed with strong, hot black tea or 
coffee without sugar. Neuralgia may be cured 
by rubbing the affected part with a lemon. It Is 
valuable also, to cure warts, and to destroy dand¬ 
ruff on the head, bv rubbing the roots of che hair 
with It. 
Ammonia.— Ammonia will remove finger marks 
from paint, where there would otherwise have to 
be a good deal of scrubbing with soap, which 
takes the paint off too. Ammonia Is useful to 
wash all the brushes that are used in a household. 
Nothing will cleanse greasy sinks, pans or scrub¬ 
bing brushes so well. A teaapoonrul in a basin of 
warm water will make hair brushes beautifully 
white. Take care not to let the hacks of the 
brushes dip below the surface: rinse them with 
clear warm water aud put them lu a sunny win¬ 
dow to dry. A small bottlo or ammonia Is also 
useful for the wardrobe. Keep a little sponge 
with it, and, when woolen dresses are stained or 
sollod, they are easily cleaned by passing a little 
diluted ammonia over the spots. Fold a towel 
and place It under tho spotted or soiled portion 
while you are cleaning the dress. 
Hanging Pictures. — The majority of people 
hang pictures too high on the wall. Whatever 
i ho hlgtit ot a room, the pictures In it 9 hould be 
hung on a level with the eye ot au adult when 
standing, an adult, of average hlght. Pictures are 
hung upon the wall, supposably to be seen with 
both ease and pleasure; but when they are 
perched up nearly to the ceiling they can be 
viewed neither with the one feeling or the other. 
W hen you have occasion to buy picture cord, buy 
Instead, wire, for hanging frames. Cord wears 
our. becomes moth eaten, and tome day down 
comes your pictures with a crash. Hang your 
pictures so as to be nearly, it not quite. Oat against 
i he wall. People w ho understand the art of hang¬ 
ing pictures well, no longer hang mem so that the 
lop leans out from tho wall. 
Bureaus, &c.- -It may not have occurred to some 
housekeepers that bureaus and other pieces ot 
heavy furniture having drawers In them near the 
tloor may have the dust thoroughly removed from 
under them hy taking out the drawers and using 
a wisp broom to remove the dust. This Is a great 
deal easier than moving the entire piece of furni¬ 
ture, which, with women who are not strong, is 
often impossible. 
-»■♦ " »- 
ABOUT WOMEN. 
Lucia Zarate, the smallest woman in the world, 
was born In Mexico. 
Mrs Garfield sits up easily for about two 
hours at a time, and Is rapldl'y convalescing. 
Mrs. Rtrohm of Gosper county, Nebraska 
planted over -2,600 fruit and forest trees on Arbor 
day. 
ZakeThalberg, the daughter of the pianist, Is 
to retire from the stage, and marry an Italian 
marqulg. 
Miss. M. M. Gillette, has been appointed by 
President Garfield a notary public for the district 
of Columbia, 
Mu 9. Nellie Gramt-8artobi 3 will probably 
spend a part of this Hummer with her parents at 
Long Branch. 
Margaret Fuller’s birthday was celebrated in 
Chicago on June 13th with music aDd recitations 
of prose and poetry by the “ Margaret Fuller 
Society.” She was seventy -one. 
Miss LouIsa M. Alcott has written an introduc¬ 
tion for Roberts Brothers' new edition of Theodore 
Parker’s “Prayers,” In which she gives reminis¬ 
cences of the ramous writer, 
Mrs. Harriet LaneJohnson, niece of President 
Buchanan, is now at Wheatlands nursing the 
only child left to her-a bright boy of eleven, of 
whose return to health there is little hope. Mr?. 
Johnson’s eldest son died last Winter. 
Miss Marianne North, who has just arrived In 
New York, has been traveling alone all over the 
world for the last ten or fifteen year?, painting 
trees and flowers, with a hit or landscape to show 
their habitat.. She has climbed wild mountains, 
been driven through savage places In camel-wag¬ 
ons guarded by natives, and has rloated down 
strange rivers upon Inflated skins. She has made 
more lhan six hundred studies of trees and plants, 
some of them unknown to botanists before, and 
has presented them to the Kew Gardens, where 
she has built a gallery for them.—Woman’s Jour¬ 
nal. 
-» • ♦- 
A Father's Advice to a Bride.— said a young 
husband, whose business speculations were un¬ 
successful, “My wife’s silver tea set, the bridal 
gift of a rich uncle, doomed me to financial ruin. 
It involved fl hundred unexpected expenses, which 
in trying to meet have made the bankrupt that I 
am.” ills is the experience of many othera. who. 
less wise, do not know what Is the goblin of the 
house, working Its destruction. A sagacious fat her 
of great wealth exceedingly mortified his daugh¬ 
ter by ordering it to he printed on her wedding 
cards, “ No presents except those adapted to an In¬ 
come of X900.” Said he, “ you must not expect to 
begin fife in the style l am able by many years to 
Indulge, and I know of nothing which will tempt 
you to try more than the well-intentioned but per¬ 
nicious gifts of rich Mends. Such advice is time¬ 
ly. If otunr parents would follow the same plan 
many young men would be spired years of Inces¬ 
sant roll and anxiety ; they would not find thetn- 
selvos on tho downward road because their wives 
had worn all their salary or expended It Oh the 
appointments of the house. The fate or the poor 
man who found a ltnch-plu and felt obliged to 
make a carriage to fir, It Is the fate of the husband 
who finds his bride In possession of gold and sliver 
valuables and no large income to support the own¬ 
er’s gold and sliver stylo, 
--- 
CORRESPONDENT’S CORNER. 
Miss Margaret B. Harvey wishes to add to her 
list of flowers requested in ism issue: Fumarla 
officinalis (Fumitory); a leaf of Aplectrum hye- 
male (putty root); Oxalls vlolacea (Violet sorrel). 
Domestic tfionontD. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MAPLE. 
MRS. O’FLANY’S MARBLE CAKE. 
marguerite. 
A young mother living near us was lying low 
with consumption. 1 prepared for her a pitcher 
of Iced lemonade, and wrapping an additional 
piece ot lee lo flannel, took them to her. She 
wanted drinks alrnoBt continually, and she thank¬ 
ed me again and again, saying, “it tastes so 
good!" The thought of the additional lco to use 
later comforted her, for she had been looking for¬ 
ward with dread to the evening thirst. 
[ started home, and as 1 was passing Mrs. 
O’Fiany’B door l concluded to “ step In.” She 
was standing by the table, with eggs, sugar and 
flour upon it. 
•• oeh, heaven bless you t You are Just the lady 
I’m wantin' to see,” she exclaimed. “ I'm glad 1 
stopped them” I said. “ I went over to the store 
mesllf and bought some baking powder, and they 
Inclosed the directions tor baking with It; so I 
thought to mesilf that ! would make a marble 
cake tor the fayther to carry for his dluner.” 
“ That will he nice," 1 said, knowing the poor man 
seldom got a bite for his dinner In that line. 
“ Which part shall l help you to prepare, thellgut 
or dark part ?” 1 asked. 
She looked at me, and as sUe did not reply l re¬ 
peated the question. “ Why, one cake is In the 
oven, ma'am,” she answered, i opened the oven 
door and looked In. There, sure enough, was the 
light part, nearly baked and looking good enough 
to eat. “ But, Mrs. O’Flany,” I asked, “how are 
you going to get a marble cake out of It?” She 
looked more mystified than before, and finally 
exclaimed, “Och, now, sure have I gone and 
done It wrong afther all 1" 
I told her the reason It, was called “marble” was 
because a spoonful of the light and dark dough 
were put In alternately to imitate the stone after 
which it was named; but her cakes were not 
spoiled, as she now had t wo Instead of one. 
She laughed heartily over her blunder, and I 
joined her ; but still I felt sorry she had not been 
more successful, ror It was a real task, as well as 
an expense, tor her to hake cake. First, she had 
to meet the milkman quite a distance, as he could 
not drive uear the house, then away to the 
store for butter and eggs, with a child, perhaps, 
In her arms, or to go running alone, scarcely 
knowing what might befall them ere her return, 
as the cars passed her door almost continually. 
“I would not have tried only I wanted some¬ 
thing extra tor the fayther,” this day,” she said, 
half regretfully. 
“ It will be very good as It la, Mrs. O'Flany,” I 
said; “ but I wilt write you off a recipe for sponge 
cake which you will not need to have milk or but¬ 
ter for at all.” So I wrote as follows:—Four eggs, 
one cup of sugar, one ot flour, and t.wo teaspoon¬ 
ful 8 of baking powder. Beat the yelks and sugar 
together; whip tho whites stiff, and sift the flour 
and sugar together. Stir In first a spoonful of flour 
and then one ot the beaten whites until mixed. 
Bake in a moderately hot oven. 
•* Heaven bless you t ru pray for you when I 
use It,” she exclaimed, as she thanked me for my 
kindness. 
■» ♦ »- 
COOKING SMALL NEW POTATOES, 
Select the very smallest, scrape and drop Into 
cold water. Have ready & sauce-pan of hot, lard 
or dripping?. Drain the potatoes, dry them on a 
towel and drop into the hot fat. Cook until easily 
pierced with a fork. The fat should not he too hot 
or the potatoes will be too deeply browned before 
cooked through. Drain, sprinkle with pepper and 
salt and serve at once. 
Another good way of using the smallest pota¬ 
toes is to scrape and boil them until almost ten¬ 
der and then to put them into a frylng-pau having 
a few spoonfulsol hot drippings or butter. Sp: inkle 
with pepper aud salt and cook until nicely 
browned. Only enough fat Is required to keep 
them from burning. Or, boil until tender, drain, 
aud cover with a white sauce made ot a pint or 
new milk, a targe spoonful of butcer, pepper and 
salt and thlckeued wlthaspoonrul ot flour, rubbed 
smooth in a little milk. This quantity of sauce 
answers ror a quart of potatoes’. The sauce should 
he first made, the potatoes added, and then leave 
on the back ot the range to minutes betcre serv¬ 
ing. simply boiled, drained and dried wilt a rew 
spoonfuls of melted butter poured over them, they 
will be found very palatable and altogether too 
good to throw away; as Is often the case lrom a 
lack of patience In preparing. b. k. l. 
-*-*-•- 
HINT8. 
A little powdered borax and tallow are as good 
as anything to add to starch to prevent its stick¬ 
ing. 
Sweet spirits of niter is recommended for ivy 
poisoning. 
When a mustard plaster Is not wanted to blister, 
mix the mustard with the white of an egg. 
A thin coat of white varnish applied to a worn 
straw matting makes It look better as well as 
adds to Its durability. 
Kerosene la excellent for cleaning unvarnished 
furniture, either walnut or oak. 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
Cherry Fritter*. 
Make a batter of a pint of milk, four beaten 
eggs, a pinch ot salt, two even teaspoonfuls of 
baking-powder and enough flour to make a little 
stlffer than pan-cake hatter. Beat thoroughly, 
then stir in a pint of stoned cherries and drop by 
the spoonful into hot tat. As you take from tho 
fat, drain on an old but clean napkin, dustwnh 
powdered sugar and serve with liquid sauce. 
To Cook Turnip*. 
Pare and slice and boll In as little water as pos¬ 
sible. When almost done and almost dry, add an 
even tablespoontul ot sugar to each quart of tur¬ 
nips, and salt to make palatable. When dry aDd 
tender mash, add two or three spoonfuls of thick 
sweet cream, and serve hot. Very nice. Cook. 
Pie Crust Shortened with Bean*. 
Boll white beans until soft, rub through a sieve, 
and mix as much Into flour as oan be done and 
preserve sunielent teuaelty In the dough. Add a 
little salt. This crust Is used at “ Water Cures ” 
and makes a far better pte crust than one would, 
suppose who had never eaten it. 
Blackberry JIiirIi. 
Two quarts of ripe berries, a quart of boiling 
water, two cups of white sugar and a little salt. 
Boll slowly five minutes, then thicken with Gra¬ 
ham flour and cook a few minutes longer. Put 
Into a greased mold to cool. Serve with cream. 
Mrs. D. j. 
Apple* aud Klee, 
Boll a cup of rice In three plats of milk until 
tender. If you have no custard kettle, put the rice 
In a tin pall, cover and place In a kettle of boiling 
water. Pare aud core with apple oorer eight har¬ 
vest apples, put Into a buttered baking dish and 
till the cavities with sugar. Put the rice around 
the apples but do not cover the top?. Bake half 
an hour, cover with the beaten whiles of tbreo 
eggs, sltt over a little sugar and brown In oven 
To be oaten with sweetened cream or milk. 
Mrs. J G. 
- — ■■■■»♦■»-. 
That low, nervous fever, want of sleep and 
weakness calls for Hop Bitters.—Ado, 
