124 
THE RURAL WEW-Y 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
i’n act!cat. Departments : 
Sheep, Horned. 117 
15we«. Breed i me...... 117 
Ground Bone—llone Mill. 117 
Cotton Seed. 1)8 
Farm Hints.118 
Farmer, a Good. 118 
Content on the Farm . 119 
Land, Buy Good... 119 
Inquiring FrlondH. A Word to. 119 
Bleeding Heart. 119 
Blittinffthe Bark of Hide-bound Trees.... 119 
Ciitaloifiies. Ac., Deceived. ISO 
Corn Harrow , Drainer's..120 
“ The V)re on (lie Hearth”..,. 120 
Farm Note*. 130 
Talks upon the Prairies. 121 
Nursery Stork, Wintering. 121 
Noted Trhtter*. 121 
Fith*. 122 
Siftings from the Kitchen Fire. 122 
Recipes... T22 
Clocks. 122 
Rural Special Reports. 122 
Codling Moth. The. 122 
editorial Pack: 
Value of Experience... 124 
Our View Of It. 124 
A Square Offer.. 121 
Tue Sword of Damocles. t . 124 
Brevit . 124 
LiITKBAK . 
Poetry. .125.127.129 
Pope Pius IX. 125 
Cora. 125 
London. 127 
Parrot-Toed... 127 
Bilc-u-Bra :. 127 
For Women .... . 127 
Letter* from a Country Girl. 127 
Home Sketches.127 
A Pica for the Children. 127 
Answers. .... J27 
Answers to Gor» pondentB. 128 
News of tne t*. aek. 125 
Publisher's NOilCos... 129 
Various. .. 129 
Markets. 129 
Reading for the Young. l.'IO 
Faith and Works. l.'tn 
Letters from Boys and Girls. RIO 
Puzzler. 180 
Bah bath Rending. 130 
Trial* by the Way. 180 
"I Will Stand.by My Master”. ISO 
Personals. .. . . 131 
Wit and Humor. 131 
Advertisements.123, 129,131. 132 
VALUE OF EXPERIENCE. 
While we were sitting in the cabin of 
a Fulton Ferry boat, a few mornings ago, 
one of the oldest and most prominent of 
New York’s successful merchants entered 
and took a seat opposite. Very naturally 
he was the subject of remark of gentle¬ 
men near us. One observed, “There is 
nothing in the physiognomy or general 
appearance of Mr. A. that would lead a 
stranger to suppose he was possessed of 
more than ordinary ability. Wherein 
does his strength lie ? for that he has it, 
his success proves ”. “I’ll tell you, my 
friend,” said another, “ he has had a 
large experience in his line of trade, and 
has profited by it.” 
This led ns to consider how little men 
in general treasure the lessons they learn 
every day of their lives, and what an 
amount of practical knowledge, synono- 
mous with worldly wisdom, they might 
acquire if they would only store up in 
memoiy, to be used when wanted, the 
knowledge thus gathered from their own 
experience as well as from the expezienoo 
of others. 
What is experience ? Simply the re¬ 
sult of experiment. These experiments 
may be made by ourselves or we may 
profit by the labors of others. The child 
is attracted by the light and stretches 
out his little hand to grasp it. The ex- 
■ 
perience of unsuccessful trials teaches 
him it is beyond his reach. A hundred 
or a thousand experiments serve to in¬ 
struct him how to judge of distance. 
This is one illustration. You cannot 
think of anything accomplished by your 
work to-day that is uot another, if you 
choose to use it as such. But the experi¬ 
ments may have been made by others 
and you are profiting by their experi¬ 
ence. Why do you plant one crop on a 
certain soil and for another seleet a soil 
made up of different constituents ? Why 
one on upland and the other in low 
ground? Because somebody, sometime, 
experimented and imparted the results of 
his experiments to others ; and you have 
been instructed therein. 
Man’s reasoning faculties are of much 
service in this connection, and he who 
uses them most will reaji the most advan¬ 
tage. The organs of Comparison and 
Causality, aid materially in experiment¬ 
ing, and logical conclusions are often as 
good as hard work. Combined with Con- 
structiveness, they may be called the 
father of invention, of which necessity is 
said to be the mother. 
That results are sometimes obtained by 
accident, is true ; but may not such be 
called experiments made unintentionally ? 
Some years ago, a leading Horticulturist 
imported one very rare and costly lily 
bulb. Ho prepared with great care, a 
place for planting it, and stepping back, 
placed his foot on the bulb and crushed 
it. Vexed at his carelessness, he gathered 
the scales, throw them into the hole, cov¬ 
ered them, and left in disgust. After 
proper time, he had not one but many 
lilies, and examination showed him that 
nearly every scale had thrown out route 
and was commencing life on its own ac¬ 
count. This experience, the result of ac¬ 
cident, he turned to valuable account in 
after years. 
Experience is also, to a large extent, 
inherited, and we are indebted to all the 
generations since the beginning of the 
world. If we do not directly inherit the 
knowledge required to perform certain 
things, we certainly do inherit the capTfo- 
ity of acquiring it with facility. If the 
mind of the infant at birth (as is claimed 
by some) be a blank, that blank will be 
much quicker and better filled in the 
child whose ancestors have been educat¬ 
ed ; for education may be said to bear the 
same relation to experience as experience 
does to experiment—education being only 
the sum of experience. 
OUR VIEW OF IT. 
In the Rural New-Yorker of Feb. 2, 
Professor Beal, of the Michigan S. Ag. 
College, gave an account of teste with 
seeds obtained from various BOurceB. 
Fifty seeds of each variety were planted, 
and a considerable difference was shown 
m their germinative powers and conse¬ 
quent value. The reader, however, is 
referred to the article itself for particu¬ 
lars. We have received a number of let¬ 
ters touching this article, some of which 
thank us for the valuable information it 
contained—others regarding it as an in¬ 
justice to seedsmen generally. One gen¬ 
tleman of some prominence asked us if 
we were not afraid that the Rural would 
lose the advertising patronage of seedsmen 
if it persisted in such a course. 
Wo should dislike to loso the advertis¬ 
ing patronage of any respectable, fair¬ 
dealing establishment that has hitherto 
favored us with its orders. Neither should 
we like to prejudice ourselves in the eyes 
of the future seedsmen who shall take the 
place, or swell the list of the seedsmen of 
to-day. And yet we do “propose to per¬ 
sist in just that course.” 
People advertise with us and pay the 
prices we ask, for the reason that they 
presume it to be to their interest to do so. 
And we are glad to have them, because 
the income thus derived assists us greatly 
in defraying the entire expense of making 
the Rural all that we aim to make it. 
There is no obligation whatever on either 
side, except that which naturally springs 
up between those who habitually deal 
with one another in an honorable manner. 
Our obligations are to our readers, and 
we believe that those journals which most 
assiduously study to benefit their readers, 
are those which should, in the end, prove 
most serviceable to advertisers—a view 
which the crowded state of our advertis¬ 
ing columns seems to justify. 
The Rural Horticultural’and Agricul¬ 
tural Grounds, as we (perhaps rather 
grandly) call them, contain hundreds of 
hardy plants of various genera. During 
the warm seasoD, everything in the way 
of novelties or of other plants whosemerite 
are differently estimated, are tested iu so 
far as, with our facilities, wo are enabled 
to test them. With what object ? Many 
of these are sent to us by advertisers, 
with the request that we will try them 
and state our opinion of the result. Are 
wo to understand that if our reports be 
unfavorable, they will withdraw their ad¬ 
vertising patronage ? Are we to consider 
the gift of a new grape-vine—of a paper 
of seeds, or of some new tiling, as pur¬ 
chasing a favorable notice at our hands, 
whether the article be all it is represented 
to lie, or not worth a tithe of the trouble 
it will cost ns to test it V A flue way, in¬ 
deed, for a “pretentious” journal to en¬ 
gage the confidence of its subscribers and 
readers who are those to be iniluenced by 
our reports and who purchase of the ad¬ 
vertiser accordingly I 
If any test with seeds or plants pub¬ 
lished in theso columns should do injus¬ 
tice to auy seedsman or nurseryman, we 
should regret it exceedingly. Therefore 
©very care is exercised to render its oc¬ 
currence impossible. 
In Prof. Beal’s experiments above re¬ 
ferred to, we do not suppose liis good 
faith or accuracy will be questioned. 
Seeds were procured promiscuously from 
prominent houses, and hie results cast no 
more a reflection upon those named in 
the report than upon the hundreds of 
other seed-concerns about the country. 
We believe that all seedsmen who enter¬ 
tain a stronger regard for fair-dealing and 
the good repute of their occupation than 
they do for a short-lived thrift, will 
respect all such honest efforts to benefit 
the agricultural or horticultural com¬ 
munity. Those who take a different 
view of it, may discontinue their adver¬ 
tisements with us, it is true. 
No reasonable person will expect that 
the seeds collected by seedsmen l'or sale, 
will average as good as those collected by 
individuals for private use. The latter 
take time to pick out only the ripe, 
solid seeds, while tbo former, of necessityi 
collect them en masse. They could uot 
otherwise afford to sell seeds at presont 
market, prices. Some seedsmen are more 
careful, more conscientious than others. 
Some raise their own seeds or a large part 
ol them ; others purchase of wholesale 
dealers. The question is : Where does 
fair-dealiug end and nnfair dealing begin ? 
What percentage of fresh, perfect seeds 
has the purchaser a right to expect for 
the money which he pays ? 
Some seeds are as good the second 
year as the first—some are better—some 
are worthless. The seedsman should 
know about this. If not, he has no busi¬ 
ness to be a seedsman. H, knowing this, 
he disregards it, whose duty is it more 
than that of the horticultural or agricul¬ 
tural press to expose the deceit? But 
“you may lose their advertising patron¬ 
age !”—Aye, there’s the rub! tt’s more 
than a rah. Advertising patronage is 
the soul of the journal of the period, is 
it ? Lot us see. Oh ! Ceres—Oh ! Po¬ 
mona—Oh ! Flora—What are you think¬ 
ing about! Oh ! Professor *Beal, see 
what you have done ! Ah ! Woe is us ! 
- 4 -*-* - 
A SQUARE OFFER. 
We may have a special premium to 
offer next year to our friends. Aud we 
should wish them to believe that we are 
incapable of exaggerating the merits of 
such premium for the purpose of eulist- 
ing their interest iu our favor. If uow 
the Rural Cricket should not prove all 
that we represent it to be, our readers 
would be justified another year in accept¬ 
ing our statements for what they may be 
deemed to bo worth. In order, how¬ 
ever, to appreciate it, our readers should 
know that the price of the clock has been 
fixed at $2.50, so that an immense sale 
should compensate the manufacturers 
for a very small profit. It looks to l>e 
worth four or five dollars and a knowledge 
of its good qualities confirms the impres¬ 
sion. 
Kuowing this ourselves, wo guarantee 
our friends against cause of dissatisfaction 
by agreeing to lake the clock hack and 
to refund the money promptly if, upon 
examination, it shall not prove all we 
represent it to be. It will be seen by 
reference to page 123, that in connection 
with one subscription to the Rural it 
will cost but one dollar, and that for two 
yearly subscriptions, it is offered as a 
present outright ! In answer to the 
natural query why we did not. make this 
offer earlier in the season, we reply that 
we have not felt before that we* could 
afford it. 
- ♦♦ ♦- 
The Sword of Damocles.—All 
know the story about the ancient tyrant 
Damocles : how having been congratu¬ 
lated by a toady on the enviable happi¬ 
ness of his exalted position, he invited 
the sycophant to a banquet, where des¬ 
pite the inmnr.erablo dish oh of the cost¬ 
liest viands placed before him, the 
wretch’s position was rendered unuttera¬ 
bly miserable by the sight of a naked 
sword suspended by a single hair, directly 
over his head. Somewhat like this, 
during the past week, has been the pre¬ 
dicament of Europe. While, with a 
couple of exceptions, all the nations 
therein were regaled with the bounteous 
gifts of peace, all felt that every hour 
was big with a war that might, ere long, 
suddenly wrap the entire continent in its 
sulphurous blaze. While its devastating 
progress could not be otherwise than 
disastrous to humanity ; its issue, though 
it. might change the map of Europe, aud 
perhaps that of Asia, could hardly have 
been advantageous to civilization. For 
the present the impending terror has 
been veiled, but it may reappear only to 
fall with tragical effect, at any moment 
the flush of victory and the greed of 
aggrandizement or the dread of loss and 
humiliation may determine, 
--. 
BREVITIES. 
Our subscribers when they meet ask : “ How 
do you like the Rural’s “ Cricket ?” 
We see that many of the oranges shipped 
from Florida are packed in Black Moss, Tilland- 
sia UsnooideB. 
Next week wo shall present our readers with a 
first page eugraving of a remarkable specimen of 
the Weeping Spruce, 
We should havo said, in Bpeaking of Abies ex¬ 
cel sa data, that it originated in tho nurseries of 
the Parsons of Flushing, L. I. 
Prof. Tyndall concludes that putrefaction is 
impossible without germs, and that absolutely 
pme air Ih a preventive of fermeutation. It is 
not tbo air winch corrupts, but d is the matter 
in the air. 
Have you decided what vegetable seeds you 
are going to plant in your garden next spring? 
Now is the time to send for catalogues. Send 
for those announced in our columns, read them 
aud then—hand them to yonr neighbor. 
The Husbandman of Elmira, one of our fa¬ 
vorite exchanges, devotes over seven solid 
columns to the able address of Prof. G. C. 
Caldwell of Cornell University delivered before 
the N Y. State Grange. Subject “ Phosphates.” 
Mr. Geo. Such, who brightened our Bauctum 
with his presence a few days since, has not so 
surrendered hhnsolf to rare hot-house or con¬ 
servatory plants that he can not see in tho Gladi¬ 
olus one of tho most beautiful of flowers. He 
advocates planting tbo cornis very early in 
spring. 
“ KiTTATiNNy” Williams. So Mr. E. Wil¬ 
liams of Montolair, N. J., is often called by old 
friends; and it is a “familiar' 1 name of which 
he need not feel ashamed. If every one of us 
“ horticulturists” were to introduce'a variety of 
fruit as valuable as tlio Kitt&tfnny Blackberry is 
universally acknowledged to be, we might con¬ 
gratulate ourselves that we had not been horti¬ 
culturists in vaiu. Mr. Williams is the hard¬ 
working, efficient secretary of the N. J. S. Hort. 
Society. 
It will bo seen that the lowest cash price of 
the Cricket is $2.50, All who see it think that it 
is worth at least twice as much. The lowest 
price for the Rural, except In clubs, is $2.50. 
Anybody sending ns one now name for one year 
getB the clock for $1.1)0. May wo not hope that 
every one of our present subscribers will secure 
it? It is a neat ornament for the sitting room 
or parlor—bedroom or office -for the student or 
professor. It combines all tho good qualities of 
watch and clock, is not doranged by a kuook or 
even slight fall, may he carelessly handled and 
carried from pluco so place. 
Mn. Charles Howni.no states, iu the N. Y. 
Tribune, that there is no doubt that iu deep, 
rich soil trees succeed better in grass, but iu 
poor or moderately rich Boil, it is best to keep 
the trees hi thrifty condition with sufficient en- 
richiug material aud dean culture. His experi¬ 
ence in his own locality (Newburgh, N. Y.,) is 
that tho blight iifTccts trees iu all soils and under 
all conditions, and, so far as he knows, none of 
tho theories or cures has been successful. In 
liis locality the pear blight has appeared at in¬ 
tervals of about twenty years, and the duration 
of each has been from three to live years. He 
bas passed through three of these periods, aud 
with each additional visit tho attack is very much 
lighter, and it may, he thinks, run itself out in 
time. Let us hope bo. 
BUSINESS NOTICES. 
See Mr. Miner’s adv’t of White Grapes and other 
fruits—something new and valuable. 
