to see Christ as he passed? Can any of my young 
Cousins answer without asking their parents ? I 
must tell my age, or I fear Uncle Mark will think 
I am an old maid, I will be thirteen with the new 
year. Your friend— Mat, St. Joe, Mo. 
% fitgta:. 
GEOGRAPHICAL ENIGMA. 
I am composed of 17 letters : 
My l, 12, 6, 9, 15,4, 12 a village In Western New 
York. 
My 13, 7,10, 2, 4,11 a river In England. 
My 7. 3,11,12.1 volcano. 
My 14,«, ft, 2 a sea coast of China. 
My 4, 5.15,12. 6. 2 an Island In Lake Michigan. 
My 12,6,14,12, it, 15 the name of a capital. 
My Whole la the name of a well known humor¬ 
ist. * c. 
CAnswer In two weeks. 
MISCELLANEOUS ENIGMA. 
I am composed of 14 letters: 
My 11,14 a personal pronoun. 
My 7, 9, 3 a combustible substance. 
My 0,6,13, It a number. 
My il, 9,8 a kind of meat. 
My 10,2, it a verb. 
My 1,4, 12, s a caprl cloua notion. 
My whole Is a very convenient household arti¬ 
cle. M - c - 
zw Answer In two weeks. 
REBUS. 
A wagoner passing a store was asked what he 
had In Ids wagon. Flo replied: 
Throe-fourths of ft cross, and a circle complete, 
An upright where two scnil-drcles meet, 
A rectangle triangle standing on feet, 
Two seml-clrclep. and a circle complete. 
What was In tno wagon ? .i. w. s. 
tar Answer in two weeks. 
.--- 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-Doc. 23. 
MiflCEti.ANr.ocR Enigma. — Do unto others an you 
would have them do uuto you. 
Anaohams or N ewspa PKiis.—1, Utica Observer: 2, 
London Times; 3. Paris IVnro. 4. New York Herald; 
5, Danbury Sown : 6. Hearth and Horae; 7. Inter-Ocean ; 
8 , Saturday Night; 9, Detroit Free Press. 
PUBLISHER’S NOTICES, 
TO THE LADY READERS OF THE RURAL. 
SPECIAL OFFER 
OF RARE PLANTS AND SEEDS 
Having a few choice plants now growing in 
the Rural's Experimental Grounds, which 
wo think would ho desirable to some of the lady 
readers of the Rural New-Yorker, wo make 
the following offer: 
Tlioso who, in renewing their own subscrip¬ 
tion, send ns an additional name (not already on 
our list) with the sum of $4.HO for the two, may 
select any two of tho following-named plautB 
and a paper of tho seed of tho Molucca Balm. 
Those who roceivo these premiums can divido 
with their friends, or keep them all. as they may 
agree among themselves, as our object in mak¬ 
ing tho offer is to induce old subscribers to 
send ns new ones, thereby increasing our list. 
Tho plants and goods offered are very choice, as 
will ho soon in description given bolow. Tho 
plants will be sent by mail free, and carefully 
packed and forwarded immediately on receipt of 
subscriptions. 
Alnittlon Itmile dr Neige. — The host of the 
Abulilons. Ha flotvors arc largo and white. It 
bloonre throughout the whole year and therefore is 
alike desirable for tho conservatory and garden. 
Marie Lemoltie. — Among a hundred or more 
varieties of double-flowered Pe largoniums , new and 
old, this is yet unrivaled. The Individual flower, of 
a delicate rose color, as well an the truss, are the 
largest of their class. 
Hydrangea paniculnta Grantliflora. — So 
much has been said of tuts new Japanese shrub 
during the past year that little need be added now. 
It begins blooming In early August, continuing until 
after hard frosts. Hardy. 
Variegated Aniprlopsis or VttU hetcrophylla 
variegit. i.-We do not he:-.Unto to pronounce this 
one of the most attractive vines In cultivation. The 
leaves aro deeply-lobed and variegated with white 
and gTeen. Hardy. 
Jerusalem‘Artichoke,— Bolle vine that the Je¬ 
rusalem Artloliwkes are exceedingly valunblo ns 
food for all kinds of farm stock, wo place them 
among our valuable premium plants. They will 
yield more bushels of tubers per aero than •'bo com¬ 
mon p tato and wo bollovo them rooro valuable for 
feeding purposes; besides tho Artichoke will grow 
vigorously where tho potato would fall entirely. 
Wo will send one-half pound each of tho Long Pur¬ 
ple and Round White, for catlt new subscriber as 
above, or ono pound of the tubers of either variety. 
We shall store a quantity of the tubers in the cellar 
for sending out this winters but those of our sud- 
scrlbera who reside north of the latitude of New 
York City had better leave their plnut premiums 
in our hands ufter the first of January until early 
spring. We will, however, “‘book ’ nil orders re¬ 
ceived during the winter, to be sent at the earliest 
possible moment. 
Aehnnin mnlvnvtflcti* or Malvnvisrun at— 
bnreus,— The flowers are bright red, of a turban 
shape, two inches long. It blooms incessantly 
whether indoors or out. In the conservatory it may 
bo trained so as to cover wood-work as readily as a 
vine. Itsgrowth Is so rapid that small plintssetout 
In the spring will cover a space four feetln diame¬ 
ter by fall. As a plant for tho sitting-room, the Ut- 
tio care it needs. its perpetual scarlet flowers, con¬ 
trasting elegantly with tts golden-green, plush-like 
leaves—its endurance of dry beat and dust render it 
most, pleasing nod satisfactory. Wc commend this 
plant with confidence. 
.Mol need In larvin.— We will send, also, to ALL 
whonro entitled to a choice of any tvro of the above 
plants, a package of the seeds of the beautiful Shell 
Flower, an account of which and an engraving were 
given In the Ruiwl of Aug. 17, p. l|7. 
■ - - 
TERMS FOR 1877, IN ADVANCE, 
INCLUDING POSTAGE, WHICH PUBLISHERS PREPAY. 
Single Copy, $3,60 per Year. To ClubsFive Copies, 
and ono copy free to Agent or getter up of Club, for 
$11.25; Seven Copies, and one free, for $16.05; Ten Coj>- 
ioK, and one free, $30—only $2 prr copy, Tho above 
rates include postage (under the new Jam to any part 
of the United Staten, and the American postage on all 
copies mailed to Canada. On papers mailed to Europe, 
by steamer, tho postage will bo 85 cents extra for each 
subscription. Drafts. Past-Office Money Orders and 
Registered Letters may bo mailed at our risk, tw Lib¬ 
eral Premiums to all Club Agentt who do not take free 
copies. Specimen Numbers, Show-Bills, Ac., sent free. 
M ftus of tljf Self tit. 
HOME NEWS PARAGRAPHS. 
The political situation stands much the same as 
It, did a week ago. Ingenious devices are being 
constantly made public by each side for the suc¬ 
cess of Its own candidate. The Supremo Court of 
Florida Issued a mandamus to compel the return¬ 
ing board of that, state to re-canvass the vote. 
The writ was obeyed as to the vote for State 
officers and Congressmen, and resulted more 
favorably tor the Republicans than before. An 
outbreak is constantly looked for In Sout h Caro¬ 
lina by many who aro timid; but the good sense 
of tho Hampton party seems to prevail In thetr 
councils. Mr. Hewitt'S committee, to Investigate 
lffs charges against, the New York PoSLOffice of 
tampering with his letters, appears to have re¬ 
sulted In the discovery of his mistake. Tho com- 
in 11 lees to l n vestigato the Southern elections have I 
done very little. The Intense excitement unent 
the political situation seems to have been super¬ 
seded by an equally intense apathy. Business is 
beginning to resume its normal activity, and the 
public aro turning their thoughts once more Into 
legitimate channels. 
An explosion took place, on Christmas night, In 
tho basernet of the Am. Ex. Bank, in this city, 
caused by escaped gas. One man was badly In¬ 
jured. 
Cole Younger, the leader of the Missouri night- 
riders, who murdered the cashier of the Northfleld 
Bank, amuses himself In the Faribault Jail by 
reading “ Josephus.” 
Fac-slmllo telegraphing Is the latest Boston 
lmppy thought,. A r.lnc. plate receives the Impres¬ 
sion, and a pencil-point reproduces tho very form 
of the letters, words, and sentences at the other 
end of tho line. 
The invoice of silk-worm eggs which has recent¬ 
ly arrived In New York comprises 1,872 cases, and 
is worth $2,000,000, It reached San Francisco, 
from Japan, on Doc. 12. The eggs were packed 
very carefully In tho steerage deck amidships— 
th© warmest spot, on the vessel. A bamboo parti¬ 
tion surrounded them, and a current of air played 
over them. Tho eggs were Immediately shipped 
by rail to New York, and are to bo carried across 
tho Atlantic to France, Italy, and England. 
Meteorology Is rapidly Inking u high place 
among tho sciences. The Instructions of the Navy 
Department, designed to obtain records or the 
weather upon vessels of war, will doubtless be the 
means of adding largely to the data from which 
a knowledge of the meteorology of the globe Is to 
be obtained. 
starvation, the real, grunt, hollow-eyed article, 
has stalked Into the mining region of Pennsylva¬ 
nia. Thirty thousand people want bread, and 
there Is no bread for t hem. It Is not alone In the 
great cities that the howl of tho wolf la heard. 
Tho Government order prohibiting code or 
cipher messages to or from Cuba, will hamper our 
trade with that Island and cause considerable In¬ 
convenience. In face of vexations regulations 
like this It Is absurd for the Spaniards to oontapd 
that the “ Gem of the Antilles" is not In a stato 
of war. 
Tho House is multiplying Its tasks at reckless 
speed. The Western Union has been formally 
called upon to stand and deliver, and the Return¬ 
ing Board of Louisiana has been solemnly re¬ 
ported by the New Orleans Committee as In con¬ 
tempt. 
The rumors of cheap freights permanently es¬ 
tablished seem now to be assuming shape. 
Theatre panics aro now the fashion. 
The sparrows Ju the New York c ity Hall Park 
get a free lunch every da}*, and are served by a 
colored waiter. The sable blrd-fancler appears 
promptly every afternoon at a o’clock with a bas¬ 
ket of bread on his arm. He clears away the 
snow near the fountain, and scatters the bread 
crumbs upon the ground. A flock of *sparrows Is 
always in attendance, and the number of birds 
seems to increase dally. 
Those who have grown Indifferent to the wel¬ 
fare of the canals may learn some suggestive 
facts. They may learn that while the canal sea¬ 
son Just passed has been tho most profltable on 
record, because of the low rates of the railroads, 
transportation by canal has never cost so little. 
It may well be a question with them whether 
something should not be done to eavo “a channel 
that has demonstrated Its ability to do business 
so cheaply." 
The pressure upon the Treasury Department 
for official positions Is greater now than at any 
previous time within the recollection of the ap¬ 
pointment. clerks. The applications from all parts 
of the country continue to Increase by everyday's 
mall. There have been at least 1,000 discharges 
from the department within tho past four months, 
taking Into consideration the reductions In the j 
Bureau of Engraving. Yet people leave their 
homes and come to Washington hoping for ap¬ 
pointment. The appointment elerka say there Is 
absolutely no chance for thorn whatever. De¬ 
mands have been made that vacancies shall be 
created for applicants who are backed by strong 
Influence, but the department, lnlts systematic 
reductions, of late, have retained only competent 
and worthy employes, and It.In found absolutely 
Impossible to comply with the appeals that are 
unde. 
At a meeting of the Buffalo Board of Trade 
which was held Dec. 17, the following resolution, 
recommending a. reduction of canal tolls, was i 
unanimously adopted: 
Resolved, That In t he opinion of the Board of 
Trade the best way to counteract, in the future 
this great diversion of trade, and restore to the 
Erin Canal and the Stato of New York Its commer¬ 
cial supremacy. Is by a reduction of tolls to a point 
only sufficient to keep the canals In repair, and to 
discard t he Idea of any revenueto the state being 
derived therefrom in tho future. 
The thirteenth annual show of tho New-Eng- 
lind Poultry Club opened Dec. 27tli, and con¬ 
tinued for two days. Over 500 entries from New 
England, New York and New Jersey were 
made. 
Mr. John Roach is now building for Messrs. F. 
Alexandre A Sons’ line between New York and 
Havana an Iron steamship 300 feet long, 38 feet 
beam, and 27 feet deep. She will be the largest 
steamer In tho trade. 
The threatened strike of the locomotive engi¬ 
neers on the Grand Trunk Hallway Is reported to 
have been arranged on the basis of all three 
grades of engineers accepting the proposition of 
tho company to pay $2.75 per day. 
A desperado, named Charles Leighton, fatally 
stabbed another man near Springfield, Mo., on 
Chrlstnuis-day, and in tho evening at a ball in 
Springfield, without provocation, be shot and 
instantly killed a young man named Mason. 
Leighton only escaped lynching by his speedy ar¬ 
rest. 
The case of the Tcoplc against Henry D. Deni¬ 
son, James J. Bcldon, and others, to recover 
money belonging to the State, alleged to have 
been fraudulently obtained by Fiio defendants on 
the Port Schuyler canal contract held by them, 
has been resumed before the referees mutually 
agreed upon. Tho design or tho cvtdcnco Into 
show, by a comparison with previous surveys, the 1 
amount of work done by tho defendants under 
their contract. The counsel for the people In the 
case aro tho Attorney-General, Deputy Attorney- 
General. and D. Magone, Jr., while Messrs. Henry 
Smith, Frank Hlscock, and Wm. C. Huger appear 
for tho defendants. 
Major-Gen, John P. Pankson, Secretary and 
Treasurer of tho Hannlsvlllo Distill I tig Company 
and an Officer in the National Guard of Pennsyl¬ 
vania, committed Bulcido at his olllco on Front 
Street, Philadelphia, last week. Tho only cause 
assigned is that he was under personal financial 
embarrassment. Ills accounts with the Distilling 
company are said to be correct. Tho suicide 
caused considerable excitement In business 
circles. 
The Pacific Mall Steamship Company have paid 
$01,083.621 nio tho Tax Receiver's office, that being 
the amount of the second Installment which the 
company agreed to pay the city In 30 days after 
the close of the compromise In October, and for 
the non-payment of which the steamer Colon 
was again seized soon after her arrival at this 
port on her last trip. The Colon was conse¬ 
quently released again by the Marshal of the Tax - 
Becelvcr’s office. 
Ono of tno most thoughtful communications 
presented to the State Board of Health at Us ses¬ 
sion lu Savannah, G a., last week, was that of Gen. 
H. C. Wayne, lie suggested that one of thecx- ! 
citing causes-of tho recent scourge In that city ' 
was the excess of shade-trees. He called t he at¬ 
tention of the board to tho fact that a view of the 
city from the belfry of the Exchange, In which 
they were sitting, would show only here and 
there some tall building rising above the tree 
tops, and suggested that tho density of the shade 
had been insensibly but rapidly Increasing over 
the city from year to year, until the health-giving 
and vivifying effect of the sun’s rays was ex¬ 
cluded. 
Four freight teams, accompanied by five men, 
were attacked by Indians while encamped on In¬ 
dian Creek, six miles north of Hut Creek, W.l. 
Three of the party escaped, and arrived here bare¬ 
footed and half clothed. A detachment of sol¬ 
diers and a party of citizens repaired to t he scene 
of the fight and found the bodies of B. C. Stephens 
Of Salt Lake and a German named Fritz, from 
Colorado, horribly mutilated with a butcher’s 
cleaver, which had been taken from ono of the | 
wagons. The contents of the wagons were found 
scattered over the ground, the flour and corn ly¬ 
ing in piles as It had been emptied from thesacks. 
six horses were missing. Over forty bullet holes 
were found In one wagon. Tho shells found are 
of tho Sharpe s rifle cartridges. Tho dead wore 
brought to Hat Creek and burled. Poor Lo is get¬ 
ting hungry again, having exhausted his supply 
of missionaries and other dried meat. 
The last Texas Legislature created flftynew 
counties In a batch, all to be carved out of the 
county of Young, which covers tho Llano Esta- 
cado, or Staked Plains, and Bexar County, which 
was tbe home of the Comanche and the Llpan. 
These new counth s are not yet organized, but 
soon will be, and then there will bo a frantic call 
for Northern immigrants without political preju¬ 
dices. 
The San Francisco papers have news of a 
battle between General Martinez (Federalist, or 
supporter of Lento) and General Cadena, Revo¬ 
lutionist, In which the latter was routed. Tho 
battle was fought In the State of Jalisco, which 
remains Arm In the support of Lerflo. General 
Cadena is the officer who ordered Colonel Ordo¬ 
nez, Federalist, bliot shot at Zacatecas. 
FOREIGN NOTES. 
Extradition with England has been restored by 
mutual agreement under the existing treaty un¬ 
til a new ono can bo made. Tho proposition was 
made by Lord Derby through Mr Edward Thorn¬ 
ton, tho British Minister at Washington. It was 
accepted by tho Goverttmenfcof tho t utted States, 
and It forms the subject of ihe special message on 
extradition to Congress, which was sent to the 
senate, and which that body considered to be con¬ 
fidential, and to which It, refused publicity. The 
English Government has ordered tho arrest of 
Winslow, Brent, and Gray, and Brent la already 
cn route, under guard, to the l rilled States. 
The population of Peru Is fast decreasing, and 
the cause is attributed to earthquake!*, diseases, 
civil wars and brandy, especially tho latter. 
Australia, not to bo behind the rest of tho world, 
will luvo an Exposition at Sidney early In the 
coming spring. 
Amadeus’wife Is said to have died from disap¬ 
pointment because she could not lie Queen of 
Spain. 
There is a division in the Methodist, Church at 
Manitoba, and recently those who attended wit¬ 
nessed a strange scene, a sort, of Intermittent 
circus. One faction'took possession of the pul¬ 
pit, the other sat behind the chancel ralL The 
man In tho pulpit, gavo out one hymn, the man 
behind the rail the other, and both were sung 
simultaneously. Prayers, hymns, chapters, texts 
and sermons were Interjected, and at tho close of 
tho services a deacon quietly remarked they had 
bscn performed “ under legal advice, and to fur¬ 
ther the cause of Christ,.” 
Blanchard Jcrrold recently lost In transitu by 
the mall from Paris t o London tho manuscript of 
the third voluruo of the “Life or Napoleon ill.” 
As no copy had been preserved tho laoor of a 
year will have to bo wrought over again. English 
sensationalists hint that the French Government 
“confiscated ” It,. 
I Us authoritatively stated that, the objections 
to tho marriago between Aifonzo XI1. of Spain 
and tho third daughter of the Duke of Montpen- 
ster, i no inianta Marla Las Mercedes, nave been 
removed. The match is a well-assorted one in 
point, of ago; the royal bridegroom la not yet 
twenty, and tho blushing bride is Ut the clear 
dawn of sweet seventeen. 
Eleven women and twenty-on© men, students 
ftl-thO School Of Medicine and Technological In¬ 
stitute, Russia, have been arrested for shouting 
“ Liberty," a nd unfurling a red Hug boaring the 
Inscription “Union and Liberty,” at, a service In 
the Kassitn church. Another account says, tho 
arrest of a few students, male and lemale, a few 
days ago, for giving utterance to some meaning¬ 
less cries about “Liberty und equality,” gave no 
reason to anticipate any serious social troublestn 
Russia. Reports from other sources, however, 
would seem to Indicate the existence of an organ¬ 
ized movement, of which these students were 
probably members. A Vienna despatch says that 
a secret socialistic conspiracy has been discovered 
In Russia. 
The banking firm of P.almnboir In St. Peters¬ 
burg, has failed, with an uncovered denclt of 
1 , 000.000 roubles. Tho commercial crisis contin¬ 
ues unabated, and Is especially severe In tho 
South of Russia. 
A Dundee correspondent says It Is certain that 
at least 100 persons were drewued on the north¬ 
east coast of Scotland during the late severe gale. 
Tho loss wltlfin a fortnight Is estimated, at the 
least, at 250 men and 120 vessels. 
Ono hundred and fifty vessels and 250 lives 
were lost tn tho recent severe gale on the English 
and Scotch coasts. 
By annullmg the decree which reduced the In¬ 
terest On the public debt one-hair, the Turks con¬ 
cede that honesty is at least the best policy. Un¬ 
til, however, they resume payment of any part of 
their debts they will not bo trusted by lorelgn 
Investors. 
A new census In Parts, It Is said, will show that 
the city has a poioilaiion of 1,900,000, This was 
tho population in 1870, or just previous to tUe 
Franco-German war, and the city has regained 
lost ground, and nothing more. 
The Bulgarians can not be such savages after 
all, as they have established, independent of 
government aid, a sort of free-school system. 
Nearly all classes know how to read and write, 
and the people aro represented as Industrious, 
honest, and peaceful. This system of education 
comes from tho work of English and American 
missionaries. 
Uurueu’s Coconino kills dandruff, allays irri¬ 
tation and promotes the growth of hair.—Ex. 
SEMI-BUSINESS PARAGRAPHS. 
Frank Miller's Leather Preservative and 
Water Proof Blacking received the highest and 
only award at the Centennial Exhibition. 
