f or tl )t Doling 
WHICH LOVED BEST ? 
I love you, mother,*' said little John; 
Then, forgetting his w ork, his cap went on. 
And lie was off to the garden swing. 
And left her the water slid wood to bring. 
“ 1 love you, mother," said rosy Nell— 
“ 1 love you better than tongue can tell;" 
Then she teased and pouted full half the day, 
Till her mother rejoiced when she went to play. 
I love you, mother," said little fan; 
“ To-day I'll help you all 1 can: 
How glad I am school doesn’t keep!” 
So she rocked the Imbe till It fell asleep; 
Then stepping softly she retched the broom, 
And swept the MuOr, aud tidied the room: 
Busy and happy all day was she,— 
Hciplul and happy as child could be. 
•' 1 love you, mother,” again they said, 
Three little children going lo bed; 
How do you think that mother guessed 
Which or them really loved her best? 
—Jov Allison. 
yet to learn that a toad was ever a tadpole, 
and if true, it will enable us to understand 
how it is that young toads are found on sandy 
knolls far away from water. If otir critic 
has any other theory of “toadology” we shall 
be glad to hear it. Uncle Mark. 
PisrcUaiuw. 
HOW DO TOADS BREED? 
I see in the answers under “ Young Quer¬ 
ist” as to how touds breed, that your man of 
answers says that whey are hatched from eggs 
in form of a tadpole, with tail, etc. Now, the 
question is, is he right < If right, the eggs are 
deposited in the water, for that is where the 
tadpole is found, and consequ ntly the toad 
is an aquatic animal or reptile, or at least an 
amphibious one, which any country boy 
knows is not the case, as a toad will drown as 
quick as a. kitten. More than that, I have yet 
to learn that a toad was ever a tadpole. I 
have seen hundreds of them smaller in size thau 
the tadpole at live days old, aud at such a dis¬ 
tance from any water that the idea of their 
being hatched in water is to me preposterous. 
They may be found in the first part of Sum 
mer not larger than the common house-fly, 
far away trom water on a sandy or gravely 
knoll, with the old warty mother who seems 
to be taking charge of the family. I wish you 
would have the goodness to search the author¬ 
ities and answer through the Rural. 1 reckon 
that your man of answers was thinking of the 
frog when he wrote of the toad. At all events, 
if you can settle the question it will wind up 
the dispute which has been going on among 
farmers for years. J. Burwell. 
REMARKS. 
We have nothing to take back in what was 
said about the breeding of toads in a late 
issue, and can confidently reiterate the state¬ 
ments there made. Let us now take up in 
order some of the statements which the writer 
of the above makes, and see if we can solve 
the problem. If the eggs are deposited in 
water t*ae toad must be “an aquatic animal or 
reptile, or at least an amphibious one which 
any country boy knows is not the case, as the 
toad will drown as quick as a kitten.” Well, 
we have seen kittens that didn’t drown very 
easily, and we are sure that the country boy 
who claims that the toad is not amphibious is 
mistaken. Consult any work on zoology and 
under the class Amphibia, Order Anura will 
be found the Family Bufonidce of which the 
Common Toad (B. americanus) is a type. 
Frogs and toads both are amphibians, by 
which we mean vertebrated animals having 
cold blood and naked skin, reproducing by 
means of eggs and undergoing a metamor¬ 
phosis having a relation to a transition from 
an aquatic respiration by gills to an atmos¬ 
pheric respiration by lungs. It is, however, 
probably true that there is no truly amphib¬ 
ious animal, which would imply that it could 
breathe equally* well in air and water. 
The writer has “yet to learn that a toad 
was ever a tadpole.” By this he intimates 
that toads always breed and develop out of 
the water which is far from being true. Their 
metamorphoses are of t he same character as 
those of the frog; they live out of the water 
except during the breeding season in March 
or April; they lay a great number of eggs 
united into long strings, enclosed in a gela¬ 
tinous substance, and from these eggs the tad¬ 
pole hatches and passes through the differ¬ 
ent stages of development common to frogs 
and toads. 
Just here is the point which perplexes the 
writer of the above letter. What we have 
said about the tadpole development is the 
general and usual order of metamorphosis, 
but there is an exception by which it appears 
that frogs and toads may l*e reproduced with¬ 
out passing through the usual tadpole stage. 
In the “Atmals and Magazine of Natural His¬ 
tory” there is a statement like this: “It is not 
improbable that eggs laid in localities where 
water cannot be obtained, as in cellars and 
hot houses, may produce frogs (or toads) 
whose larval form is very soon changed to 
the perfect state, the gills being prematurely 
cast to enable the animal to accommodate 
itself to its new circumstances. This may be 
taken as an explanation of the above writer’s 
theory which leads them to say that he has 
LET TERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
REPORTS ON THE MELON CROP. 
Dear Uncle Mark: I had quite a time 
with my melous. To-day a thief stole one and 
I caught him at it, I called to him to come 
back and let me weigh it, but he p.id no atten¬ 
tion to me. 8<> we sent a man on horseback 
after him. He took it from the thief, went 
into a house near by, weighed it and gave 
it back to him. 1 gathered the rest and 
weighed them. The twelve |12) weighed 104 
pounds two ounce-'. The two largest ones 
weighed 12)* and 11% lbs. One thing 1 do think 
and, I might say, know, viz., that one stalk 
or plant in a hill is much better than two. I 
had three seeds that came up; two in one hill 
and one in the other. The one vine had three- 
fourths of the melons, and the largest, one. I 
have just cut one aud pronounce it delicious. 
We have had no frost here to kill anything 
yet. The tomatoes, peppers, in fact every¬ 
thing that has not ripened of itself, are green 
and growing as much as they were four w eeks 
ago. Your niece, t. o. t. 
Bradford Co., Pa. 
Dear Uncle Mark —I received the water 
melon seeds last Spring and sowed them in 
paper sacks. Whou the weather was warm 
enough I transplanted them to the garden. 
Only two of the seeds came up and one of 
those died, the other Jived and bore one melon 
which 1 picked on September 29. It was 12 
inches long and its diameter was six and one- 
quarter inches; circumference eighteen and 
three quarters; thickness of white rind three- 
eighths of an inch; weight of melon eight and 
one-quarter pounds. Very line flavor. Grandpa 
said it was an excellent melon. It was the 
only one that got ripe incur garden this year. 
I have a row of cabbage that are heading up 
nicely. The little Gem Squash has done 
well; we carried 25 down cellar to-day. I 
saved the seed of my melon and I intend to 
plant them next Spring. Your niece, 
Inez G. Moon. 
Oswego Co., N. Y. 
Dear Uncle Mark : My melons were grown 
in good garden soil, and watered with barn¬ 
yard water every week. I picked the bugs 
off by hand every morning. One melon was 
picked the 20th of September and the other 
the 17th of October. The diameter of one was 
five inches one way and 5>* the other way, 
and its circumference was 16 inches. The 
diameter of the other melon was inches 
one way and (1% the other; its circumference 
was 19 inches. One weighed two pounds, the 
other four. The thickness of the white rind 
was about one-quarter of an inch. Five vines 
were raised from the six seeds, but there were 
only melons on two of the vines—one on each 
vine. 1 cannot judge as to the quality of the 
melons, because it has been such a poor year 
for growing them. No kind of melons have 
done well this year, it has been so cold. 
Ontario. Your niece, Hold a Lick. 
Dear Uncle Mark: —I received six seeds 
of the melon and planted them April 6th in 
sandy soil; hen droppings were mixed with 
the soil in the hills. Two seedsup MaySd; 
were well nursed for a month to keep them 
alive when a striped bug took one of them 
for his supper, the other grew aud bore two 
melons, one weighing five pound*, the other 
was too small to weigh. I guess Uncle Mark 
will tie the boy that will get the prize this 
time. May we send you some seed to culti¬ 
vate? Hoping that I may do better next time 
lam, Your niece, 
Josie Randall 
Franklin Co., Kans. 
IThanks. I prefer to have you plant all 
your seeds another Spring, u. m ] 
Uncle,Mark: Although 1 may not win a 
prize, I will let you know howl suoceded with 
the watermelon seeds you so kindly sent me. 
I received six seeds, three of which came up, 
but only two lived to bear melons. I gave 
them ordinury culture, on sandy loam; barn¬ 
yard manure in the hill. The first one was 
picked on August 25th, the second Sept. 2d, 
the third Oct. 9th, and four on Oct. Uth. I 
cannot give the measurement of the melons, 
as the largest two were eaten before we knew 
you wanted them measured. Two vines were 
raised from the seeds. We thought the qual¬ 
ity very good; equal to the Voorbis or Cubau 
Queen. Total weight of crop was 71 pounds. 
Middlesex Co., N. J. Ida G. Reeves. 
Members for the Club for week ending Nov. 
4. Carrie Ritter, Nellie Isom, Jane Reed, 
Margaret Reed, John Reed, Fenwick Reed, 
Arthur Dings, Fannie Gifford, Mary Steward. 
The Ravages of Consumption. 
In spite of all that medical science and pro¬ 
fessional skill has been able to do in that most 
fatal of all diseases, Consumption of the Lungs, 
it is steadily on the increase. The number of 
deaths from this muse, as shewn by our hills 
of mortality, is simply appalling. Not long 
since, in referring to this fact, Harper’s Bazar 
said: 
“ Pulmonary diseases have been gradually 
increasing in this country during the past few 
years, especially during the winter months, 
which are particularly perilous to those who 
have delicate lungs. The figures are startling. 
According to the records of the Board of 
Health in ttis city (New York), the loss of life 
by consumption alone during the five yea,vs 
ending December 81st, 1879. was 20,910, Pneu¬ 
monia and bronchitis arc also very fatal dis¬ 
eases, the former causing more than one-half 
as many deaths as consumption, and the latter 
nearly one-fourth the number,” 
Taking the population of New York City at 
one million, and the whole number of deaths 
from consumption, pneumonia and bronchitis 
at 36,750 in every five years, this would give 
for the United States a death-roll from these 
three kindred diseases of 1,470,000; or one 
fifth of that number (294,000) in every single 
year! 
The Philadelphia Ledger, in alluding to the 
fact that forty-nine deaths by consumption 
had occurred in that city in a single week, 
makes this comment: 
“ The havoc of lung disease goo* on with 
heavy count all the year round. Yet the doe. 
tors tn their convent ions hare almost ceased 
lo talk about phthisis, with any degree of 
enthusiastic research, while they give us no 
end of brilliant light upon sewerage and the 
deaths by bad drainage. It is a discredit to 
medical science that sv< h well-defined, diseases 
as American lungs present . should yet be so 
little under control, and the skill of our ex¬ 
perts should still be batHed.” 
Another paper, in speaking of the subject, 
says: 
“If any other disease prevailed to such an 
extent, we should have immediate and rigid 
investigation as to cause and remedy. That 
this is not the case in regard to lung diseases 
can only be attributed to the fact that medical 
science appears to have exhausted itself in 
that direction. 
“And yet it seems marvelous that with all 
the new light which has been thrown upon 
human ailments within the pust half century, 
nothing that serves to clearly point out either 
the direct cause of the wids prevalence of a 
diseaseBoalmostuniversallv fatal, or anything 
that can rightfully claim to be a remedy for 
it, has been revealed .” 
Here we have presented, in a form which 
cannot fail to startle the community, two most 
serious and alarming facts connected with the 
ravages of pulmonary diseases in this country. 
1. That thev have been steadily increasing for 
years. 2 That with all its advancement in 
skill, and in the knowledge of curative forces, 
the medical profession does not know how to 
deal successfully with Consumjdion, and 
CANNOT CORK IT ! 
That Consumption of the Lungs cannot bo 
cured by any of the remedial agents known 
to either of the great schools of medicine, or 
by the eclecticism which includes the best 
curative appliances of both, is too well and 
sorrowfully known to the hundreds of thou¬ 
sands of wasting and slowly-dying invalids, 
whose pale faces, sunken ey*es and feeble steps 
meet us in every city, town and neighbor¬ 
hood. However hopefully these stricken ones 
may cling to Hfo, and deceive themselvei as 
to their real condition, their nearest and dear 
est friends know but too well that they are 
steadily failing and wasting, and that ptema- 
ture death is as certain aB if an arrow had 
been lodged in some*vital organ. 
It is well understood, that the only hope for 
those who are suffering from pulmonary dis¬ 
eases lies in their attaining, through some 
means, a higher degree of vitality, and an in¬ 
creased power of nutrition. The tendency to 
a too rapid waste of tissue must be mot and 
overcome by a new and larger ability to take 
and utilize the substances out of whiub the 
tissues are composed and the vital organs kept 
in healthy equilibrium. To gain this, the in¬ 
telligent and conscientious physician, fully 
aware that bat little dependence can be placed 
in medicine, advises and encourages bis pa¬ 
tients to use every possible hygienic expedient 
for keeping up the vital forces—exercise in 
the open air, nutritious food, carefulness iu 
regard to any diet that may tax or enfeeble 
the digestive organs, avoiuance of exposure, 
crowded rooms, excitement, etc In a lew 
instances, this care and regimen ure successful 
in bolding in check the enemy which has 
gained a lodgment, but rarely in casting him 
out. He has intrenched himself, and, ever on 
the alert and watchful, stauds ready to assault 
a weak, exposed or half-guarded point; and 
sooner or later, almost surely succeeds in his 
deadly work. 
It is no fault of the Profession that it cannot 
cure this digease. Not because if is incurable, 
but because ill its Matena Med ion no sub 
stance is found in use of which the diseased 
system can be furnished with an antidote or 
an effective resistunt. But this is no proof 
that such a substance does not exist, and that 
Consumption must still go on, destroying its 
hundredsof thousandsevery year. The search 
for an agent that would give the vitality 
which is needed t<» arrest this disease and re¬ 
store the patien t to health, has been an earnest 
pursuit with Borne of the ablest physicians in 
the past and present century; and some form 
of Oxygen administration has been with many 
regarded as the means by which tbeardontly- 
desired end would be gained. Experiments 
in this direction have been made from time to 
time, but not until within the past few years 
have they been carried to a successful result. 
Satisfied that if a uew combination of Oxy¬ 
gen and Nitrogen could be made in which tire 
former substance would be in excess of w hat 
is found in common eir, a physician who had 
been forced to abandon his practice in conse¬ 
quence of on attack of Pneumonia, was led to 
make persistent experiments which finally re¬ 
sulted in the discovery of a new* substance 
now known as Compound Oxygen, and by the 
use of which he was himself restored to per¬ 
manent good health. 
It is over twelve years since this great re¬ 
sult was reached —h result which has inaugur¬ 
ated a new era in the healing art. Consump¬ 
tion of the lrungs stands no longer in the list 
of incurable diseases. 
The action of *' COMPOUND Oxygen” in ar¬ 
resting the progress of Pulmonary Consump¬ 
tion, has been so marked an 1 constant under 
the administration of this new substance, that 
we arc Warranted in saying that, if taken in 
early stages, eight out of every ten per¬ 
sons affected with this disease might he cured. 
In Consumption, as every one is aware, the 
only hope for the patient lies in the establish¬ 
ment of a higher vital condition. Now, Com 
pound Oxygen is an agent that gives directly 
this new and higher vitality, which generally 
becomes apparent at the very* beginning of 
its use. manifesting itself in an almost imme¬ 
diate increase of appetite, and iu a sense of 
life and l*odiiy comfort. If the use of Oxv 
gen is continued, a steady improvement, nearly 
always follows,' and wht re the disease has not 
become too deeplv seated, a cure may be con¬ 
fidently looked for. 
But we cannot too earnestly urge the neces¬ 
sity of using this Vitalizing Treatment in the 
very commencement of pulmonary trouble, 
and before the disease bus made wiy serious 
inroads upon the system and reduced its power 
to contend with so dangerous an enemy. Too 
many of the cases which couio to us are of 
long standing, and the chances for a radical 
and permanent cure are just sn far remote. 
That Compound Oxygen benefits, or cures, so 
largo a proportion of these, is often as much a 
surprise to ourselves as our patients. If, on 
the first well-defined symptoms of this disease, 
a resort is had to Compound Oxygen, we. know 
from over twelve, years' experience in a large 
number of cases, that its progress can be ar¬ 
rested: and we also know that even al ter the 
disease has made serious inroads upon the ays 
tern, it can he held in check in a very large 
percentage of cases, and the patient restored 
to a con lit ion of comparative good health. 
In proof of this, we have already laid be¬ 
fore the i ublic a very large number of testi¬ 
monials from consumptive patients who have 
come under our treatment during the past 
twelve years, and who have realized in their 
own persons the value of Compound Oxygen 
in arresting disease and giving back to the 
enfeebled life-forces their lost vitality*. 
As honest and conscientious physlclaus we 
present this matter to the public. Being in 
possession of the Only Medicament yet known 
to exist ■ m which any sure reliance in Pul¬ 
monary diseases can be placed, we use the press 
as the best and most available means of giving 
to the world the widest possible knowledge of 
the fact. To all who desire to have more defi¬ 
nite information, and such evidence as cannot 
fail to remove all doubt, we will send proofs 
of results which are open to the closest scru¬ 
tiny aud the amplest verification 
To those who wish to inform Ihemselvjs iu 
regard to this new Treatment, we will send, 
free of cost, our “Treatise on Compound Oxy¬ 
gen," and our pamphlet containing over fifty 
“ Unsolicited Testimonials also “ Health 
and Life," our Quarterly Record of Coses and 
Cures, under the Compound Oxygen Treat¬ 
ment, in which will be found, as reported by 
patients themselves, and open for verification, 
more remarkable results in a single period of 
three months than all the medical journals of 
the United States can show in a year. 
Drs. STARKEY & PAlEN, 
1109 and 1111 Girard St., 
Philadelphia, Pa.. 
SCROFULA, 
ami nil scrofulous diseases. Sores, Erysipelas, Ecze¬ 
ma, Blotches, Ringworm, Tumors Carbuncles, Boils, 
and Eruptions of the Skin, ure the direct result of an 
impure state of the blood. 
To cure these diseases the blood must be purllled, 
and restored to a healthy aud natural condition. 
»v tit's .Saus.u*auilla bus for over forty years been 
recognized by eminent medical authorities as the 
most powerful blood puriller In existence. It frees 
the system from all foul humors, enriches aud 
strengthens the blood, removes nil traces of mercu¬ 
rial treatment, and proves Itself a complete master 
of all scrofulous diseases. 
A Recent Cur*? of Scrofulous Sores. 
“Some months ago l was troubled with scrofulous 
sores (ulcers) ou my legs. The limbs were badly swol¬ 
len ami Inflamed, and the sores discharged large 
iiunntiticN of offensive matter. Every remedy 1 tried 
failed, until I used Avan's sarsaparilla, of which I 
huve now taken three bottles, with the result that 
the sores are healed, and my general health greatly 
Improved. I feel very grateful for the good your 
meuielne has done me. Yours respectfully, 
“ Alas. Ann O’BWAN. 
1 148 Sullivan Street, AV.io Vo/ A, June tl, 
Ayer’s Sarsaparilla 
stimulates and regulates the aellou of the digestive 
and assimilative organs, renews and strengthens the 
vital forces, and speedily cures Rheumatism Catarrh, 
Neuralgia, Jlheumatie e/out, General hehiutu, and all 
diseases arising from nti Impoverished or corrupted 
condition of the blood, aud a weakened vitality. 
It Is Incomparably the. cheapest blood medicine, on 
account of Us couceiurat«?d streugtli, and great power 
over disease. 
PREFARED BY 
Dr. J.C. AYER & Co., Lowell,Mass. 
Sold by all Druggists. Price $1; six bottles 
for $5. 
CATARRH 
Itr.mrliiiiN, AMhiim, 
ami DclI lies* rurrd at 
I i/ourhutnr Clmrtimprove 
■melitsinfide In past three 
years,and wonderful enri'H after others failed, find 
dues wanted. IIO.HK TUHATJIENT wnf 
on Inal. Send for circulars. Advice I' I.' I'll. 
J. BRICK MILLER, M. I?.. 15 N. uih St-. Pin la. Pa. 
AGENTS 
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worth #10 free. RIDEOUT ft OO. 
10 Barclay 8k, New York. 
