JAN.24 
HUairhtg fat t|e |oung. 
THE KELSEY PRINTING PRESS. 
Here Is a premium that the young people will 
regard with great favor, and they will he entirely 
Justified In doing so. It Is a complete printing- 
press, In a small way, and we selected It as a pre¬ 
mium with a special view to please the hoys. With 
this press they can print cards, labels, addresses 
on envelopes, etc,, tor themselves and their friends, 
in any style desired. 
The Illustration shows Just what the press is. 
The bed-plate Is 3x5 Inches; that Is, anything as 
small as one line of type, or as large as a postal- 
card may bo printed, and printed well, If t he oper¬ 
ator Is expert. There are all conveniences fur¬ 
nished with the press, Including metal “ rules," 
an Inking roller, t wo boxes of Ink, one of lye, etc. 
We use one ot the presses in our otllce for small 
work, and it suits us exactly so far. The price or 
the press Is *1U. We offer It to anybody who will 
send us a club of eighteen subscribers, it Is made 
by Kelsey & Co., Meriden, Conn. 
-- 
THE FRUIT GROWER’S FAMILY. 
Exltier’* School of Pels 
KEV. 1IKNKT B. 0I.U1IB. 
As stated In my first article on “ The Fruit 
Grower’s Family,” Esther Invited me to witness 
the performances of her School ot Pets, and as all 
young people of refined t aste, take delight In pets 
of some kind, 1 will now tell you what l saw In a 
recent visit to this happy lamlly. The weather 
being loo cold for the school of pets to be held in 
the opeu air, where It Is usually held Saturday af¬ 
ternoons, Esther, knowing my desire to see he 
school in session, arranged to hold it In a room 
which had recently been added to the house tor 
an office, as her lather had been elected Township 
Treasurer, and lie would require a place where to 
transact the business. He had not yet occupied 
it for this purpose, and there was nothing la the 
way of Esther usiugU for her exhibition or pets. 
The scholars were a cat, a sky terrier, a parrot 
a large-tailed squirrel, and a chlpmunck. All 
these she had been training so as to be ou friendly 
relations with each other, tu subdue their uaturul 
tendency and control their conduct In each other’s 
company so as to abolish all fear on the one hand 
and ferocity and cruelty on the other. 
Esther arranged two chairs about six feet apart, 
at one end of the room, the backs towards each 
other, on the tops or which rested a heavy pole. 
On one chair sat the squirrel and on the other the 
cblpmuuk which was her newest scholar, having 
been caught last, on the tloor on one side was 
the terrier and on the other side or the floor, the 
cat, while the parrot sat, ou a cross perch slauding 
In front. 
Several other friends were present to witness the 
performancesand we, the visitors, sat at theotber 
end of the room. Esther whispered something to 
the parrot who Immediately repeated In a loud 
sharp tone the order: “Chippy run up.” The 
chipmunk was a little disconcerted and did not at 
first notice the order. 'Ihe parrot Immediately 
cried In a loud voice, “ Chippy run up l” so sharp 
and slii’l 11 was this said that the poor little timid 
chipmunk Immediately ran up the buck or the 
chair and across on the pole, lie reached the op¬ 
posite chair and looking down saw his rival, the 
large-tailed squirrel awaiting orders. The parrot 
then acting under the orders ot Esther cried out. 
“ Noddy jump up,” and Immediately the squirrel 
was up on the cross pole. Quick as lightning Chippy 
made way for his friend Neddy, by swinging under 
the pole, aud Neddy reached the other end quicker 
than we could write the fact even Inshore hand. 
Then both squirrels ran towards oath other meet¬ 
ing at the couter of the pole, and this time Neddy 
swung under aud let Chippy run over. They con¬ 
tinued to repeat, this operation running backwards 
and forwards on the pole and alternately running 
over each other and making way by swinging un¬ 
der with great rapidity. Esther said It had been 
very difficult so teach them thus to pass each oilier 
on the pole as at first, wheu they met they used to 
quarrel as to which should go under. They at 
last settled on this plan of taking turns and since 
then they had not quarrelled. They then stood 
side by side on the pole making bows 1 o the com¬ 
pany who lurulshed them with an ample Bupply 
ot ground nuts which they dexterously caught, 
running down each time to his own chair to de¬ 
posit each nut caught, lu a little box placed there 
for the purpose. 
When his part of the performance was over, the 
parrot said “ Well done, Neddy. Well done, chip¬ 
py, you may now eat some or your nuts, but don't 
forget poor Poll.” At tills Instant Neddy came to 
the centre of the pole and politely handed a nut 
which was takeu by the parrot with a *' Thank 
you, Neddy.” Then, Chippy, not to be outdone in 
politeness repeated the operation whuff seemed to 
please Folly very much as she literally screamed 
her gratitude. 
The dog and the cat had all this time been quietly 
watching what was going on and awaiting their 
turn In the performance. The parrot now alter 
receiving a hint from Esther, gave an order to the 
cat “ Puss you fetch your chickens." Puss looked 
towards a basket at the corner of the room and at 
this moment the lid of the basket was removed, 
probably by a string, one end of which was held by 
Esther’s little brother, Harry, who was fond or 
playing this little trick, when out, Jumped halt a 
dozen chickens about half grown or size ot ban¬ 
tams. Puss walked lazily tow ards them and they 
Immediately surrounded her. one. a young 
rooster, more daring than t he rest. Jumped on her 
head and made a most ludicrous attempt at crow¬ 
ing. One of the pullets COUght pussy by the tail, 
aud the others peeked at her without hurting, Just 
to show the exuberance of their joy. Puss stood it 
with the greatest composure, and made no effort to 
check the enthusiasm of the reception, but seemed 
rather to enjoy it. Polly was greatly excited to see 
this performance, and so Indeed were all the spec¬ 
tators, who inquired of Esther how she had man¬ 
aged to make the cat and the chickens such good 
friends. 
Esther explained that the chickens, when quite 
young, lost thptr hen-mother and she had brought 
them In to take care of them, and as Pass had 
recently lost her kittens, she immediately con¬ 
ceived the Idea of letting the Cut foster the 
chickens. Puss was not adverse to this and had 
brought them up tenderly and kindly, never once 
attempting tolujureorklll them, and they, In their 
turn, had learned to treat the eat us tlietr mother. 
They had now become so big that they did not 
need her care, so they simply played when they 
met, from old acquaintance. Several ot the brood 
had died irom getting smothered under pussey’s 
Bottfur, literally killed with kindness, and only six 
rematued of the ten hatched. When the chickens 
were making towards the door, Polly called to 
prince, the dog, w ith a kind of whistle, and Prince 
sprang up aud prevented their escape by placing 
blinaeU' near the door until It was closed. Esther 
said she had trained Prluce to keep the school to¬ 
gether and to keep off Intruding dogs or eats when 
the school was held out doors, os It Is In warm 
weather. 
In the evening we had a pleasant time with the 
Fruit Grower's family. At supper there were four 
kinds of canned or preserved fruit, peaches, quin¬ 
ces, raspberries and cherries, and we found that 
both Amy and Esther had learned Lo do the can¬ 
ning and preserving. 
The conversation related to a great many sub¬ 
jects. Esther told us how she had trained her pets 
by t reating them kindly, she- had, when in New 
York, heard a good deal of the “Happy Family," 
which Burnum used to exhibit at the Museum on 
Broadway, and thought she would see If creatures 
of such different disposition could be trained to 
live happily together, and although It required 
great perseverance, she had succeeded bet ter than 
she had ever expected, she had also preserved 
accounts cut from the newspapers or extraordinary 
freaks with domestic animals, where the young 
of one had been taken care ot by the maternal In¬ 
stinct of auendrely different specie and even of 
antagonistic dispositions. These accounts she 
had made a collection ot lu her scrap book, ami 
now had over a hundred different Incidents shew¬ 
ing both intelligence and affection In domesticated 
animals, some of which would be creditable to the 
higher order that claims to monopolize the wisdom 
of creation. 
The crop of fruit this season was exceedingly 
good and the Fruit Grower's Family were hap¬ 
pily In uenjoying Intelligent pursuits uurlng fall 
and winter, the ample reward of their well 
directed industry during tffopiprUig and summer 
mouths. Amy was making good progress with her 
bi a anlcal studies aud school, and Johu was pre¬ 
paring a large number of gratis to plaut Lu the 
spring In his nursery, having been encouraged 
by the success of his Hist efforts. 
♦ ♦ V- - - 
THE STORY OF AN OWL. 
In some places lu England there exists a cruel 
custom which shows not only Ignorance, but In¬ 
gratitude. l mean the custom ol farmers and 
others who null alive on the door any owls that 
come In their way. In this, they not only commit 
a cruel action, but they also deprive themselves of 
a friend, who rids the fields and gardens of de¬ 
structive Insects and vermin. 
one day, wl en ou an excursion in the neighbor¬ 
hood or Windsor, 1 found an owl fastened up to a 
baru door, which seemed to be at. the point of 
death, tor It had been there t w o days without lood, 
and both its wings were pierced through with 
large nulla. 1 wanted tu Lake the jioor thing 
down from Its gibbet, but the farmer came running 
up to stop me, 
At length I persuaded him lo let me have the 
bird. 1 set to work lo release tbe owl, who, not 
understanding my charitable Intentions, scratched 
my hand severely with Its claws. The tarmerwent 
away laughing, which did nut hinder me from 
drawing out the nails and delivering the poor bird 
which i put lu my handkerchief. After this I laid 
it on the grass, and poured down its throat a few 
drops of water, which appeared to refresh It. 
It seemed to understand my good Intentions 
towards it, tor It soon allowed me to touch It with¬ 
out moving. 1 washed Its wounds and wrapped up 
lla right wing, which was broken, with a bandage 
made at the expense of my homtkerehiel. The 
owl,Its eyes bloodshot through suffering aud lever, 
regarded me with much surprise. I went to a tree 
and shook down a lot ol Insects, whlcn I offered to 
the Owl, who gobbled them up greedily, and then 
1 returned home with tuy singular acquisition. 
It was a female, stUl young, of the common tribe 
generally known as the barnowl. lted and brown 
Characterized its plumage, its breast was shaded 
with red, getting more brown as It descended. The 
tall, too, was reddish aud covered With hands of a 
deeper hue. 
Duriug this examination, the poor bird got out 
of its banket and hopped with difficulty ou to the 
back of my arm chair. Having Installed Itself 
~ comfortably, It began to arrange Its disordered 
plumes and looked at me fondly with great eyes, 
whose pupils kept dilating as the shades of evening 
drew on. I went up to her and stroke her gently 
on the back, she recelved-the caress with an evi¬ 
dent satisfaction, and returned It by rubbing her 
head gently on the back of my hand. From that 
time a compact ot friendship was made between us 
and Strtx—for I gave her the ornithological name 
—soon became to me a tender and faithful com¬ 
panion. She never failed, when I opened my win¬ 
dow In the morning, to fly out for a few minutes, 
and returning to my dressing room, dabbled with 
deligUl In a basinful of water, and took the great¬ 
est pal us with her toilet. She then proceeded to 
breakfast on Insects produced by the gardener, and 
Borne times pieces of fresh meat. Then she used 
to taka her accustomed place on my arm-chair. 
Prom this post she followed my slightest move¬ 
ments and lent the greatest attention when 1 
wrote. If I got up, she leaped on my shoulder and 
accompanied me. If I was obliged to go out, she 
used to put her head between her wings, but 
directly I returned would overwhelm me with signs 
of joy. 
Although her broken wing would uot allow her 
to fly long distances, Ktrlx, especially on fine even- 
lugs, U3ed lo allow horselt airy excursions to t he 
roofs ol neighboring houses and back. On one 
occasion she did not return until next morning. 
From this time she became restless and feverish, 
no longer sleeping during the day, as her custom 
used to be. 
one evening I caught her breaking up my waste 
paper basket, which she carried away piece by 
piece. Then she commenced her nocturnal ex¬ 
cursions, which she prolonged into the next day 
and did not return tor her rood until the evening 
aud then disappeared 
This manner ot proceeding made me curious. 
After two or three days’ watching, 1 discovered 
that she u-sed to take refuge In a neighboring gar¬ 
den. One morning at break ol day, I saw sulx 
going across the trees towards a ruined tower. I 
gained the summit by some broken steps, and, to 
my delight, beheld Strix offering H orn the food she 
had got from my house, mouthfuls to lour little 
blrdllngs covered with down, who opened their 
yellow and insatiable mouths to their wildest ex¬ 
tent. 
The fugitive was not at all startled at seeing me 
at her nest. She continued her distribution peace¬ 
fully without ruffling herself. Thl3 duty fulfilled, 
she raised her head soltly, and turned on me her 
great, golden eyes, full of tenderness. 
From that time I regularly carried to the young 
mother such scraps as l knew she liked. Soon 
the little ones recognized my steps and noisily 
hailed my arrival. 
The husband himself, reassured by my Inten¬ 
tions, acquiesced In the amiable compact which 
bound me to the raiully, and every morning we all 
seven fraternized with a friendliness with which, I 
was not a little touched. 
T II E 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
For 18 8 0. 
SHOW IT TO YOUR NEIGHBORS. 
SEND FOR SPECIMEN COPIES. 
They will be forwarded free. Premium 
Supplement (Illustrated) will also be 
forwarded free to applicants. Our Seed 
and Plant Supplement will also be for¬ 
warded free to applicants. 
A Remarkable iucrease of Circu¬ 
lation up to date. 
A General Recognition of the 
Rural New-Yorker’s Ser¬ 
vices to the Country 
during 1879. 
THE REWARD OF DOWNRIGHT, 
HONEST, EARNEST WORK. 
Special numbers devoted to Wheat, Veg¬ 
etables, Small Fruits, Crop Pros¬ 
pects, &c., &e., to be presented 
during the year 1880. 
JdfeaP Farmers, Gardeners, Fruit- 
Growers, Dairymen ! You 
cannot afford to do with¬ 
out the RURAL. NEW- 
YORKER for this 
Year! ! 
IT IS FEARLESS, CONSCIEN¬ 
TIOUS AND ALIVE !! 
SUBSCRIBE 3MOW. 
One day, to my great astonishment, I found all six 
Installed in my library. Although sensible of thlB 
proof of their affection and confidence, l must 
confess 1 felt somewhat embarrassed. Neverthe¬ 
less, I thought It. only honorable to fulfill the 
duties of hospitality aud served my guests with 
meat, cut lu strips arul a piece of beef that my 
cook was going to roast for my dinner the next 
day. My six guests having finished all 1 had to 
give them, the father aud Ills four children began 
to flap their wings, a sign of their departure, and 
flew away, leaving strtx with me, who. from that 
time, resumed her old habits, as If she had never 
left them. 
One day, as I came home about one clock, I 
heard up stairs some most discordant cries, which 
made themselves heard in the court. I ran up 
stall’s aud opening my wtodow saw poor Strtx on 
the balcony assailed bj^nundreds of sparrows. 
They attacked her with great blows and tore out 
her feathers without their victim (who was blinded 
by the sun, which struck right, on the window) 
trying even to repel them, or defend herself. 
My presence put the little army to illgflt, and I 
took In the wounded owl, who did uot recover her¬ 
self lor lull an hour afterwards. 
Htrlx lived many years after this. She met with 
several adveut.urea, the chief or which was her 
being stolen from a stone coping where she was 
very fond of taking a nap. 
1 suppose the man who look her had been pre¬ 
pared beforehand and haa thrown a sack over her 
head, or else she would have been sure to have 
given the alarm. Alter some days’ non-appear- 
unec, 1 thought her gone torever, aud 1 do not 
think I should have seen her again, but that 1 
happened lo walk shortly after wards through 
Leadenhall market. I thought I heard a familiar 
shriek and sure enough, there she was lu a cage 
outside a shop. I went Into thoHhop and putsome 
questions to the man, who, however, asserted he 
knew nothing about it, It was offered to him by a 
very respectable muu, and that he gave a great 
deal for it, die. So, finding I could get nothing out 
of him, I bought her and took her home. 
The following writers—the most dis 
tinguished iu the country — will con¬ 
tribute to our columus during this year : 
Prof. S. W. Johnson, 
“ G. C. Caldwell, 
“ Thomas Meehan, 
Gov. Robt. W. Furnas, 
Prof. E. VV. Stewart, 
Wtn. J. Beal, 
Pres. T. T. Lyon, 
Charles Downing, 
Prof. R C. Carpenter, 
D. E. Salmou, D. V. M 
Prof. G. E. Morrow, 
“ Elbrldge Gale, 
Sec. C. W. Garfield. 
Rev. R. H. Crane, 
O. S. Bliss. 
Prof. A. E. Blouut, 
Dr. A. R. Ledoux, 
M. B. Batcham, 
Dr. Juo. A. Warder, 
Lester A. Koberts, 
L. S. Hardin, 
Kev. L. J. Templiu, 
W. I. Chamberlain, 
Jonathan Talcot, 
S. B. Peck, 
A. M. Halstead, 
S. Rufus Masou, 
G. Marti, 
Prof. Levi Stockbrldge 
H. L. Wysor, 
T. L. Miller, 
A. B. Allen, 
Prof. F. H. Storer, 
“ E. M. Sheldon, 
Heury Stewart, 
Prof. L. B. Arnold, 
Dr. J. B. Lawes, 
Prof. I, P. Roberts, 
Gen. Wm. H. Noble, 
Col. F. D. Curtis, 
B. Pickiuau Mann, 
J Samuel B. Parsons, 
Samuel Parsous, Jr., 
Col. M. C. Weld, 
T. H. Hoskins. M.B., 
Dr. F. M. Hexamer, 
Prof. A. J. Cook, 
W. J. Fowler, 
Geo. Such, 
M. Oakey, A. M., 
Prof. S. M. Tracy, 
E. Williams, 
I William Falconer, 
Richard Goodman, 
James Taplin, 
Jno. T. Lovett, 
Forrest K. Moreland, 
Lorenzo Rouse, 
W. C. L Drew, 
| M. B. Prince, 
Nelson Ritter, 
Henry Hales, 
J. B. Armstrong, 
P.J. Berckmaus, 
And not less than 250 Others! 
Strlx gradually grew older and more Infirm, un- 
U1 at last, one mortdug, on entering my library, I 
missed her from her old perch, and presently, to 
my great grief, round her by the fire-place, 
stretched out—dead! Few cau Imagine how much 
we relt the loss of our affectionate aud falthrul old 
friend.— Cottager and ArUzan. 
History of a Poor Farm, Jottings at 
Kirby Homestead, Notes from the 
Rural Grounds and Rural Farm, 
Portraits and Biographies of 
Distinguished Men will 
be continued. 
Drak Uncus Mask:— I would like so much to 
Join your Horticultural Club. It I am not too 
young, will you please put my name down on 
your list. I am only seven years old but t go to 
school, and 1 love flowers very much. Mother has 
some nice plants m the windows. In the sum¬ 
mer 1 have a little flower garden myself, l am 
afraid ibis Ls loo long already. I hope all my 
Rural Cousins will read this, aud It you ever come 
to Kansas, Uocle Mark, do come aud see us. 
From your Uttle neioe, Guacie Dille. 
Johnson Co., Kansas. 
[Thanks, Grade, I wUl try to remember your 
invitation when 1 go to Kansas.— U. M.j 
SPECIALTIES OF RARE VALUE 
ARE IN PREPARATION. 
Price, Two Dollars per Year. 
IT WILL SAVE YOU HUNDREDS. 
It will Make you Better and Wiser, 
and your Home Happier. 
THY IT I 
