0 
«0V 25 
£cx i\)t Piling. 
HISTORY OF A GOVERNMENT 
DOLLAR. 
UNCLE MARK. 
There are probably none of my young 
friends who have not seen a “ greenback” dol¬ 
lar, but there are many, without doubt, who 
have never heard how it was made. The 
paper on which the national securities are 
printed is manufactured now in New Eng¬ 
land, and the peculiar fiber which is seen on 
the right hand end of a note is what so much 
puzzles counterfeiters. But let us pass at once 
to the Bureau of Priuting and Engraving. 
Here about900 persons are employed, of whom 
about 600 are women or girls. The depart¬ 
ment is divided into various sections, the 
workers in each attending to only one of the 
many processes through which the bill passes 
before it comes out a neat, crisp note. The 
utmost care is taken that there shall be no 
losses, either from accident or theft. Should 
a single sheet he missing the printer isobliged 
to satisfactorily account for it before leaving 
the building. 
The first process in the printing is to give 
the face of the bill an impression without the 
red stamp or seal, and after this has been done 
the bills are removed to a drying room where 
they are allowed to remain two or three dayB. 
When they are sufficiently dry the red seal is 
printed upon them, and the back is also im¬ 
pressed. After all tbe impressions are made 
the bills go into the examining room, where 
women note any defects there may be in the 
work. Then others cut them ; others count 
them and do them up in packages ready for 
the vaults. It would be of little use for any 
oue to try to “ break in and steal” from these 
great vaults. An immense iron door is the 
only entrance, and this door is worked by a 
combination lock which it requires three men 
to operate. 
The rapidity with which the bills are count¬ 
ed by some of the “ counters,” who are gener¬ 
ally ladies, is simply marvelous. There is one 
lady there, it is said, who can count at the 
rate of ISO notes per minote, {hat is, three 
each second, which is wonderful indeed. 
Tbe sheets are all printed from steel plates, 
which are engraved in five different styles, 
viz., the script, the ornamental work near the 
figure, representing the denomination; the let¬ 
tering, the vignette aud the portrait. Each 
style of engraving is done by a separate man 
so that no one person could ever engrave a bill 
entire. Each engraver receives from Bix to 
eight dollars a day. 
1 have spoken of the impossibility almost of 
having loss by carelessness or dishonesty. Be¬ 
ginning with the men who manufacture the 
paper and ending with tbe clerk who places 
the packages in the vault, receipts most be 
given for every bill or sheet that passes 
through the workmen’s hands. So you see it 
is quite impossible for any error to be made, 
and if there is one the error can be traced to 
the one who made it. No one who works in 
that office can expect to get rich by dishonesty. 
But if we could follow the life history of a 
“ dollar ” from the time it leaves tbe vaults 
until it comes back again to another depart¬ 
ment of the Treasury an old, worn-out thing 
to be burned in the furnace and replaced by 
those which are new, what a story it might 
tell! How miny pockets it has been in; how 
many miserly hands, how many philanthrop¬ 
ic ones, have held it; how it has been jum¬ 
bled with thousands of others in the treasu¬ 
ries of the rich, and how it has been fondly 
cherished by the unfortunate poor, perhaps, 
for the lime being as the only dollar they 
have in the wide world! So from hand to 
hand it goes, paying for good things and pay¬ 
ing for bad until, having fully accomplished 
the purpose for which it was made, it is de- 
bti\ yed by authority and replaced by one 
that is new. 
YOUNG QUERIST. 
J. A R, Monroe, N. C., wants a recipe for 
tannine light skins. 
Ans —We give the following, which is said 
to answer the purpose admirably:—To ten 
gallons of soft, wauu water, add one-half 
bushel bran with agitation. Let stand in a 
warm room until it ferments, then add seven 
pounds of salt, stir until dissolved; then aid, 
slowly, two and one half pounds of sulphuric 
acid, stirring all the time; handle hides until 
salinated; let remain from four to 12 hours, 
P. M., Malone, N. Y .. wants to know if raw 
chestnuts are injurious to one’s health. 
Ans. —We have heard of instances where 
persons have died from over-eating of raw 
chestnu's. They are certainly not easily 
digested. Tbe better way is to roast or boil 
them. Eaten in moderate quantities we do 
not know that raw chestnuts are particularly 
injurious to one’s health. 
J. A. M., Halcotville, N. Y., asks: 1, where 
he can get Robinson’s Progressive Arith¬ 
metic. 2, which is the best treatise on Botany, 
and where can it be obtained. 
Ans.— 1. At any good bookstore. 2. Gray’s 
is probably the best work on Botany, and can 
be obtained at any town or city bookstore. 
S. R., Clarence Center, N. ¥., asks if the 
flower seeds of the regular distribution will be 
sent to all subscribers or only to those who 
apply. 
Ans.—T he whole seed distribution will be 
sent only to those who apply and send six 
cents for postage. 
S. O. L., Jerome. Neb., asks if it hurts onions 
to be frozen. 
Ans,—T he freezing does not injure them, 
providing they are not allowed to thaw 
and then freeze again. It is (he alternate 
thawing aud freezing which is injurious. 
E. M. T.fCornn.'all, Out., asks if it is natural 
for fuchsias and petunias to grow straight up. 
Axs - If you mean are they erect growing 
iu distinction from “creepers,” we answer it 
is natural for them to grow erect. 
♦ ««- 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Uncle Mark I have heen thinking of a 
new plan to encourage the members of the 
Horticultural Club to write. Suppose you 
offer a prize to the one who writes the most 
letters that are printed iu the iiURAL during 
the year. Also, a prize to the oue w ho writes 
the most letters for the waste-basket. Also, 
to the one who speaks first and best in all the 
Di.'Cussions. The prizes need not be costly 
ones. You know that a yard of ribbon goes a 
long way with a little girl, and a jack-knife 
fiLlsa little boy’s eye “clear up.” The name 
of winning a prize goes with them dowm the 
pathway of life. Here are a few lines which 
I dedicate: 
TO MY RURAL COUSIN MAGGIE. 
Do you dream I hat earth holds some sacred spot- 
Sonic place more favored than your humble lot. 
Some lund that Is free from sorrow aud from woe, 
Where weary ones may rest thel ng day through ? 
Think you that other beings are now abiding there, 
Have left all trials, and now ure free from care ? 
And are you thinking that their sun stBnds still, 
And every thought and wish Is answered to their w 111. 
Fair dreamer, awake! there's no haven here below, 
This earth holds no resting place Quite free from woe; 
Each bod v bears a palll that tbe soul must carry thro’, 
Each climate has its plagues; all nature seems untrue. 
There Is uothing true but Heaven, so dream away to¬ 
day ! 
And call that Heaven down to you, to rest you on the 
way. 
Encircle round your home a heaven of quiet thought, 
Then will you feel assured *twa» heaven that you 
sought. Helen Leiekai. 
[I will consider your suggestions.—U. M.] 
Uncle Mark I hardly know what to say 
about my garden this year. The fact is. if I 
say very little it w ill about fit the size of what 
I got from it. I think if it could have been 
planted early It would have done much better, 
but the season was late, and when plants 
should have been growing most rapidly the 
drought checked them. But I am much bet¬ 
ter off than others whose lauds lay on high 
ground aud whose crops amounted to nothing. 
My potatoes gave about a quarter of what 
they ought, and other vegetables were about 
the same. Fruit has also been very poor; ap¬ 
ples and pears are exceedingly wormy, and 
peaches in this vicinity were nipped complete¬ 
ly by frosts. Our (Juthbert Raspberries did 
splendidly, aud have spread over quite a plot 
of ground. Grapes also did well. The crop 
will he considerably larger than it was last 
season if the early frosts are not too severe. 
On the whole, I think this has been decidedly 
an off year for gardening. 
Your nephew, C. A Buttekworth. 
DearUnclk Mark:— It has been nearly a 
year since I wrote to you before, so I thought 
I would write now. 1 have written twice be 
fore Lut 1 guess my letters reached the waste 
basket. I planted quite a few flower seeds 
and 1 had a nice flower garden. The only 
vegetables I had were tbe watermelons, one 
Gem Squash and a row of pop corn. I have 
just been reading the Rural. Thanks for 
the watermelon seeds you sent me. I planted 
six, but only three came up; they grow 
splendidly. We have four canary birds, two 
young ones and two old ones There were 
six, but we sold one pair. 1 think a badge 
would be very uiee f< r the Club members. I 
would like to try huckleberry planting but 
huckleberries do not grow here. I have been 
on two ixcursif ns ibis Summer and enjoyed 
them very much. Your uiece, 
Cornwall, Ontario. Ella M. Turner. 
Dear Uncle Mahk:—1 received six water- 
melcn fftds ai d planted them in a well- 
manured hill 1 used Crocker’s phosphate. 
Only two of the seeds germinated, which pro¬ 
duced four melons. The largest one weighed 
12 pounds one ounce, and the combined 
weight was 27 pounds one ounce. As the 
season was backward I could not send in my 
report before. Your niece, 
I Clinton Co., Mich. Zonah Rowley. 
*•>*> 
PROFESSOR 
? y0SPIM77 C 
SMING 1 
POWDER 
Made from Professor Horsford’s Acid 
Phosphate. 
Recommended by leading physicians. 
Makes lighter biscuit, cakes, etc., and 
is healthier than ordinary Raking Pow¬ 
der, 
In cans. Sold at a reasonable price. 
The Horsford Almanac and Cook Book 
sent free. 
llutnford Chemical Works, Providence, R. I. 
H. rtf. ANTHONY, Ag’t 100 and 102 Reade St., N. Y 
WELLS, RiCHARbsON A CO’S 
IMPROVED 
BUTTER COLOR 
) A MEW DISCOVERY. 
I fWFor several years wo have furnished the 
P Dairymen of America with an excellent arti- 
> (trial color for butter; 8” meritorious that It met 
| with great success everywhere receiving tho 
[highest and only prizes at Loth International 
x Dairy Fairs. 
| by patient audseientifle chemical re¬ 
search we hove improved in several points, and 
know oiler this new color ns the bent in the world. 
. It Will Mot Colortbe Buttermilk. It 
I Will Not Turn Rancid. It Is the 
| Strongest, Brightest and 
Cheapest Color Made, 
( And, while prepared in oil, Is so compound 
*eii that it Is Impossible lor ii to become rancid. 
1 LFTBEWARE of all imitations and of all 
[other oil. colors, for they are liable to become 
[rancid and spoil.the batter, 
f ra*lf von cannot got the “improved” write us 
► to know where aud how to gel it without extra 
1 expense. ( 16 ) 
WI-U.S, KUII.UUISOX A- to., Ilurlliigton, Tt. { 
AYER’S 
AGUE CURE 
IS WARRANTED to cure all cases of malarial 
disease, such as Fever and Ague, Intermittent or Chill 
Fever, Remittent Fever, Dumb Ague, Bilious Fever 
and Liver Complaint. In case of failure, after due 
trial, dealers are authorized by our circular of July 
1st, 1882, to refund the money. 
Dr. J. C. AYER & CO., Lowell, Mass. 
Sold bv all Druggists. 
CATARRH 
Bronchitis, As'limn, 
I and DcufliesM rurtul at 
t/ourhome. Great Hr 1 d ove, 
merits made iu past three 
years,and wonderful cures afterothers failed. Hud 
cases wanted. HOME TREATMENT sent 
on trial. Bond for circulars. Advice FREE. 
J. PRICE MILLER, M. D.,x S N. inh St., Pliila. Pa. 
^ubUcatious. 
IADIES 
OF 
THE 
W—H 
OUSE 
TheONLYBOOK B • of the kind - "everpub'd 
NEW EDITION 
of the White Home, witfo View a of many c.r the nomes of tho 
Presidents. This 1* the most salable book published. Agents 
wanted—send for Circulars, with full particulars, to 
BRADLEY & CO. 66 N. 4th St. Philad’a. 
A HISTORY of every Ad- 
ministration from Washing, 
with over *20 8ctt»l Portraits Of LoiUea 
Ii 
<3jbiEAE* 
NEWKPAI’liK-v AND MAGAZINE*. 
Send O cents for catalogue of s.ikki newspapers 
id magazines at Agents Lowest Club Rates. 
Ageuls want eil at every P.«». 
H. A KEN VON! KM.. Dwight, 111. _ 
AMERICAN 
COMPOSER . 
As regards musical compositions of note, America 
Is undoubtedly young. A great deal has, however, 
during tbe last few > ear j, been accomplished. The 
following are all by native composers: 
Zenobia. <93.00) By S. G. Pratt. 
A grand opera of touch merit. 
6t. Peter. (*1.60) By J. K. Paine. 
A well known Oratorio. 
Redemption llymu. (80 cts,) By J. C. D. Parker. 
A abort, but complete aud Impressive work. 
Christmas. (Wets ) By A. C. Umtcrson. 
A sacred Cuu'ftta for Christmas time. 
Fall of Jerusalem. (80 CM,) By H E. Parkhurst. 
Alt Impressive and musical Cantata. 
4tith Psalm (SOets.) By Dudley Buck. 
A Hrst-claas sacred composition 
Praise to God. (#2 00.) lty G. F. Bristow. 
AfiOratorlo. Noble words and music. 
Itelslia.zznv. (#1.00) By J. A. But ter Held. 
Grand and beautiful acculc Cantata. 
J oseph’s Hondo tie- (#1-00) By J. M. Chadwick. 
A apteucHd oriental sacred Cantata. 
Christ the Lord. (SOcts.) By VV. Williams. 
Easy Cnristniiis Cuntatn. 
Don rtluuio. (Si 91.) Bv Dudley Buck. 
A legend of ihe crusaders. Set to music. 
Picnic. (St.00.) By J. R. Thomas. 
will do (ln-doors) for a Winter concert. 
New Flower Queen (75 cts ) By o. K. Root. 
New arrangement fora famous Cantata. 
Burning Ship (60 cts ) and Sstorin KitiK(88cts 
By B. F. Baser. Easy aud striking Cantatas. 
OLIVER DITSON & CO., Boston. 
OHAS. H. D1TSON (t CO., 818 Broadway, New York. 
-ill 
- 2.1 
^CHEAPEST AND BEST. 
PETERSON’S 
MAGAZINE. 
JANUARY NUMBER NOW READY. 
ATTENTION, 
FARMERS! 
SUN I > FOE A SPECIMEN OCPY OF 
THE OHIO FARMER, FREE. 
The oldest, largest, mm rnrsrprlalng, reliable and 
va.unblengr.cultural, live Stock and Family Weekly 
la the count: y. (Established 85 yews. 
ONE YEAR—VJ jmsiJFH-ONLY 81.Q5. 
Address - OHIO FARMER. Cleveland,O 
Great Offers for 1883 ! 
LARGE INC REASE OF PAGES 
C3f“ A Supflemest will be aivon in every num¬ 
ber for 1883. containing u fnli-si/.e pattern 
for a Indy’s or child's dress. JEvcry subscri¬ 
ber will receive, Uii ring tlie year, twelve of 
these patterns, worth more, alone than tbe 
subscription price._*tf 
Peterson’s MauazinkIs the best and cheapest of 
the ladles'books. It gives more for me money, und 
combines greater merits, tU>n any Other. But In 1883 
It will be greatly Improved; though already It has the 
REST STEEL ENGRAVINGS, 
BEST COLORED FASHIONS, 
REST DRESS PATTERNS, 
BEST ORIGINAL STORIES, 
BEST WORK-TABLE PATTERNS, 
BE*T MUSIC, ETC., ETC. 
Its Immense circulation and long-established repu¬ 
tation enable Its proprietor to distance all competi¬ 
tion. A ii ew feature has recently been introduced in 
a series at 
SPLENDIDLY ILLUSTRATED ARTICLES 
The stories, novelties, etc.. In “ Peterson ” lire ad¬ 
mitted to be the best published. All rlie most pop¬ 
ular female writers contribute to It. The superb 
Colored Steel Fashion Plates 
In "Peterson” are ahead of all others. These plates 
are engraved on steel. TWICE Tins r.-L'.vt. wzk Also, 
Household und other receipts; articles on Art, Em¬ 
broidery, Flower Culture—everything interesting to 
Ladles. 
TERMS (Always In Advance), 82.00 A YEAR. 
CjT UNPARALLELED OFFERS TO <.'LUBS._j£3 
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the person getting up the Club, 
With bo I It au extra copy of 
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large Stool engraving, or either 
of the Albums, to the person get- 
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For Larger Clubs still Greater inducements. 
Address, postpaid, 
CHARLES J. PETERSON, 
300 Chest u hi St., Philadelphia i’n. 
Specimens sent gratis, If written for, to get up clubs 
with. 
2 Copies for *3.50 
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We want an Agent fix every town; Send fur circulars, 
terms, and agency to American Publishing Co.. 
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MASISImtu STOCK-BOOK 
