ence, are essential to this end. The dis¬ 
advantages which country schools often 
labor under in this respect, are ably 
treated of by a lady correspondent in an¬ 
other part of this number, audit would be 
well if farmers generally paid heed to the 
warnings and suggestions contained in 
her letter. 
The school hours in the country are 
generally somewhat longer than in cities, 
yet in the latter many skillful physicians 
advocate their curtailment. Countiy 
school-houses, however, have a decided 
advantage over those in most of our cities, 
in that they are, as a rule, better ventil¬ 
ated and less crowded. Moreover, the 
Open fields and unpolluted air afford abun¬ 
dant opportunities for healthy exercise, 
denied to those whose lot has been cast 
amid bricks ami mortar. It is important 
however, that this exercise should not 
take the shape of imposed chores after 
school hours. If parents only reflected 
on their own juvenile days and on the dis¬ 
content and repugnance to which such 
extra duties gave rise in their own breasts, 
there would be much less of this perni¬ 
cious practice. Nothing tends more to 
make children dislike school and neglect 
its advantages than the consciousness dur¬ 
ing their attendance at it, that the end of 
school means the beginning of labor. 
It is this work, work, work, from the 
gray of the morning until often after 
gloaming that disgusts the boys, and girls, 
too, with farming life, and sends them, on 
the first opportunity, thronging to the 
cities, where their day’s labor, however 
hard, generally closes in time to allow 
them, before bod-time, a few hours of 
rest or recreation. Grown-up people 
can appreciate the advantages of constant 
toil—though among them it is far too 
common in the country—but cliildreu 
can only see its hardships, and witli their 
own untimely experience of these, and the 
toilsome existence of their elders con¬ 
stantly before them, what wonder is it 
that they rebel agaiust so unattractive a 
career, aud quit farming so soon ever 
they can or, if obliged to remain, sink 
hopelessly into the ancestral rut and plod 
on without a spark of life or ambition. We 
mention the following subjects as well 
worthy the farmer’s consideration : 
1st. Employ teachers who are capable 
of teaching and who love to teach aud 
pay them for their work. 
2nd. The daily sessions, morning and 
afternoon, should not be longor than five 
hours together. 
3rd. Impose only light work, if any, 
upon children after school hours and per¬ 
mit them, in all innocent ways aud as far 
as possible, to enjoy themselves in ac¬ 
cordance with their own desires without 
any parental interference whatever. 
them as their headquarters for the winter. 
As to strawberry protection, it is a good 
plan for this climate to wait until a fall of 
snow and to strew over them the material 
used immediately afterwards. As the 
enow disappears the covering sinks until 
it rests lightly aud evenly over the plants 
beneath. 
TABLE OF CONTENTS, 
sage. Wo nave tried this very experi¬ 
ment in the way here recommended and 
have found it so pleasant that it has be¬ 
come an established feature of our house¬ 
hold. 
To some a recommeudation to read 
lictiou may seem just a little offcolor; 
but we do it in the same way and for the 
same purpose that we should recommend 
to a Bchoolboy a good game of base-ball 
after the long daj’s confinement in the 
school-house. The average farmer and 
his family in this, aud in fact every other 
oouutry, works too much and plays too 
little. Our word for it, after an evening 
spent in the manner above described, a 
night's sleep will follow which will more 
than compensate for all the timo lost. 
The women of your household, too, will 
feel and be better for sharing in your 
amusement. 
Do not choose for your books heavy 
histories or pronouncedly religious works, 
both of which can bo read in due timo ; 
but select light aud cheerful literature 
which will arnuKG the mind without re¬ 
quiring any great effort to follow the 
thread. “ All work and no play makes 
Jack,” &c., and nowhere is this more ap¬ 
parent than in the faces, figures and gen- 
eral conversation of our farming popula¬ 
tion to-day. To be sure, the motives 
which prompt this undue general lugu- 
briousuess, are of the best and most con¬ 
scientious, but they are a mistake. 
What we waul to see is, not the knitted 
brow of the man whose head is always 
ami his body nearly always, at work. We 
want to see the frank, open, genial coun¬ 
tenance of the jolly farmer who ho tem¬ 
pers the ills and disabilities of his ardu¬ 
ous vocation with the good things of life 
that a natural, ruddy glow of good nature 
and kindliness is at all times in possession 
of his face. To such a man as this, the 
mortgage on the farm appears smaller, 
the crops appear heavier, liis wife looks 
handsomer aud his children more success¬ 
ful and happy than they possibly can to 
the onc-idua man to whom life is the ter¬ 
rible burden of au uninterrupted routine 
of work, work ! work ! (and very often 
growl, growl ! growl !) 
In preparing for winter, then, do not for 
an instant forget the home amusements 
aud recreations. You have no need of 
theaters or public places ; but can enliven 
your own little family circles till, living 
within yourselves, you ctm find ample 
recreation for all your leisure hours. Do 
not exclude any of the children who are 
old enough to take part, but include the 
whole family so far as their capacities will 
permit. Let your sons and daughters 
grow up with the idea that the old home¬ 
stead of their youth was the most beauti¬ 
ful place on earth, and the jolly and en¬ 
joyable influences there and then acquired 
will follow them through life, saving them 
from many a pitfall aud leading them on 
to many a good aud noble deed. Much 
might be said in favor of home amuse¬ 
ments as a preventive of dyspepsia, the 
farmer’s Nemesis ; but we are not a doc¬ 
tor, aud do not propose to attack so im¬ 
mense a subject as the stomach of the 
Bural population. Wo will rest satisfied 
to deal with the head and heart, being 
content if we can bring to the knowledge 
of even one family, the truth of the song, 
“ Horne, home, sweet home, 
There is no place line home.” 
PRACTICAL DEPARTMENT#: 
Fence#. 
College*, Agricultural.. 
Nursery Stuck, Farmer# Growing. 
Collect?* mill Agriculture. Agricultural. 
Notes from Maplewood Kurin.. 
Horticulture. Tbc Educating Power of • ... 
Wien* from Canada.. 
I.iq uidam tu-r. .. 
Oaf)icurpu Gracilis.,. .. 
Fruit Culture. Till* Groat J,tikes un<1. 
Apples arid Penr* for Various Section*. 
L iving Mena in Wittier. Warm Buildings for 
Raising Poultry, The Pr.iHl# and Loaaea of.. 
National Itno koopcrs’ Asnooiution. 
Corn Similar*. Adams’ i'llumt Self-Feeding. 
Domestic Economy..... 
Suin-Krout, ... 
Recipes . . 
Consumption. . 
Acid#.. 
Crop* In North Carolina. 
Fruit Culture in A Inbuma.... 
Eastern Shore of Maryland. 
Rural Special Reports. 
Soiling Quimtion, The. 
Cotuiurt in Figures. 
Kditohiaj, I'aok: 
Country Schools.. 
Winter Homo . 
Notes—Brevities. 
Litekaky : 
Pontrv.327, 3 
A Life-Watch. 
Hair dressing, Ancient and Modern. 
Only. 
Tim Advantage of Being Poor. 
Brio-a-iJrao. 
Miscellaneous .. .. . 
Importance of the Teacher’s Work. 
i.adlex’ Portfolio.... 
Two Girls. ....... 
Farm l.i!« Iromu Woman’s Point of View.... 
Heading for tin- Young... 
A Dream of I'.ITT . ... 
The Hedgehog and the Porcupine. 
The Orange Tree. 
Puzzler.. 
Batumi h IC'-utting .... 
Drawing Nigh to God.... 
Golden .MaAiius ...... 
Publisher's Notions... . 
Market#... 
Answers to Correspondents. 
News ul the Week.. 
Vurlou# .. ... 
Personals... 
Humorous. ... 
Advertisements.331, & 
From Root Cuttings.—We forgot 
while last speaking of Hydrangea panic- 
ulata graudiflora, to state that the result of 
experiments with root cuttings, made 
last fall, is that the plant can in that way 
be propagated. Some of these root cut¬ 
tings were placed in sand, covering them 
half an inch, others were placed in 3-inch 
pots leaving half au inch of the large end 
above the surface. The cuttings were 
made about three inches in length. As 
soon as it became apparent that the 
method was practicable, all except those 
in pots were thrown away, as our supply 
of young plants raised from half-ripe 
stem cuttings was already greater than 
our accommodations. Those in pots 
were retained and the change of color in 
the rout above ground, from a dull light- 
brown to one of bright green, and the 
pushing of buds which soon followed this 
formation and engorgement of ohlorophyl 
were watched with much interest. It is 
worthy of note also that all such cuttings 
will bloom the following summer present¬ 
ing au immense disparity between the 
stems, which may be even less than six 
inches high, ami the panicles, which, in 
good soil, are seldom less than ten inches 
in length and twenty in circumference at 
the base. 
The Syracuse Trial.—If the pro¬ 
gramme is carried out at the trial of farm 
eugineB at Syracuse, we should secure 
some valuable information. It is said the 
judges intend to report on the merits and 
demerits of engines, and in fact, make the 
test exhaustive. We regret that we can¬ 
not record a greater number of entries 
than arc given below, as it would huvo 
been much more satisfactory to have had 
all the prominent manufacturers repre¬ 
sented. The successful competitors will 
secure the Society's medal aud a report 
that will be even a greater trophy. The 
following firms have entered B. W. 
Paine & Son, E. M. Bibdsall & Co., 
Fishkill Landing Machine Co., Water- 
town Steam Engine Co., Oneida Iron 
Works, Porter Manufacturing Co., G, 
Westlnghouse & Co., aud Erick & Co. 
There will be ten engines tested. 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY, 
Address 
RURAL PUBLISHING CO., 
78 Duane Street, New York City 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1877, 
We are preparing plans of what we shall term 
“ A Model Farm House ” (for want, of a bettor 
name) which we hope may prove of considerable 
value to our oouutry friends who contemplate 
building. The plans will be presented before 
the Now Year. 
It gives us much pleasure to announce that 
Edward M. Shelton, Professor of practical 
agriculture in the Kansas State Agricultural 
College will contribute with some regularity to 
the columns of the Rural. 
Does poultry pay? How many fowls is it 
profitable to keep ? How should they be treated 
so as to insuro the greatest profit ? are ques¬ 
tions which Air. Henry Hales proposes to dis¬ 
cuss in a series of articles which will be begun 
in our next issno. We would remark that Mr. 
Hales, by long oxperienoo and experiment 
touching the abovo topios, may be relied upon 
to give trustworthy information. 
We ask the reader's attention to Professor 
E. Gale’s forcible appeal to all who arc inter¬ 
ested in Horticulture. 
Mr. T. T. Lyons, President of the Michigan 
State Fomological Society, from whom wo may 
hope to hear again, favors us with au interesting 
article upon « The Great Lakes and Fruit Cul¬ 
ture,” presented in its appropriate place. 
There are in preparation, to be published at 
an early day, a series of illustrated, practical 
artioles on chemistry adapted to the comprehen¬ 
sion, aud for the benefit of our young readers. 
Celery .$1 50 per dozen bunches. 
Early Rose and Peach Blows $2.00 per bar¬ 
rel- Sweet Potatoes $2.00 per barrel. 
A French journal says tho name of May Duke, 
as applied to the Cherry, should be writton “ My 
Duck,” which was the original spelling of the 
name. 
A Race of Begonias with colored bracts, some¬ 
thing like those of the PohisetUa is among the 
probabilities, several Beedlings haviug been 
raised by an English florist thus appendaged. 
Doryehora has already made friends in En¬ 
gland. A man by tho name of Giles Collins, a 
laborer, was fined five shillings for keeping a 
live Colorado Beetle in bis house. Wo said suv- 
cral mouths ago that the Doryphora was the poot 
mau’s friend. 
We were much pleased to receive a call from 
Mr. E H. Libby , au earnest, bunest gentleman 
who, with the sturdy Dr. Sturtkvant, make# 
the Scientific Farmer the useful aud accurate 
monthly periodical it is. The Rural New-Yorker 
heartily wishes success to the trio. 
Mistress (on returning from a visit to the 
city.) ’• Why Jane, what’s become of tho Bull¬ 
finch ?” 
Jane—“W ell, you see, Ma’m, it didn’t sing 
much and looked droopin’ like—so cook put it 
out of its misery, an’ I had it stuffed for my hat.” 
— Punch . 
The Itoxbury Russet is the variety of Apple 
from which a larger profit is realized than from 
any other grown in Maine, on account of its late 
keeping qualities. Bartlett, Louise Bonne and 
Beurre Langelier ; Sheldon. Bcnrre d’ Anjou— 
one of the best and most generally cultivated in 
this couulry—ore tho best pears. 
“ So long as a man is in fulness of health and 
vigor." said Mr. Bzkchkk, in his last Friday 
night’s talk with bis congregation, “there is no 
difficulty in his meeting the sorrows of lift 
heroically aud with great calmness of soul. But 
when a man 1# sick; when a man has a chroni: 
dyspepsia, theu there is a real difficulty. Tho 
New Testament does not seem to havo contem¬ 
plated such a easo.” How would the pica of 
*• chronic dyspepsia'' uuswer for our evil-doers, 
now that the plea of insanity has had its day ? 
WINTER HOME 
NOTES 
Of articles in relation to the storage of 
crops ami protection of stock during the 
coming winter months, our Bural con¬ 
temporaries seem to have no end. And 
we ourselves have seen fit to give our 
readers various solemn reminders of the 
approaching season with its consequent 
duties aud cares. But this does not in 
the least diminish the importance of 
making ample preparations for home 
comforts, amusements and recreations. 
During the iuclement weather now ap¬ 
proaching, the Bural population will bo 
largely confined to their houses after sun¬ 
down and the long evenings, which are 
too often spent in stupid slumber or 
worse still, in idle and frequently profit¬ 
less conversation, can bo employed in 
harmless and pleasant amusements aud 
delightful recreation. As an example ; 
Some of the best of our recent works of 
fiction are now published iu very cheap 
form, such as tho Lakeside, Seaside aud 
many other Libraries, selliug for ten, 
filtoen and twenty cents euoh aud can be 
obtained by mad. Some of these could 
be procured aud read aloud during the 
winter evenings with much profit aud 
interest. Different membersof thq family 
could take turns iu reading and two or 
three hours could thus be made to slip 
away with hardly a knowledge of its pas¬ 
Wiuter Protection.—All spring 
bulbs aud hardy Lily bulbs should, ere 
this, have been planted in beds composed 
of a depth of two feet of rich, friable 
soil. Such beds should be well drained. 
If it is intended to give protection, wait 
until the ground is frozen two or three 
inches in depth, then apply the protect¬ 
ing material. We have had good results 
from first covering such plots with two 
inches of sand and placing over this the 
coarse leaves of grasses suoh as Erianthns 
Bavennse, mingled with leaves raked up 
from the lawn, and the dead leaves and 
wood of herbaceous perennials. All this 
may be held by a shovelful of earth, here 
and there, which together with the sand 
affords a protection greater than that of 
long stable manure so generally used. 
This, before the winter is past, becomes 
sodden and sufficiently compact to lose 
much of the non-conducting power due to 
the air which it at first confined. There 
can be little doubt that the protections 
given to hardy roots, bulbs, vines, rasp¬ 
berries or strawberries, before cold 
weather sets iu, is ofttimes injurious. 
Mice, rats, moles and insects are the 
more likely, during short cold snaps, to 
find out such worm nests and to adopt 
COUNTRY SCHOOLS. 
During the winter months in rural 
districts, many children who have been 
kept employed on the farm throughout 
the busy season, will have an opportunity 
to attend school. It is the duty of pa¬ 
rents to see that this opportunity is not 
neglected. It is acknowledged on all 
hands that the great need of the agricul¬ 
tural community at the present day, is a 
higher and more general education, aud 
no chance of attaining this should be suf¬ 
fered to pass unimproved. Not only 
should all the children, therefore, iu every 
neighborhood attend school whenever pos¬ 
sible, but care should be taken that noth¬ 
ing should be done to prevent them from 
deriving the greatest measure of benefit 
from their attendance. The selection of 
competent teachers aud the preservation 
of their legitimate authority and influ- 
A Favorite Youth’s Paper. The Youth's 
Companion* ui Boston bus steadily grown iu public 
lavor lor mure lUau liity years, and I* now one of 
ilte must admirably conducted pupc*r» in lb ecoentry . 
