AUG. 27 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. S7I 
sleeping hours are the only ones which give them 
release trom active care. Now business, followed 
in this way, from year’s end to year’s end, is Just 
as certain to ruin health and shorten life as the 
recurrence of seed-time and harvest Is sure. The 
alternative of dally recreation is a yearly period of 
rest. There are always slack seasons In business, 
and these every business man should avail himself 
of, for rest and recreation. It Is In these seasons 
that there is health in the market, to be bought 
for money.—Scribner for August. 
Thk Phkkn'Olouioat. jonKN.it,,— Contents: Jay 
Gould; The Phrenological Commentator; Studies 
In Comparative Prenolegy ; The Puritan Child ; 
Teachers In the Summer School of Christian Phil¬ 
osophy ; Tho Old Orchard; The Cause of somnam¬ 
bulism ; Young Folks of Cherry Avenue; The In ¬ 
jurious EffeclB of Tobacco; Inebriety in Offspring; 
A New Bathing Macoine; Spelling vs. Cooking In 
Diet: Nates in Science and Agriculture; Editorial 
Items; Answers to Correspondents; Poetry—Per¬ 
sonal—Wisdom and Mirth—Library—Publishers’ 
Department. 
Thk Injurious Ekkegts ok Tobacco.— 'The prac¬ 
tice of tobacco-uslug Is evidently rapidly Increas¬ 
ing. The Introduction of the use of cigarettes has 
greatly extended its use among the young. A 
larger proportion of the rising generation la likely 
to ne the consumers of the weed than the present 
generation, if this practice is to continue to In¬ 
crease at the rate lc has for the past few years, 
we shall soon nearly all use tobacco. In sucb an 
event, the effect upon the race can scarcely be 
otherwise than disastrous. The Injurious effects 
of tobacco upon those who use it, and upon their 
off.-prtng, are sufficiently grave to deserve the 
serious attention of all those who have contracted 
the pernicious habit, or who contemplate con¬ 
tracting It. Are the artificial pleasures 
whloh tho use of tobacco affords worth the 
cost which they exact? Would not natural and 
more continuous pleasures spontaneously arising 
from a healthful condition of body and mind, be 
the preferable portion ? Every one must answer 
for himself.—Henry Reynolds, M. D., In Phreno¬ 
logical Journal for August. 
Appletonb’ Journal.—C ontents:—Saints and 
Sinners; French Family Life and Manners; Au¬ 
thors for Hire ; Badeau’s Military History of Gen¬ 
eral Grant; Arab Humor. II.; A Talk about Odea; 
The Wit and Humor of Lord Beaconsfleld; Jef¬ 
ferson Davis and the Confederacy ; Editor's Table ; 
Notes for Readers. 
Arab Humor.— The Arabs, especially under the 
caliphate, were much glvea to wlne-btbblng, in 
spite of the dictum of the Koran, whloh says: 
“ They will ask thee about wine, and gambling, 
say, In them both Is sin and profle unto men; but 
the sin of them is greater than the profit of the 
same.” HubsequentlyMohammed condemned these 
vices In much stronger terms, declaring them to 
be abrmluatlons which true believers must avoid. 
There are no fewer thau a hundred names for 
wlae In the Arabic language, to say nothing of 
figurative terms such as “the maiden,” "the 
bride,” tho anildote,” •• the capUvator,” •' the pole 
star” •• the ripe,” "the sweet-aavured,” “ the be¬ 
loved,” “sweetness,”'*joy" "Babylonian" {sen, 
enchantress,) “ the companion of the sleepless,” 
“ the consoler,” " the friend,” " the babbler,” "the 
soporlilc,” "the key,” "the heart of the tun,” 
" quicksilver,” “ the mother of vices,” “ the un¬ 
lawful,” •* sin,” and the like. Alluding to the last 
term, a poet says: 
" They told me that my drink was gin, 
But I could ne’er believe it. 
The only sin I Bee therein 
Is when X have to leave It. 
[Appletons’ for Aug.j 
Godkv's Lady's Book.— Contents: Colored Fash¬ 
ion Plates; Steel PUtes; A Midsummer Drama; 
Snorter Stories, Poems and Sketches; Recipes, puz¬ 
zles, games, ana Fashion and Work Departments; 
Diagram pattern. 
Wk think our readers will agree teat our Au¬ 
gust number la the best midsummer issue of the 
Lady’s Book that has been made in many years. 
Both in Us Illustrations and letter press we have 
striven to make It a valuable companion to each 
member of the home circle.—Note In Lady’s Book 
for Aug. 
- 
The Tnxldcriuisl’s Mauual. or the Art ot Collect- 
in*. Prepariun aud Preserving Objects of Natural 
History. By Thomas Brown, F. L. », Now York; 
G. P. Putnam’s Sons. 
This book was written more particularly for the 
purpose of Imparting information for collecting 
and preserving objects of Natural History. It 
embinceB other matter pertaining to this particu¬ 
lar Geld of knowledge and will be found lo ireat of 
Its subjtot with much exactness without the pros- 
lness app dent in other productions of like nature. 
The strictly scientific researcher finds entertain¬ 
ment in the most tedious treatises on ’ologles, but 
the amateur does not grasp with the same) spirit. 
The life story of the late viscountess Beacona- 
Geld was, It la said, as strange as that or her hus¬ 
band. It appears that she was the daughter of a 
retired army captain, named Evans, and In her 
youth was employed at & millinery establishment 
at Exeter, llrst living In Mint Lane, aud lor a 
longer period In thu old house, which still stands 
next to the Acl&nd Anns, St. Bid wells. Having 
oasuuily made the acquaintance of Mr. Lewis, a 
North Devon gentleman, her at tractions fasci¬ 
nated him, and she became bis wife. He was con¬ 
siderably her senior, an 1 before long died, she 
was then living In Londou, having inherited her 
nut binds fortune, aud tne fascinating widow was 
wooed and won by Benjamin Disraeli. 
--- * » » - • — 
kosaBonhsur has nearly completed "A Lion 
and ner Progeny,” a picture whicu Is destined for 
the gallery of M. Gambart, at Nice. 
#or Mflmtn. 
CONDUCTED BY MISS HAY CLARK 
IS LABOR A CURSE 1 
In a late Rural "O. W. D.” trees her mind on 
the above question and advances some opinions 
which. If true, would make this world a sorry 
place and us moat unfortunate mortals. Think of 
the tolling minions at the plow, In the shop, at the 
Counter, In law, medicine and the ministry, aye, 
even in housekeeping, and consider that all these, 
according to “ O. W. D.’s ” doctrine, are victims of 
a curse which darkens home and makes life itself 
a nurden. Unfortunate we. who by the sweat of 
our brow must earn our bread; happy they who 
have no work to do I 
But la this the truth, as ascertained by experi¬ 
ence ? It seems Improbable that one can feel the 
labor he enjoys to be a curse. Experience teaches 
U3 that In labor there Is happiness; but no curse 
brings happiness. Experience teaches us (If we 
have been so unfortunate as to be Its pupils In such 
a case) that Idleness brings with It anything but 
Joy. Yet your correspondent would have us be- 
1 leve that It Is less a curse thau labor. Let her for 
a single weekenjoy the bliss of “doing nothing,” 
but sit with folded hands from morn’ till night; 
then for another week let her be employed with 
household duties, or perform any work whloh may 
have fallen to her lot, and tell us which seems 
most a curse—which brings the worst affliction. 
But "O. W. D.” admits that " nothing Bhould be 
taught sooner than that this is a working world, 
and that labor, physical or mental, la a necessity.’' 
That Is true, but strangely Inconsistent with her 
previous statement that “ labor is a curse, as It 
was Intended to be.” Labor, as most of us know, 
is a necessity; but we hesitate to pronounce a 
curse a necessity. Intemperance Is a curse, but 
not a necessity. The world would be quite as well 
without It. It is not absolutely requisite and In¬ 
dispensable to our happiness. 
By whom was labor intended to be a curse? 
From the quotation we Infer that It Is God. But 
In tne Interpretation of the Scripture we are not to 
derive a universal principle from a single passage, 
but are rather to Inquire what Is the general 
teaching ot the Bible Dn that particular point. Is 
the general tenor ot these teachings In praise or In 
condemnation of labor ? Is It not that labor is a 
blessing ? We hardly believe It to be Intended as 
a curse. 
However, I can only think that “ O, W. D.” has 
been some time unfortunately perplexed, and 
may be, so driven by work, day In and day out, as 
to make her so heartily disgusted with It as to 
pronounce It a curse. Indeed she has probably 
had too much to do, judging trom her statement 
that her experience Is that men, as a rule, are 
lazier than women, as we have no statistics on 
this point, we shall probably have to admit It, and 
tbls we would sooner do than believe labor to be a 
curse and intended as such. j. w. 
SPEAK YOUR MIND. 
* I uoKB no one will be deterred from apeaktng 
her mind for fear she will be thought to give per¬ 
sonal history every time she comments on some 
domestic short-coming. 1 think we are quite as 
likely to write from the very opposite, 
A work on the " Comforts of Human Life ” was 
written In prison under the most distressing cir¬ 
cumstances. The “Miseries of Human Life " on 
the contrary was written In a drawing room 
where the author was surrounded by all the lux¬ 
uries of life. 
So the fun makers of the world’are often the 
gravest or dullest of men In every day life, and 
Burton, who wrote “The Anatomy of Melan¬ 
choly,” was a very facetious man in conversa¬ 
tion. 
So, Rural friends, Just say what you please 
about domestlo life in any ot its phases, where 
you think an Improvement may be made, and no 
one wUi euspect that there la “ a guilty husband” 
behind the scene, or a cross mother-ln law by the 
chimney corner. An observing person does much 
In her intercourse with others that she feels calls 
loudly for redress. ShB thinks perhaps If oho 
writes it out It may meet the eye of those to whom 
It may prove a word In season, and so do good In 
the world. Oftentimes the faults which are moat 
annoying are the result of thoughtlessness rather 
than premeditated wickedness. If the owners 
could be brought to “ sue themselves as others see 
us,” they might be Induced to change their 
methods. Many, too, may rind themselves In the 
border-land and take warning In season. Fault¬ 
finding, tor the tnei e pleasure of it, is never profit- 
able. but eye-openers are often very useful. 
indeed we ought all of us to hold ourselves open 
to conviction and ready for improvement to any 
extent. Better still when we feel that a course Is 
the right one for us, we ought to try and follow 
It. 
I, for one, learn muoh trom the hints and sug¬ 
gestions that come to us rrom time to time In our 
chatting corner. Example goes a long way. 
When some good woman tells us how she man¬ 
ages, what a spur It gives to others to undertake 
a similar enterprise. People can lead each other 
on Into good as well as bad ways, I never read 
over the thoughts from “ Everyday House ” with¬ 
out Hading something to my advantage in them, 
and so of many other articles. Olive. 
ADVICE TO THE GIRLS- 
when a man chooses the profession or law ne 
does not expect to be a musician and a journalise 
also; he knows that If he would succeed he must 
devote himself to the one chosen calling. When a 
woman marries she realizes that In order to reaoh 
lofty higUts In wife and motherhood, she must. 
BacrlQce lesser aim?. She must be willing to lay 
aside the delightful occupations which have made 
her girlhood pleasant; Bhe must know that rrom 
the hour when her baby is laid In the cradle, 
dressed with loving forethought, to that darker 
hour when the mature man lies down In his last 
sleep, that she will give full meaning to the words, 
Constant care ” That her mind once unfettered 
will be at liberty no more, but Is bound by ties 
stronger than life or death to those who have 
come to her from out of the g rest unknown. Walt 
a wnile, gtrl3; tnlok It all over before you promise 
to become wives—to take these duties and burdens 
upon you. Sweet and satisfying as are the obli¬ 
gations of wife and mother, they are not to be 
taken lightly. A husband must not be looked 
u ton as a sort of perpetual beau, and children as 
exn-. mely uncertain and improbable adjuncts. 
Unless, like Wilhelm Meister, your apprenticeship 
ended, you reach out of yourself and ask for larger 
duties, for a wider field of labor, you had better 
stay at home with father and mother, dignifying 
the relation or daughter, Oiling the old established 
home with a mild radiance which would seem but 
a dim light In & new one.—New York Post. 
LETTER WRITING. 
I was quite interested in the account of Madge’s 
ten postal cards, which appeared a few weeks 
ago, as there seemed to be a moral connected with 
It. Let us remember our absent friends by cor¬ 
respondence, particularly when as grown children 
we leave the parental root to make homes of our 
own. 
I knew an affectionate mother who had for 
many years been busy providing for the wants of 
a large family so that letter writing and penman¬ 
ship almost became one of the lost arts. But 
when her children began to leave her. some ot 
them to settle in distant States, she took time 
dally to practice with her pen. It was hard work 
at first for her muscles had become stiffened 
with hard labor, but she persevered. She used to 
copy pieces of poetry from the newspapers as an 
exercise. She said to me one day: “ I must hear 
from the children and this is the best way for me 
to do it and I qo not mind if it does come awk¬ 
wardly." She gradually succeeded in writing 
easily and well. One of her daughters showed 
me some of the scraps that had oeen written as 
an exercise, which she had treasured up as a 
touching evidence ot a mother’s love. So let us 
remember the old folks, who in the silence of the 
old home look often and sometimes long forletters 
from absent children who are not unloving but 
unthinking. b. c. d. 
♦ ♦ ♦ - ; - 
CORRESPONDENT’S CORNER. 
In Rural July 30. “ Moss Dale” tells about 
covering slate frames with Qannei; I do not ex¬ 
actly understand how it Is done, Will some one 
please tell me through the Rural ? 
A Constant Reader. 
Keep tne kidneys healthy and unobstructed 
with Hop Bitters and you need not fear sickness. 
— Adv. 
§onustic <£rottomg. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MAP LB. 
EXPERIENCE NOTES. 
Pickled Urapea, 
late last Fall I was presented with a lartre bas¬ 
ket of Catawba grapes. Having more than the 
family wished to eat, I filled several wide mouthed 
glass bottles with perfect fruit cm (he stems. 
Bunches that were too large to go in the bottles 
I cut Into small clusters, rejecttDg any that were 
soft or shriveled. A teaspoouful of white mustard 
seed was put Into each bottle and hot, not boiling, 
Bweetened, elder vinegar poured in until filled to 
the brim. A teacuprm ot white sugar to two 
quarts of not very strong vinegar was the quantity 
of sweetening used. The bottles were sealed with 
several thicknesses ot paper and kept in a cool 
place. These pickles were so appreciated by the 
members of my own family and friends eating ot 
them, that I shall preserve several pounds of 
grapes this season lu like manner. 
Picking C.liIckeuM. 
After Mary hail picked a pair of Spring chick¬ 
ens the otber day she apologized tor their ragged 
akin by saying that In Ireland she always wet the 
chickens first with com water before pouring over 
hot. This she said toughened the skin and made 
It less liable to tear ; but as I had scalded the 
chickens she had picked them as best she could, 
Since then she has tried her method with far 
better results. 
Fly Brnshea. 
Tired of cutting and fastening paper onto sticks 
tor Oy brushes, l looked about for a substitute, 
when I thought of corn stalks. Happy thought l A 
half dozen barren Btalks three feet long were 
quickly cut ana brought to the house. I put them 
in the sun for an hour to dry and toughen the 
leaves before using. Now, no more strips of paper 
to be picked up or blistered fingers from cuttlDg. 
Winter Bunqueta. 
q>ulte by chance I discovered that tassels of corn 
when cut while a greenish-white and before they 
are entirely out ct the sheath, make when dried, a 
desirable addition to grasses and “ everUstlogs ” 
for Winter bouquets. Suspend the tassels down¬ 
ward until dried. Mary B. 
--- 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
Huckleberry Cake. 
Two and a half cups ot sugar, one cup of butter, 
five eggs, yelks and whhes beaten separately, a 
cup of milk, a teaspoomul each of nutmeg and 
cinnamon, two cups of Denies, four oups of sifted 
flour, and two teatpoonfula of baking-powder 
sifted with the flour. Cream the butter, add the 
sugar, then the beaten yelks, the flour and 
whipped whites alternately, and lastly tne berries 
rolled la flour. Bake In small loaves In a moderate 
oven. 
Baked Tuumluea. 
Remove the skins with a sharp knife and cut 
into thin slices. Buttar a pudding pan, put a layer 
Of fine bread orurnbs on the bottom, cover wuh 
the sliced tomatoes, season with pepper, salt and 
bits of butter, and cover with crumbs. So continue 
until within an Inch ot the tup, having crumbs for 
the last layer. Cover and bake three-quarters of 
an hour; then remove cover and brown. 
Llina-Beaii Soup. 
Three quarts of soup liquor, a quart of Lima 
beans, an onion, a handtul of parsley, pepper and 
salt. Boll until the beans break. Put through a 
colander, return to the pot, and serve with bits of 
fried bread. k. i. v. 
THE GARROTE MOUSE TRAP. 
aboct the year i$m>, while our family, In what 
Is now the town of Prospect, conn., were eating I 
dinner there came a knock at the door of the din- y 
lng-room and kltcnen, all In one, the answer to 
which was " Waite." This waa then and there the 
customary answer to a knock and It was not un¬ 
common In big families like ours that this wel¬ 
come was given by half a dozen at the same 
instant. 
In came Mr Farrall. a neighbor whom we all 
knew, and said to father," Don’t you want to help 
hulld a saw mill on a dry stream V' 
In the middle of a piece of some thirty acres, 
used mostly for pasture, was a swale In which 
grew bullrushes, cat-tall flags and bull frogs and 
out of which in Spring and wet weather ran a 
smau, muddy stream. Here was where Mr. F. 
wanted to build a saw-mill. Father declined 
to Invest, but offered to sell the mlil site. 
A bargain was struck, price $30, and the 
mill went up and there was where ihe uar- 
roto Mouse Trap was invented and made and 
scattered all through the Northern States and 
how muoh further I kuow not. It is certain, how 
ever, that no dwelling house is completely fur¬ 
nished without it and no hardware store is well 
stocked that lacks It, and It is to-day just the 
same as neighbor F. made It; no man ever had 
sufllolent ingenuity to attempt an Improvement. 
Whether the Inventor evergor, a patent I have not 
learned, but I am sure tnat thousands are granted 
for devices not naif as worthy' ot It. 
Years after I left that country 1 was told ot the 
following incident. An old man, a neighbor of 
Farrall’s, nor. wise In trap lore, on his return trom 
market at New Haven, tell into company with a 
young man with a big load of two-inch pine 
plank. This being qulie an uncommon commod¬ 
ity excited the old man’s curiosity, and as then 
and there everybody had a right to know what 
others were doing, asked what he was going to do 
with such lumber. »• Going to make mouse craps 
of it,” waa the reply. For fear he had misunder¬ 
stood, the question and answer were repealed. 
The old man was Indignant and gave <Jle young 
man a severe reprimand lor his lack of respect to 
age. Every one can see that the trap Is made 
from a pine plank. Viellard. 
Muskegon, Mich, 
Liver and Bacon. 
Two pounds ot calf's liver, three-quarters of a 
pound of streaked bacon, one onion, juice of a 
lemon, pepper, salt and a t&hiespoonlul of flour. 
Wash the liver, wipe dry and cut into pieces an 
Inch wide and tnree inches long. Cut the bacon 
into thin strips and fry; take out and keep hot 
while the liver is frying. Mince me onion, pepper, 
salt, aud dredge the liver in flour ana fry with the 
onion In the bacon fat. When done take out and 
arrange the bacon and liver upon a platter, strain 
tne fat and return to the pan with a cupful of hot 
water. Thicken with the spoonful of flour, and 
when It bolls up strain in the lemon J nice. Pour 
at once over ihe liver and serve. Kate b. 
fewest Pickled Peaches. 
Pare freestone peaches, plica in a Jir and pour 
over them tolling hot sirup made In tne proportion 
of one quart of Oust cldir vinegar to three pints of 
white sugar. The next day turn off the sirup, 
heat and pour over the fruit aa before. Repeat 
this each day until the fruit t. the same color to 
the center and the sirup like thin molasses. The 
U8tdaysirow bits of elnuamon and a few cloves 
over the fruit before pouring over the hot sit up. 
Spanish Pickles. 
Four medium heads of cabbage, twelve good- 
sized cucumbers, one peck ot green tomatoes, 
three ounces of white mustard seed, ounce of 
turmeric, six tablespooniuia of made mustard, 
three pounds of brown sugar, vinegar to mix wtll. 
Let the cucumbers stand in orlne three or four 
days, chop onions, tomatoes and cabbage ihe day 
before making aud sprinkle with salt. When 
ready to make take cucumbers out if orlne, peel 
and cut Into thin siloes. Drain the other vegetables, 
put all into a keutlo wuh sugar, mustard, luremrlc, 
seed, and cider vinegar to cover. Simmer slowly 
one halt hour and then bottle. Eoonomy. 
Wbybe sick aui nu.n„ when Hop Bitters will 
surely cure you.—kau. 
A Pleasant Q,uiet Home ^ ,Ue country, 
near N V. City is in need ol a respectable nirl to take 
cate of a two-year old child, ana to render lie, sell gen¬ 
erally u-eful in the hglner work of the house, tion- 
esty, Kent:o manners and an appreeiuti m or a pleas¬ 
ant, quiet home indispensable. A companionable 
person of some education preferred. Address 
Box 33IS, New York P. Q. 
