226 
THE BUBAL f9£W-Y0BKEB. 
APRUL 3 
grafting for fljr |oung. 
CLUB NOTES. 
As announced lu the last issue of the Rural, I 
have Bout some seeds to each member of the Hor¬ 
ticultural Club. In making the selection 1 en¬ 
deavored to choose such kinds as arc of easy eul- 
ture, and therefore not liable to prove failures 
under the management of young and Inexpe¬ 
rienced gardeners. The kinds sent are, Sweet 
mignonette, Double Chinese Pink, Phlox Drum- 
mondl, Portulaca, Cockscomb, Okra and “New 
surprise” Musk Melon, The culture of Portulaca, 
Phlox Drummondl and Cockscomb has already 
been published In the articles on ilorlculture, and 
of course, learned by heart by all the members of 
the club; It will, therefore, be superfluous to say 
anything further about the culture of these flowers. 
The Double Chinese Pink should be sown in 
a box or pot at the close or March or beginning of 
April, and the plants sot out In the flower bed about 
the middle of May. The seed box can best be kept 
In a sunny window till the plants get a good start, 
but before they are planted out they must be hard¬ 
ened by removing the seed box to a sheltered 
position In the open air for some days. Sot the 
plants six Inches apart In the llowed-bed. 
Sweet Miononette (/ftwtW odorata) should be 
sown In rich ground where the plants tire to re¬ 
main. The plants will reach tuc greatest perfec¬ 
tion If the seed is sown In rows about live inches 
apart. If It Is bowu broadcast the plants must be 
thinned. One can hardly conceive of anything 
lovelier than a lew well-grown sprays of these 
humble but sweet-scented flowers. 
Okha, otGdmuo (fjitrtseu# esoulentus), Is a vege¬ 
table used In the klichon. The seed pods may be 
cooked In several ways. I will leave my Dleees to 
tell us how they should be prepared for the table, 
'i he plant Is tender, and the seed ahou Id not be 
sown till the latter part of May, north of New 
York. 11 Is one of the vegetables that are bu t sel¬ 
dom seeu In the farmer’s garden, and 1 Included It 
In this *• distribution” mainly to make tho young 
horticulturists acquainted with It. Sow In a drill 
i wo Inches deep and keep the plants about a foot 
apart In the row. But the gem of tho distribu¬ 
tion Is 
THE “ NEW SUIU'IUSH ” MUSK MELON. 
This excellent melon is entirely new and 1 wish 
all the members to give It a good trial, by which I 
mean that they should give their plants their best 
care and attention. The irull is of medium size 
with thin skin and deep salmone-jlored flesb. 
Melons will best succeed on a light somewhat 
sandy but rich soil. Make the hills tour feet apart 
each way and thoroughly mix the soli In each hill 
with a few shovelfuls of well-rotted manure, 
l’lant lour kernels lu a hill and when tho plants 
have six leaves remove the weakest one, so as to 
leave three good plants In a place. After this they 
must bo made to grow as fast as possible and a 
watering of liquid manure once a week till they 
begin to blossom will help them along wonderfully. 
Cultivate till the vines cover t he ground, and pinch 
oil' the ends of the most vigorous shoots to Induce 
them to early fruiting. Should they be attacked 
by insects sift some ashes, plaster or lime on the 
leaves while the dew Is on. 
These few, brief, general directions J trust will 
be sufllclent. All the members do not enjoy the 
same facilities for gardening, but I am sure that 
every bright, enthusiastic young gardener will 
kuow how to make tho most of Ms opportunities, 
and devise methods and means to obtain the best 
results under all circumstances. Uncle Make. 
■-♦»» ■ ■ ■ 
HOW JIP WENT TO CHURCH. 
ALICE r. ADAMS. 
suon a droll-looking little dog as Jlp was, with 
his great black eyes and shining upturned nose! 
Ill-natured or disinterested people might have 
designated him as a yellow dog, but Hatty aiflrtned 
his coat to he light huff, and where could one und 
better authority than Jip's youthful mistress? 
One pleasant Sunday morning the family were 
all ready to start on the four mile drive to church. 
“Hatty, where’s Jlp?” asked grown-up sister 
Sue. 
“ Oh, he’s out on the south veranda. I guess 
he’s asleep. 
“All right, then. Get up ponies 1” and Bert 
cracked hia whip. 
They were driving through the live-oak grove, 
about a mile trom home, when Hatty exclaimed, 
“Oh, there’s a rabbit! lie’s gone behind the 
bushes now, but you'll see him In a minute,” she 
added, as all eyes were turned In the direction 
that she pointed. The rabbit soon readied open 
ground, and was discovered to be a small dog that 
seemed very familiar to the party In the wagon. 
“ Well, 1 declare, If that Isn’t Jlp I” cried Sue. 
“ Harriet Thorpe, l thought you said he was fast 
asleep on the veranda!” 
“1 thought ho was, truly,” meekly replied 
Hatty, though she was secretly glad he had come, 
und hoped that they could not send him back. 
“ you ought to have gone and looked,” said her 
sister, severely. 
“ Never mind. I’ll call him and send him home. 
Here Jlp I Come here, sir I” taut the more Bert 
called and whistled the laster Jlp ran. 
“ Evidently he has made up Ills mind that he 
won’t come near the wagon until we have gone so 
far that he can’t be sent back,” said Mr, Thorpe 
“so wo shall have to take him along this time. 
But next Sunday, Hatty, you be sure that you 
know what you’re talking about, for I don’t want 
him to cot In the habit of following the wagon,” 
The day was warm, aud after a while master 
Jlp moderated his speed, and was content to trot 
along slowly by the horses, when he found that 
he was to make one of the company. 
“ Poor Jlppy! he looks so tired,” said his sympa¬ 
thizing mistress. “ Let’s take him into the wagon, 
for It Is a long way for such a little puppy to 
come.” 
“ No, indeed! Don’t you do It, Bert!” cried hard¬ 
hearted 8ue. “ It only servos him right lor follow¬ 
ing us, and besides, It .he Is tired, perhaps he will 
stay in the wagon and go to sleep.” ■ 
So, when they reached the church, a nice bed 
was made for Jlp on the cushions, and he was left 
with the stern Injunction to “ stay there,” and he 
“stayed—” until Ms friends disappeared within 
the church door; then down he hopped. No wagon 
for master Jlp where there were so many strange 
things to be investigated I 
Again and again they sent him back, but it was 
customary to have the door open In warm weather, 
so It was Impossible to keep him out. 
“ We’ll have to make the best of It. Go on, girls, 
he’ll be all right.” 
Bo the young people walked up In front, Jlp pat¬ 
tering after. Bert and Sue helped with the sing¬ 
ing, and Hatty played the organ. They were 
rather early. “ Come here Jlp, you cunning, little 
dog," said the fair organist to her pet In a stage 
whisper; “ hop up here on the seat and go to Bleep, 
for you’re so tired. You'll be good and go to sleep, 
won’t you, Jlppy?” 
But Jlp declined to make any promises. Ho had 
forgotten Ills fatigue and was ready for anything. 
So ho only winked hypocritically, and rubbed Ills 
left eye. 
In a few minutes a number of peopleentered the 
church, and Jlp pricked up Ids ears, slipped from 
under Hatty's detaining hand, and galloped down 
the aisle to see what all the disturbance was about. 
When his curiosity was satlslled he returned lei¬ 
surely to his seat. He repeated this performance 
ad libUuin spite of Sue’s frowns and Bert’s eflorts 
to check him. Even after the service commenced 
at every fresh arrival that ridiculous little yellow 
—I mean fM/f, Jlp would hurry to the door to see 
who had come. At last old Mr. Sterling, who 
was never known to he at church In time for the 
second hymn, was in his pew, and Jlp settled 
himself for a nap. But his sleep was of short 
duration; for as the minister became more en¬ 
gaged In his sermon lie elevated his voice until 
Its resonant tones penetrated Jip’s blumhers, and 
he woke up. 
Tho minister came forward to the front of the 
low platform on which was Ills reading-desk, and 
stood there, letting one root hang partly over the 
edge ashe went on with his discourse. Jlp noticed 
that the minister had changed his position and 
wentt.0 Investigate, notwithstanding Sue made 
a clutch at him as he hopped berore her, and Bert 
whistled under his breath for him to come back. 
Jlp saw the minister’s foot and thought It was 
extended for his beuetlt, hut as It was held per¬ 
fectly still he contented himself with snining at 
It and then looking up inquiringly into the 
speaker’s face. If this was embarrassing to the 
minister he ga.ve no outward sign, but rose higher 
and higher In a flight of eloquence until he reached 
the climax with a thundering clap 1 
His Impassioned language excited Jlp more than 
the other members of the congregation, aud as the 
gestures grew frequent and forcible the dog 
pricked up his ears, and wagged his tall vigorous¬ 
ly, making no effort to conceal his great Interest 
In what the. queer man was doing; and when the 
minister clapped his hands Jlp could restrain him¬ 
self no longer, but gave vent to his feelings In a 
sharp, quick bark I 
Hatty's handkerchief was tightly pressed against 
her mouth, but It could not keep back an audible 
snicker at this exploit of her pet. sue shook her 
head frownlngly, and after church expressed her 
opinion decidedly, 
“it’s a perteot shame to have that miserable 
little yellow dog disturbing every one in the 
church. I hope you’ll shoot him, father, If he 
tries to come next Sunday.” (Miss Sue was very 
much out of sorts because some one she particu¬ 
larly wished to see was not at church that morn¬ 
ing.) 
“ He Isn’t a miserable yellow”—began Hatty 
Indignantly, but her father interrupted her say¬ 
ing, “ Nevermind now girls, we want to get homo. 
Jlp, do you want to ride too ? Hop In then, for It’s 
the last time you come up here until you learn to 
behave yourself.” And he has never been there 
since. 
Los Angeles Co., California. 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Heak Uncle Mauk :—I am always Interested In 
the cousins’ letters, and have Often thought I 
would write, too. Jf this letter finds Its future 
abiding place in the waste basket, Instead of 
among the cousins' lotters In some future Rural, It 
will not be the llrst one that has met the same 
fate. We have taken the Rural ever 3lnce It has 
been published, and liave nearly all of the papers 
yet—some ol them are hound, our Beauty or He¬ 
bron potatoes did not do very well but the soli, In 
which they were planted, was rather poor. My 
brother Intends to give them a more favorable trial 
this year. Both varieties of tomatoes were splen¬ 
did. Of the flower seeds wo only succeeded In 
starting plants of the Hollyhock, Hibiscus aud 
Bronze RlcLnus. The frost came before any of tho 
Rlclnus seed matured, lor which l was sorry. I 
must tell you about a persevering Bronze Rlclnus 
seed, it was planted last spring in a small pot 
and lea all summer on the flower stand on the 
porch. It was watered whenever It needed It, and 
dug up occasionally to see It It had germinated, 
but It hadn’t. Last fall the pot was used for some 
little “ Baby Cactus ” (I do uotknow the scientific 
name) and nothing more thought of the Rlclnus 
seed, until one day last month we uotlced It had 
pushed the “ baby " aside and sprung up In Its 
place, it has been growing nicely ever since, and 
the fourth leaf Is Just starting out now. It has 
been removed to a larger pot and wo hope we can 
raise It for our Geranium bed, where we had a 
regular Bronze Beauty last summer. My I not her 
and I would like to join the Horticultural Club. If 
this is published I will write again. Yours truly,! 
Royalton, N. T, Nell, 
-Dear Cousins:—H ow do you do? I think we are 
sleepy, (I write Just a3 sleepily asil can) don’t 
you? looking over the letters of the cousins, 
wrlpten four or live years ago, 1 noticed that they 
had lively times. The boys took the girls to task 
for everything they wrote, and the girls retaliated. 
By the way, where are Dewdrop, Belle E. T., Storm 
and Joe Steele 7 Are they (Still cousins under an¬ 
other name, or have they left us 7 I always tUougbt 
that Bello and Joe were especially spicy. Let us 
hear from them again. What are you going to do 
this summer? Garden? So am I, and In addition 
to that, am going to adopt a course of reading, to 
Improve my mind. Not Mrs. Holmes’s volumes 
either. I am Interested In poultry—hating hens 
or my own, and they pay mo well, our hens paid 
us last year about HO. We only had about to hens. 
I am glad Uncle Mark la going to distribute some 
seeds, Tor they are so nice. I am trying an exporl- 
ment, yes, two of them, soon, and will let you 
kuow the results, If favorable. 
Goodness! I must stop or this will find Its way 
to the. waste basket. Good-bye until another time. 
I remain your cousin, Minnie S. White. 
Erie Co., N. Y. 
t Miss Minnie also sent me correct solutions of the 
puzzles in the Rural of March lath. Apropos of 
the lively cousins who took an Interest In letter 
writing four or five years ago. Don’t grieve for 
them; they have probably other business to attend 
to. The couslus or the present day are just as 
clever as the old ones and can make Just as lively 
times now as they had then If they only will try, 
—Uncle Make.] _ 
Dear Uncle Mark :—It has been some time 
since 1 have written to the Rural, but I hope you 
and the oouslns have not all forgotten poor me. 
Jack Frost does not allow'us to do much at gar¬ 
dening yet, but I have made my hot-bed, pruned 
iny trees and such like, so that when the coming 
campaign opens, I shall be ready to take com¬ 
mand. I presume my Southern cousins are far 
ahead of me, some have even made their gardens. 
1 did not Join soon enough to receive any of the 
grape seed, or at least, I did not think I had, hut 
Uncle Mark kindly sent me a packet. I sowed It 
according to directions but It has not come up yet. 
I have a flue concord Grapevine which did llncly 
hist year and had quite a number of tine clusters 
of grapes on, but I did not get the benefit of them 
as they were stolen. 1 did not have any dog to tie 
near It as one of the cousins did to his melon 
patch. But what I wish to write about Is, why 
the cousins don’t write more. 1 will close now as 
iny letter is full. Your nephew, W. U. Rand. 
Chittenden Co., Vt. 
Dear Uncle Mark Father has taken the dear 
old Rural tor a number or years and It Is always 
a welcome visitor at our rural home. We 
young folks take great. Interest, In the Horticul¬ 
tural Club. Sister and myself would like to be en¬ 
rolled as members if you will accept us. Last year 
we cultivated a large variety of (lowers, viz: Ver¬ 
benas, Pansiest, Ageratums, Dlanthus Tuberoses 
aud a host of others too numerous to mention. 
We received seeds from the “ Free Seed Distribu¬ 
tion ” of last year. We bad twenty-two pounds of 
the Bea uiy of Hebron potato rrom a very small 
potato I Some of the stalks of Blount's Prolific 
corn had seven ears on one stalk. 
Seneca Falls, N. Y. Miononette and Flora. 
dear Cousins As l cannot say much about 
flowers at this season, 1 will tell little anecdotes 
of what I see and hear; for you must know lam 
very observing. I notice a great many little things 
that other people don’t take much notice of. Now 
every time I write a letter to the Rural, I will tell 
some little anecdote. The other day 1 was walking 
along the avenue, when my attention was at¬ 
tracted to a gentleman who was walking along 
with a large dog. The dog suddenly stood stock 
still before a fruit stand and would not move an 
inch till his master bought him a lemon. Having 
got his lemon ho trotted off contentedly by his 
master’s side. I heard one of the cousins say she 
would like to see Uncle Mark, As I am personally 
acquainted with Uncle Mark, and orten see him, I 
will try to give a little description of him, Uncle 
Mark Is tell, with light hair, and a light moustache 
and dark blue eyes. All our family are acquainted 
with him, he Is often at my house. 1 never Im¬ 
agined that tho Will In our story of “ That Brother 
of Mine” would write a letter to us. I hope we will 
hear very often from him. I think I must close. 
Y'our affectionate cousin Lizzie E. Blair. 
New York City. 
BRIEFLETS. 
Along with an increasing refinement goes a 
eertaiu increasing strength, as of well-tem¬ 
pered steel, not to be found in coarser natures. 
So, too, as to character: refining processes 
solidify, as in the aualagous instance of the 
conversion of brown into loaf-sugar. . . Be 
careful not to offend a sense of dignity. Y ou 
need not be so careful about tho conscience. 
Conscience is not so punctilious us dignity. 
. . Among the exhibits of the recent Applied 
Science Exhibition at Purls was a carpenter 
who, though he had artificial armB, was daily 
seen working at his trade; also a girl with ar¬ 
tificial arms who sat knitting—much to tho in¬ 
terest of spectators. . . A Milk Substitute 
is offered for rearing calves aud pigs. Why 
not for babies ? . . What spirited, beautiful 
horses implement dealers put before their mow¬ 
ers and reapers! And how well the driv¬ 
ers are dressed! They look as if they had 
bought a new suit, hat and all, for the occa¬ 
sion. Sometimes buxom young girls occupy 
tho driver’s seat. We are left to wonder why a 
double seat has never suggested itself to these 
wide awake implement men! . . Commis¬ 
sioner Lc Due cries: " Honest Tea i6 the best 
policy!” . . A house to live in and $137 per 
day is the pay of the President of the United 
States. . . Tho Emperor of Russia gets $25,- 
000 per day and Queen Victoria gets 60,000 per 
day. . . It is well for us that countries are 
not governed in accordance with the salaries 
paid tluCChief magistrates. . . Happy are 
the railroads that contracted for their rails 
last summer. And happy the newspapers that 
contracted for a year's supply of paper before 
Jan. 1st, 1880. . . Ask any of the clerks in 
our fashionable drug stores if the number of 
opium eaters and laudanum drinkers is in¬ 
creasing. and he will say yes. A physician 
aud druggist iu one of our smaller cities 
writes: "Iu this town I began business twenty 
years 6inec. The population, then numbering 
10,000, has not increased largely, but my sales 
of opium have advanced from fifty pounds the 
first year to three hundred now; and of lauda¬ 
num four times as much are required as for¬ 
merly. About fifty regular purchasers come to 
my shop, and as many more, perhaps, are di¬ 
vided among the other three apothecaries in 
the place." In the Southern States, too, men 
who have become impoverished by the rebel¬ 
lion have taken to the use of o; iutn to assuage 
their sorrows. . . Oleomargariuc has only 
one advantage that we have ever beanl of. If 
you don't wish to use It as butter—and the 
chances are pretty heavy that you don’t—you 
have only to run a wick through it and use it 
for candles. It is also useful for chalking the 
bridge of the nose iu case of local colds. Puck. 
. . We are iu the habit of boasting of the 
great and increasing immigration to our shores. 
It would be well if we thought less about the 
quantity and more about the quality thereof. 
. . What makes Communism a real danger 
to-day, not only to Sau Francisco, but to New 
York and many other of our cities, is that ac¬ 
cursed political demugogism which, to our 
listing shame, is so rife among us. An im¬ 
mense amount of wrong is done, and the seeds 
of infinite mischief are sown in the name of 
the rights of labor. . . A new ditching ma¬ 
chine is now exciting some iuterest. It is 
claimed that it will dig 75 to 100 rods of ditch 
in a day, ready for tiles, three feet iu depth— 
one horse, a man aud a boy constituting the 
working force. . . The Elmira Club deem 
beets better than turnips for cows. They do 
not injure the llavor of the milk. . . Mr. 
Snyder, of Michigan, plants Early Ohio pota¬ 
toes iu hills. . . Judge Balcorn, as may be 
learned from the Husbandman's report, has 
raised 80 bushels of oats per acre from two 
bushels of seed, lie thinks one and a half is 
enough in moat cases. He has known men to 
sow four bushels of seed oats to the acre with 
a harvest of blit 25 bushels. In thin seeding the 
crop is less liable to lodge. . . The milk 
substitute for calves aud pigs alluded to iu 
this column has been exposed by Mr. Voelcker 
as a most unsuitable substitute for milk, being 
composed mostly of potato starch. . . New¬ 
port is gettiug utilitarian as well as fashion¬ 
able. Some of the leading young ladies, hav¬ 
ing attended a poultry show at Providence, 
purchased some thoroughbreds and so started 
the fashion. Now there is a genuine craze, 
and everybody that is anybody keeps fancy 
poultry. . . 
Mrs. Ott.—W hat part of the chicken do you 
prefer Mrs. Jones ? 
Mils. Jones.—I have no preference—only 
don’t give me a wing. 
Mu. Blair.—Y ou don’t like soaring ? 
Mrs. Jones.—N ot on chickens’ wiugs ! . . 
No sane man would deny that truth and 
justice should take precedence of political 
sentiment, and that one must be a good 
man before he Is a good Republican or Demo¬ 
crat. . . Any speaker or writer would bo 
ridiculed for stating that there was a gener¬ 
al disposition iu the country to sacrifice the 
highest principles to party feeling; but careful 
observers must have seeu evidence of a most 
dangerous tendency in this direction. . . 
Gratitude, which has been defined as a lively 
sense of future favors, has no such degrading 
significance to the tramp. Considering that 
whatever is given to him Is his due, thankful¬ 
ness is au unkuown quantity in his equation 
of life. . . The tramp is chiefly interesting 
as a social study, by Illustrating the tendency 
of civilization in its lower strata to relapse into 
barbarism. . . There is only one place at 
which his appearance with undeviatlng regu¬ 
larity can be counted ou. This is the police 
station, where he stretches his weary limbs at 
night and sleeps with a soundness which is a 
refutation of tho popular theory that a good 
«on6cienee is essential to the enjoyment of 
this luxury. . . The proposition in Ohio to 
set apart, out of the earnlugs of married con¬ 
victs, a eertaiu proportion for the support of 
their families while In prison, looks like a 
move in the right direction. It Is the misfor¬ 
tune of all human laws that punishments must 
fall with hardly less severity upon the inno¬ 
cent than the guilty. The new arrangement 
would qualify much that is objectionable iu 
the system of convict labor.—The Hour. 
