JAN. 28 
THE RUSAL NEW-YORKER, 
NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL CONVEN¬ 
TION. 
In connection with the annual meeting of 
the American Agricultural Association, a Na¬ 
tional Agricultural Convention will be held at 
the Grand Central Hotel in New' York, com¬ 
mencing February 1 and continuing three days. 
Practical and scientific papers and addresses 
have been promised by Prof. C. V. Riley, 
Washington; Dr. Byron D. Halsted, New 
York; Prof. Arthur Perry, William’s College; 
The Hon. X. A. Willard, Little Falls, N.Y.; 
Major Henry' E. Aivord, New York; Dr. 
Alfred L. Kennedy, Philadelphia; Dr. E. Lewis 
Sturtevaut, recently appointed Director of the 
New York Experimental Station; Dr. Peter 
Collier, Agricultural Department, Washing¬ 
ton, D. C.; Dr. Albert R. Le Doux, New 
York, Prof. I. P. Roberts, Cornell University, 
New York, and others. 
Transportation and marketing of crops will 
be fully' discussed, showing how the improvt d 
methods have made available the great cereal 
crops of the West. 
Ensilage and its advant,ges, with practical 
results, will be a prominent feature in the dis¬ 
cussions, supplemented by visits to some of the 
most prominent silos near’ the city. 
The advance in agriculture and theimproved 
methods adopted by the successful farmers 
will be ably treated, and a vast amount of 
valuable and practical information will be 
furnished, that will be of great service to the 
farming community. 
The American Agricultural Association in 
arranging for this convention believes that in 
this way a great amount of information can be 
given in such a manner as will result in great 
good to ail interested in agriculture and the 
products of the soil. Arrangements have been 
made with tbo principal railroads for half-rate 
fares to all attending the convention. Agri¬ 
cultural societies, granges and farmers’ clubs 
are invited to send delegates, who should re¬ 
port to the Secretary at the Uruud Central 
Hotel on their arrival. 
-- 
NOTES ON RURAL FOR JAN. 7th. 
You do well to hit at theHyaran; ea panic- 
ulata. We all went wild over it and have 
all “ crawfished.” 
1 have a Leicester grade ram that has 
sheared mo fifteen pounds of wool. One ol the 
ewes killed in December weighej, dressed, 113 
pounds. The sides were like pork, in layers of 
fat and lean. 
Concerning seedling peaches, 1 have found 
some varieties lo revert invariably to a sort 
of wild or “frost” peach; others, notably 
the Crawford Early, come quite true to par¬ 
entage. 1 have some seedlings of Crawford 
richer in flavor than the parent. But the 
matter of most importance is that these seed¬ 
lings are hardier than their originals, i have 
no doubt but a persistent elTort will give us 
seedling peaches of the finest quality, quite as 
hardy as the apple. A tree bought for Van 
Buren’s Dwarf, but not true to name, endured 
the extraordinary Winter of 1880-81 and bore 
heavily for me last season. It is a good sized 
October peach. 
You should add to your notes on pumpkins 
and squashes that they will keep best in a 
chamber or store-room that never freezes, but 
is not too warm. I have for years stored 
enough for Winter use in a trunk room 
through which a pipe passes into a chimney. 
In April there are always a few left to send 
about to the farmers who have not seen one 
since December. A good apple cellar will rot 
pumpkins before January and squashes al¬ 
most as soon. I have a cross of pumpkin and 
squash which I am trying to establish in its 
habits, which are, so far, to ripen in Septem¬ 
ber and October and to keep well through the 
Winter. It gave us our best pies last year, 
superior to Hubbard. The shape is pumpkin, 
yellow, and about half the usual pumpkin size. 
But such crosses are not very certain to hold 
fast. 
Of all my potatoes this ye ar the Late Rose 
is best in quality. But why forever compare 
p •t. a toes ? Fifty rods will ofteu separate 
good potatoes from poor ones of the same 
seed. My neighbor is partial to the Climax; 
with me it is unfit for foou. My Western 
Reds are very fine; hut they are generally as 
solid as granite. Burbank is not good enough 
on my soil, and 1 hope White Elephant will 
supplant it. k. p. p. 
— - - - 
CATALOGUES, ETC. 
Chr Lorenz, Erfurt, Germany. Illus¬ 
trated catalogue for owners of gardens and 
amateurs. Upon the last page of this cata¬ 
logue we find a picture of a new' tomato 
named “President Garfield.” It measures six 
inches across and is notable for its irregular¬ 
ities. The whole of it reminds us of the tur¬ 
ban part enlarged of the Turban Tomato intro¬ 
duced a year or so ago and illustrated in this 
journal. Mr. Lorenz remarks that the shape 
is variable and “ beset with mammiform ex¬ 
crescences.” He also states that it is “ distin¬ 
guished by a rich, aromatic and exquisite 
flavor.” In spite of its “flavor,” we should 
fear that this new tomato will not be w r el 
corned in this land w here smoothness and free¬ 
dom from lobes and excrescences a- e really 
considered first of all. Siuce writing the 
above we have received an engraving of the 
President Garfield Tomato which we present 
on page 150. It is further claimed that each of 
the “excrescences” or lobes is a distinct to¬ 
mato or nearly so, and may easily be pulled 
off from its connection. These lobes are also 
paid to be seedless and the flavor is reported 
to be remarkable. As several of our seeds¬ 
men will offer the President Garfield in their 
Spring catalogues, soon to be issued, we 
thought we would pla>'e before them the above 
particulars, though, as already stated, we do 
not believe it will ever become a popular va¬ 
riety. We shall test it the coming season and 
report upon its real merits as they seem to us. 
Quarterly Report Kansas State Board 
of Agriculture, Dec. 1881. F. D. Coburn, 
Secretary. The fourth Quarterly Report 
mentioued above is ou band promptly. In 
the first 80 pages the value of farm products 
of each county foi last year is given, and also 
those of 1814. The subject of corn raising in 
Kansas is discussed by 135 correspondents 
from various counties. W heat has been con¬ 
sidered the money crop of the State, but we 
find the comparative values of the corn and 
wheat crops for last year to be, corn, $44,859,- 
1KS8, and both Spring and Winter w heat to¬ 
gether only $21,705,375. There is a paper by 
E. W. Ferry ou the “The Lung Plague of 
Cattle" and one by Dr. Paaren on “ Pink- 
Eye” among horses. Sheep raising, the pub¬ 
lic lands, and various other topics are discussed. 
A very complete State map is prefixed. Sec¬ 
retary F. D. Coburn, Topeka. Kas., will for¬ 
ward copies on receipt of seven cents in 
stamps. 
Orange Culture in Florida, b> the Rev. 
T. W. Moore —Second edition revised and en¬ 
larged; price, $1, This little work of 184 
pages contains the lesults of a dozen years’ 
observation ot orange cultme in Cuba, Cen¬ 
tral America, California and especially in 
Florida, where the author lias had much ex¬ 
perience aud won a wide reputation as a suc¬ 
cessful orange grow er. To the man thinking 
of engaging in this industry in any part of the 
world adapted to it, this book is a valuable 
advisor us to his probable success or failure; 
to one who has determined upon the step it is 
u great aid towards a lortunate issue of the 
undertaking; even to the experienced grower 
it offers many useful suggestions, while to the. 
general public it is at once interesting and in¬ 
structive. Tna work has become a standard 
and deserves the position. This edition is 
handsomely bound in cloth, has yellow-tinted 
edges, and is clearly printed on tiuted paper. 
E.R.Pelton & Co.,publishers, 25 Bond St.,N.Y. 
Peter Henderson & Co., 85 Cortlandt 
St., N. Y. '‘Everything for the Garden” is 
the w ell chosen title ot this monster catalogue 
which, as may be seen by' their advertisement 
in another column, will be sent without any 
charge whatever to all subscribers of the Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker who apply for it to the 
above address. As we see by glancing 
through its 120 pages,there are too many nov¬ 
elties and specialties to be mentioned in this 
place. Let all examine the interesting work 
for themselves. 
R. D. Hawley, 492 and 498 Main Street, 
Hartford, Conn. Catalogue of choice veget¬ 
able and agricultural seeds. The various 
kinds of onion seeds—cabbage, beet and tur¬ 
nip seeds—seed potatoes are specialties of this 
catalogue which will be sent free to all ap¬ 
plicants. 
Flowers in W inter. This is the first of a 
series of little paper-bound pamphlets of from 
24 to 82 pages, to be issued one every week, 
price 10 cents each, under ibe name of the 
Farm Library. E. H. Libby, Publisher, Chi¬ 
cago, Hi. 
The Farmers Book of Grasses and 
other forage plants. D. L. Phares, Stark- 
ville, Miss. We shall have occasion to refer to 
this agaiu. 
Anthony Waterer, Knap Hill Nursery, 
near Woking, Surrey, England. Catalogue 
of rhododendrons, azaleas, ornamental trees 
and shrubs. 
Puck’s Annual for 1888. A very funny 
book of 125 pages, full of illustrations. Price 
25 cents. Address Puck, 21 and 28 Warren 
St., N. Y, 
Tribune Almanac and Political Register 
for 1882; price, 25 cents. Like others of its 
kind, a valuable reference brochure. 
Proceedings of Montgomery County Hor¬ 
ticultural Society, Dayton, Ohio, December 
1881, and January 1882. 
THE CIDER MILL. 
JOHN O. WHITTIER. 
Under the blue New England skies, 
Flooded with sunshine, a valley lies. 
The mountains clasp it, warm and sweet- 
Llke a sunny child to their rocky feet. 
Three pearly lakes aud a hundred streams 
Lie on its quiet heart of dreams. 
Its meadows are greenest ever seen ; 
Its harvest Helds are the brightest sheen ; 
Through its trees the softest sunlight shakes, 
Aud the whitest lilies gem its lakes. 
I love, oh! better than words can tell, 
Its every rock and grove and dell; 
But I most love the gorge where the rill 
Comes down by the old brown cider-mill. 
Above the clear springs gurgle out, 
And the upper meadows wind about ; 
Then join, and under willows flow 
’Round knolls where blue-beech whip-stocks grow, 
To rest in a shaded pool that keeps 
The oak trees claped in Its crystal deeps. 
Sheer twenty feet the water falls 
Down from the old dam’s broken walls ; 
Spatters the kuobby bowlders gray, 
And, laughing, dies in the shade away. 
Under great rocks, through trout pools still. 
With many a tumble dowu to the mill. 
All the way dowu the nut-trees grow, 
And squirrels hide above and below. 
Acorns, beechnuts, chestnuts there 
Drop all through the hazy air ; 
And burrs roll down with curled up leaves, 
In the mellow light of harvest eves. 
Forever there the still, old trees 
Drink a wine of peace that has no lees. 
By the roadside stands the cider-mill, 
Where a low land slumber waits the rill j 
A great.brown building two stories high, 
Ou the western hill-face warm aud dry; 
Aud odorous piles of apples there 
Fill with incense the golden air ; 
And heaps of pomace,.mixed with straw, 
To their amber sweets the late flies draw. 
The carts back up to the upper door, 
And spill their treasures ou the floor; 
Down through the toothed wheels they go 
To the wide, deep cider-press bdlow. 
Aud the screws are turned by slow degrees 
Down ou the straw-laid cider cheese, 
And with each turn a fuller stream 
Bursts from beneath the groaning beam,— 
An amber stream the gods might sip, 
And fear no morrow’s parched lip! 
But wherefore gods ? Those idle toys 
Were soulless to real New-Englnnd boys. 
What classic goblet ever felt 
Such thrilling touches through it melt 
As throb electric along a straw, 
When the boyish lips the older draw ? 
The years are heavy with weary sounds, 
And their discords life's sweet music drown ; 
And yet I hear, oh ! sweet, oh ! sweet. 
The rill that bathed my bare, brown feet; 
Aud yet the cider drips and falls 
On my inward ear at intervals ; 
And I lead at times In a sad, sweet dream, 
To the bubbling of that little stream ; 
And I sit in a visioned autumn still 
In the sunny door of the cider mill. 
THORNS AND ROSES. 
CHAPTER XVII. 
(Continued from page 16.) 
“ Never, dear,” I said. I shall be Kate 
Lovel to the end of my life.” 
She looked incredulous; she shook her head 
in disbelief; nevertheless, my prophetic words 
were true, and the day came when she saw 
that it was so. 
After my brief conversation with Mr. 
Nevil Verner he absented himself from Lovel 
House for a few days, and we saw nothing of 
him. It might be that he consecrated this 
period to the funeral of his dead love, though 
he had wooed above its scarcely cold form. 
Haviug laid the ashes to rest, he reappeared 
without sign of grief or mourning, to sun 
himself in the light of living love. 
During the days of his absence Edith had 
not spoken of him; the only allusion she had 
made to her engagement had been in this 
wise: 
“ If Edgar Dana comes, Kate, you tell him 
I cannot see him.” 
Aunt Dorothy accepted the new order of 
things innocently, and she and I became by¬ 
standers us it were. Nevil, 1 think, was very 
fond of Edith; she was in my place now, and 
I saw looks once mine bestowed on her, heard 
woi’ds once sweet to me given to her; for 
though 1 was banished from Eden, I lingered 
so near the gates that 1 saw yet its sunny 
sky, its glorious flowers, and yet could hear 
the music ringing through it But I did not 
ask that the flaming sword should be low 
ered, that I might be allowed again to enter. 
After ail, it was but a fancied Eden, and 
memory only made its present beauty. 
One evening, we four—that is, Edith, Nevil, 
aunt and 1—were as usual in the parlor, when 
Brandon joined us. i t was some time since 
had seen him, and aunt welcomed him cor¬ 
dially. 
“ I thought you were lost.” she said. 
“ I am too precious to be lost,” he said, 
gravely, then gave me his hand, saying, in a 
low voice, “ I am glad to see Nevil here, 
Kate.” 
Ah! he did not know yet! 
He leaned on the mantelpiece beside aunt 
Dorothy, looking down on her as he spoke, 
telling her all that he had been doing during 
the days of his absence, and these two made a 
little group In themselves; there was a second 
group at the piano; I only sat alone. It was 
easy to think that I would be brave, to sum¬ 
mon pride and courage; it is hard to see love 
once ours given to another, and to have to look 
quietly on, making no sign. Until to-night I 
had not realized the complete blank the loss of 
my- lover made. It might be the Lour that in¬ 
fluenced me; dull gray shadows were gathering 
in the sky, the old elm-trees, cropped into 
“ maids of honor,"and fantastic shapes rocked 
solemnly to and fro, wierd and sombre; When 
I turned my eyes to the pretty room, I saw my 
kinsman’s face bent in its shadowed beauty 
over aunt; they were together as they had 
often been, wanting no third in their quiet 
happine.-s; there wus my lost lover and Edith, 
and in their thoughts least of all had 1 a share. 
I had that most miserable of all feelings, that 
of “ not being wanttd;” that there is one too 
many in the world, yourself that one. 
Then—1 felt Brandon’s quick, bright eyes on 
me; they passed to Nevil and Edith, and he 
studied those two with musing attention. I 
daresay he thought I should have been in 
Edith’s place, and he spoke to aunt, and his 
brows contracted, as she seemed to explain. 
He was silent; our eyes met, and he beckoned 
me suddenly to the vacant chair beside aunt 
Dorothy with a look that was his own. I 
obeyed him, and a newer courage swelled 
within me; though why a gesture so simple 
affected me so deeply I did not know; 1 felt 
as though a ministering angel had swept across 
my path, leaving behind a gulden ray that 
burned in my lonely heart. How could I 
think myself neglected, how had I dared give 
way to sadness when my brother remained, his 
love ever faithful, pure and steadfast, the 
light of my life! 
“Aunt Dorothy says your engagement is 
broken, Kate?” 
“ Yes; Nevil loves Edith,” I returned. “ It 
was only a mistake, and he released me ! ” 
“ Ha! that may satisfy Aunt Dorothy, but 
it does not satisfy me! Gan you tell me, dear, 
or not ? ” 
“ What more can I tell you, Brandon ■?” 
His face grew' dark and stern as he replied: 
“I stand in the light of a brother to you, 
and no brother will see his sister trifled with. 
You loved Nevil—you were downcast and un¬ 
happy when he did not write—he told me 
once that ne loved you. Were these mistakes? 
You were his promised wife. How is it that 
he throws you aside .' ” 
“ Brandon, he did not love me, though per¬ 
haps he fancied that he did. When Edith had 
gone he found that he loved her, and he went 
away to release me from the engagement. He 
is now' engaged to Edith!” 
“ You say nothing of yourself or your own 
feelings. Why should he win your love if he 
was not certain of his own '! Why make you 
the victim of his caprices ? In my opinion he 
deserves horsewhipping Bom here to Nevil 
Towers, and that is what I would give any 
man who played false to any lady! Never 
mind, though it must hai?e been hard at first 
for you, when you loved him so well ! ” 
“Ah! Brandon, because I loved him myself 
I thought that he must love me, and I believed 
in his fidelity! ” 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
He laid his hand ou my head with a sweet 
gentleness that called forth my tears; and 
covering my eyes, I told him all—Nevil’s re¬ 
turn, my thoughts that night, and w bat had 
passed between us when we met. 
“ Little sister,” he said, “ it was hard for 
you—a bitter lesson—yet the time will come 
when you will look back on this sorrow and 
see only a veiled mercy. It is so with all our 
trials. Even though time may not lift the 
veil, eternity will! 
“ Don’t say anything to Nevil about this— 
please do not! It can do no good, and 1 would 
not have him think that 1 mind very much! 
You have promised.” 
“ i am sorry you have asked that. However, 
it may be well for me not to interfere. Does 
he love Edith ? I thought she liked Edgar 
Dana, Kate ?” 
“They were engaged long ago, but when 
Edgar lost his fortune Mr. Hawdon broke the 
engagement.” 
“I took a liking to Edgar Dana when 
