£ox tl)t l)oumj 
FREDDIE’S SACRIFICE. 
When mamma said, “Now, children dear, 
You know that It Is Lent; 
Some blessiun you should sacrifice, 
Which Heaven to you has sent”- 
Our ten-year-old made haste to say, 
" You promised me a dress, 
And I say I’ll give that up, 
’Twill be well enough I guess. ” 
“Well, / love sugar In my tea— 
Three lamps and sometime* four ; 
It I agree to go without, 
You could not ask for more,” 
Said number two, with thoughtful face, 
And wisely nodding head, 
While number three was thinking fast, 
Our roguish little Fred. 
“ I want to dlv up somefln big, 
’Cause I ain’t very dood, 
But, when my tings was div to me, 
I touldn’t if 1 would.” 
Aud while his bright eyes shone like stars, 
With manners calm and cool. 
He said, “ I fink dal / will try 
And div up doin' to school." 
BEAUTIFY THE HOME. 
MAGGIE WOOLMAN THOMAS. 
I have been buying a lot of sea-shells late¬ 
ly, and as I sat looking at them, admiring 
their beauty, their many gorgeous colors, and 
their smooth, pink lining, I thought that if 
God took so much paius to make such a beau¬ 
tiful house for so iusignifieant an animal He 
would certaiuly be pleased to have His child¬ 
ren (whom He has endowed with wisdom and 
skill to build their own houses) build, beauti¬ 
fy, and adorn their homes all they can, so I 
thought that I must tell the boys and girls 
what I think. 
It seems to me that every flower planted is 
a step toward refinement and that there is no 
surer method of bringing a child, as it were, 
“ through nature up to nature’s God.” The 
Spring is just the time to fix up things about 
the house. If you are too poor to buy plants 
and seeds, go to the woods and get the roots 
of wild flowers (they will bear removal, even 
when in bloom, if done with care), and don’t 
forget bo gather abundance of those that are 
in bloom for bouquets. Get them by the arm¬ 
ful, fill milk pans, pitchers and anything else 
you can get hold of. That is the way we do, 
and oh ! hotv we enjoy them! Many an hour 
have I spent playiug with flowers from the 
wildwood, and they gave a pleasure that has 
never been excelled by my choicest house 
plants tint have cost me years, perhaps, of 
watching and waiting. But, above all, when 
you are enjoying your beautiful things, don’t 
forget those who are too poor to buy. Share 
with one another, for a pleasure shared with 
a friend is made all the more sweet to us. I 
lately went in sight of the old home which 
was once "the dearest spot on earth to me.” 
I stood two miles olf, where I could view the 
beauty without the desolation Dear old home! 
Strangers dwell within thy walls and roam at 
will through the garden and orchards that 
were once, in part, my care and pride! How 
I loved thee, yet, so it must be, I must resign 
my right to thee and build another home, but 
I’ll never get a dearer one! I am this Spring 
starting quite a veg tab e and flower garden, 
which [ expe.-t to attend to myself; the pure 
air of Heaven is so beneficial to me that I 
must have it, even if I get it in wielding a hoe 
or rake, and mauy a little girl cr grown up 
woman whose health is poor would live the 
longer if they would follow ray example. 
Get out of the house, girls, into the garden! 
Cultivate fruits aud flowers, and gather 
everything arouud you that will help to beau¬ 
tify your homes, and you will be the healthier 
a d the happier for it. 
-- 
THE MELON WORM. 
In view of the fact that the members of the 
Horticultural Club are to give their especial 
attention this Spring to the cultivation of the 
watermelon, a word on the melon-worm 
(Phakellura hyaliuatalis) may be of interest. 
This worm is a very destructive enemy not 
only to melons, but also to cucumbers, pump¬ 
kins and other cucurbitaoeous plants. It is a 
ravenous eater, transforming the plant leaves 
into mere skeletons often, or eating its way 
into the fruit sometimes quite out of sight, 
aud sometimes only making a shallow cavity. 
Really efficient and practical remedies for 
this pest are not known. London purple and 
and Paris green would doubtless be effective, 
but it is not safe to use these poisons on fruit 
that is to be eaten, but Pyrethrum roseum or 
the Persian Insect Powder is not poisonous to 
human beings, and will be found effective in 
ridding the plants of worms. Ashes aud 
plaster, sprinkled on while the vines and fruit 
are damp, have been satisfactorily used in 
many cases. In preference to all these 
remedies, I would recommend those who com¬ 
pete for the Horticultural Club premiums to 
make good use of their fingers, and remove 
the worms on their very first appearance. I 
would watch the vines closely and each morn¬ 
ing and afternoon, if necessary, kill every 
M'SHERRY 
GRAIN DRILL. 
worm that dares to show its head. This will 
not be a very difficult task, and it will pay 
well in the end. Uncle Mark. 
-*-*-«- 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Dear Uncle Mark:—I would like to be¬ 
come a member of your Horticultural Club; 
my papa takes the R.ural this year and we 
think a great deal of it; I never saw it before 
but I want to see it every week hereafter as 
long as I live. I was paiticularly pleased 
with the notice of wild flowers in the Rural 
and I said to myself " why can not I have a 
garden of wild flowers?” Well, why not? I do 
do not know anything to hinder, there is the 
greatest quantity of them growing here and 
some very beautiful ones. I love flowers 
very much; we used to live in Michigan, and 
there we had a very fine flower garden, and I 
saved almost fifty different kinds of seeds and 
planted them here, but few of them ever 
came up. Last year I bought some seeds 
and sowed them; they came up nicely but the 
mice or moles ate them nearly as fast as they 
came up. I only saved three kinds. We went 
fishing lately and I want to tell you what I saw. 
On the bank of the creek was a very large tree 
UNQUESTIONABLY THE BEST 
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It is very A courate, 
It Regulates by Clog Wheels, 
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It is Easily Managed. 
It is strictly first-class in workmanship and con¬ 
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body who knows what a (Train and fertilizer drill 
ought to do. Its ster’mg qualities have gained it 
a world wide reputation', and nil who appreciate 
excellence and accuracy, prefer the McKHERKY. 
Send for pamphlet. Mention this paper. 
D. 23. MCSH23RB.Y <&. CO., 
Dayton, Ohio. C. 8. A. 
BICKFORD & BUI FJIAN’S FARMER’S FAVORITE. 
and finish ; Firm in 
lne them before 
No equal array of most excellent nml imperatively 
needed qualities can be found In any other Grain 
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of Fertilizers. Light Draft. Positively balanced at 
work. All material used In Its manufacture first 
quality. The only drill with core conituuuus solid 
steel Axle. Manufactured by the 
Oldest Drill House in America. 
and by a corps of workmen educated to the busl 
ness. Finished with cure aud tastefully painted. It 
stands to-day where for thirty ,/ears our goods have 
, stood: First In merit; First In quality of manufacture 
Farmers and Denars wherever Introduced. Send for circular. Exam- 
all we say, and ocr Warranty covers it ai,l Address 
N- <.-• ALLU P, (-ien’i Ayent, Macedon, N. Y. 
growing, and about nine or ten feet from the 
ground it grew like two separate trees, and 
some one bad chopped off one branch, aud 
there was a beautiful specimen of the 
Spiderwort growing away up there in 
full bloom. I do not see why we cannot have 
such things in our own grounds! I did 
not climb up to see, so could not tell whether 
there was any earth up there or not. I sup¬ 
pose gome earth must have been lodged in the 
bark. I find it very hard to learn the botani¬ 
cal names of plants; indeed, I like the common 
EMPIRE GRAIN DRILL, 
WITH 
FORCE FEED FERTILIZER 
ATTA' IHMKNT. 
Distributes all kinds of grain Evenly & Accurately, 
Drills Oorn evenly lor Fielil Crop. 
Sows Phosphates without, pasting or clogging. Amount 
gown regulated by gear. 
NO GUESS-VVOHK I 
Send for Circular to E.UI’lltE IIKII.L CO., 
Ilox I. Sliortovllle, N. Y 
names the best. There is a number of differ¬ 
ent kinds of Cactus here on the mountains 
that bloom very beautifully; they grow and 
seem to flourish finely where there is but the 
least bit of earth. I send you some leaves and 
flowers of our native Red Bad would like to 
know if they are like the Japan Red Bud; 
they are very beautiful. These leaves are 
only partly grown, but when full grown they 
are thick, smooth and glossy; I would like to 
correspond with some of the girl cousins. I 
can send Cousin Winfrey some of the shells 
that are scattered over the mountains if he 
will pay the postage. I do not want the cards. 
There are some specimens of mineral blossoms 
here so called but they are very heavy to send 
by mail. Your niece, LoisWurtz. 
Coryelle Co., Texas. 
[The Japan Red Bud has larger aud thicker 
leaves. There is a seeming variety of the 
Red Bud known as C. Siliquastrum which is 
common to Texas aud California.—u. M.] 
Uncle Mark. —On rainy days we have 
been busy shelling peanuts. We have shelled 
15 bushels and haven’t finished yet. They 
yield ten quarts of pits to the bushel. We plant 
IS quarts of pits to the acre, on low ridges two 
feet apart, and plant them one foot apart on 
the ridge, and one pit in a hill, 2j* inches deep. 
The holes are made with a machine drawn by 
a horse. Papa has a machine that covers two 
rows at the time, and as fast as a horse can 
walk. After the peanuts are up about ten days, 
papa cultivates them with the Planet, Jr. Cul¬ 
tivator, and goes through two or three times, 
and twice with hoes. Papa had 200 bushels 
last year off of nine acres; it was only half a 
crop. When it comes time to gather them we 
plow them out with a peanut plow. It goes 
under the rows and loosens the ground and we 
lift them out with forks, shake the dirt off and 
lay them on top of the ground. The next day 
we put them in small stacks where they cure, 
after standing two wetks. We thrash them 
with a machine. Papa had 17 hogs that were 
fattened on the peanuts that were left in the 
ground after digging. Your niece, 
James City Co., Va. Flora Perron. 
[I am always especially pleased to receive 
letters in which the cousins relate their expe¬ 
rience in any horticultural or farm work, such 
as the above. Whenever anyone has something 
“ real good” to tell, let them not be afraid to 
tell it. It may help others.—u. M.J 
Dear Uncle Mark:— For really are you 
not an uncle to aJl the young readers of the 
Rural ? I, at least, love to think of you as 
such although before 1 have been a silent 
reader of your paper. I believe there are 
many who never have written for the Rural 
who love it dearly. With the exception of 
one year my father has taken the Rural for 
twenty three years, so it is useless for me to 
say we like it us " actions speak louder than 
words.” Seven volumes we have bound, and 
they make splendid books. Thunks for the 
seeds you kindly sent. I am so proud of the 
celery seel, perhaps I may write aud tell what 
success w« have growiug it for success sejms 
almost certain. In my mind I have already 
pictured how handsome the hollyhocks will 
be when in bloom, although we have to wait 
until the second season tor them to blossom, 
but if we are patient surely we will get our 
reward. Uncle Mark, if ever you come out 
this way you are welcome to our home. 
Yates Co., N. Y. Your niece, Delight. 
llir ftll A D A AITCC that every one who plants Seeds nr cultivates the anil ahull la- interested In our NEW 
Wt UUAnAN I tt CATALOGUE ofthe PLANETJr.JAim and HARDEN I H IM.RAI ENTS. 
It is a beautiful descriptive work of sixteen pages, FREE TO ALL. Send us your own and neighbors' Homes; 
aud we will ALSO GUARANTEE that any tool you may select Khali lx- first-class in construction aud finish, 
and exactly u» represented. Then why not send now V S. I,. A I.LEN it <JQ, 127 & 129 Catharine St,.Philadelphia 
Mitchell, Lewis & Co., Kacine,Wi&,(j.S.A 
BEST^f-JS 
WASHER 
Wo will guarantee the “LOVELL” WASHER to 
do bet ter work and do it easier and in less time 
than any other machine in the world. Warranted for 
five years, and if it don't wash tile clothon clean with¬ 
out rubbing, w© will refund the money. 
iftCIITC U/MITCn in every county. We can 
AUCH Id IV AH I tU show proof that Agents 
are making from $7f> to $150 per mouth. Farmers 
make $200 to $500 during the winter. Ladies have 
great success soiling this Washer. Retail price only 
#r». Sample to tk so desiring an agency S'J. Also the 
Colt-brut d KEYSTONE WRINGERS ut.munufact- 
urm s’ lowest price. Wo invito the strictest i vestica- 
tion. Send us vour address on a postal curd for further 
particulars. Lovell Washer Co., Erie, Pa. 
manufacturers of 
FARM AND FREIGHT WAGONS 
Platform Spring Wagons, Three Spring Watjona, Four Spring Wagons Open 
and Top Bugtgles, Ptuetous, Sewing machine Wagons, Backboards. 
The MITCHELL WAGON iB Monarch of the Rood, only the very best stock used in Its construction and 
made by the best wagon mechanics in the world. The Spring Wagon and Buggy Department 1b entirely sepa¬ 
rate from the Farm Wagon shops. Aud for the manufacture of this class of work we have facilities uusur 
passed. Send for Catalogue and Illustrated Prloe List. 
SITflHHU. I.ITWIS Ar r«.. Rtoln*. Wit. 
$100 
PER MONTH 
SELLINCCLT 
ANNINC’S 
ILLUSTRATED 
STOCK BOOK 
A CENTS* 
Are making* 
Because every farmur otmd* It. It is the latent and moit complete work ever l^ued In Am* rica un'&Mm: Iloeaee, at¬ 
tic, Sheep, etc.! their breeds, breeding, trnluing, causes ofdttfease. nympHim*, and rutu'sliuM. Over 1,000 pii^rem 400 
IUti*trfttlon*« Highly endorsed by auoh eminent nut-horitien as the President, Vice President.and Secretary of Philadelphia 
College of Votorlnary Surgeouw, Hon. «L \V. Oahmoicn and others. Farmer*, their *on*, and uircut * desiring prod table work 
should *end at once for full particulars and terms. Address lltTHliARH Chcwtmit *t»» I'lilimlelphln 
Potato Bug 
Poison. 
LONDON PURPLE. 
TRADE MARK. 
Potato Bug 
Poison. 
t3f~ If nearest dealer has not got It, wilie to HEMINGWAY’S LLMlON 1’UttPLE CO. (Lnui'Bb), V* O. 
VttO. No 00 W 4TKR Kvrkitt. K v w V ni.il mho mill solid t-rli-es attrt . .■*) In-onlulN 
BOX 
50 
HANDSOME ClIllOMO (JAItl)S, New & Arti.tk 
lesignB.tnune on,In ease lOc., Acknowledged best sold. 
'Album of Samples Sbc. F. W.Auetlu, Fair ilaveu Colo. 
& week In your own town. Terms and $5 outfit 
free. Address Hallett & Co., Portland, Maine. 
Amber Cane Seed. 
Southwestern grown. Weighs 60 lbs. to the bushel. 
With full instructions for making syrup. I’rlco $1.50 
fur 60 lbs. Less amount 10c. pr. lb. 
C. J. REYNOLDS, Corning, N. Y. 
