grafting for i|f |oung. 
REMIN SCENCES OF A L1TILE GIRL. 
MRS. M. J. GALPIN. 
OIIAPTEH IV. 
For many weary months they traveled with the 
surveying expedition, passing through wild, bar¬ 
ren and beautiful scenery alternately, now stay¬ 
ing by some ruined castle (the abode ol some for¬ 
mer Irish king), whose walls were festooned with 
English ivy and humorous other vines of varied 
hues; the neglected gardens with here and there 
the flowers peeping forth, and anon a rose-bush 
climbing over the ruined walls, all betokened neg¬ 
lect and despair. The former glory had departed 
and naught remained save the juddering tower 
and a legendary name. Is jw and then some old 
and faithlul retainer, who had lollowed the for¬ 
tunes of his master through a life-time, might be 
found living In a little cottage close by, and from 
this class ol people, being rond ol sloiy- telling, one 
could hear the- most marvelous tales as to the tame 
In bygone days or the lord or the castle, belore tire 
evil days came, when England Interfered and put 
an end to all their lordly possessions and appro¬ 
priated all their wealth to fill her own capacious 
“maw.” 
1 presume nearly all my readers have heard of 
“ Blarney” as attaches to the Lull, some being 
more proficient than others in that accomplish¬ 
ment. Blarney Is a village situated about four 
miles from Cork; in Ibis village Is an old castle on 
the top ox which is a large, flat stone, that whoever 
kisses It, so the legend runs, will always have the 
girt of an •* oliy, ready ” tongue. The castle Is fa¬ 
mous iu song. The first line In one runs thus: 
“ The grove5 of Blarney they are bo charming.” 
I find the following account of the erection of 
Blarney castle and give it, a3 It may Interest my 
readers: “It was built In the icth century by Cor- 
mac McCarthy, surnamed ‘ Lalder,’ or the strong.. 
Tnelr ancestors had been chieftains la Munster 
long before the English Invasion. Their descend¬ 
ants, as lords of Muskferry and Clanearty, retained 
their peace till K5S9, when their vast possessions 
were confiscated and all eventually fell into de¬ 
cay.” The scenery around the castle Is delightful, 
and every nook and corner Is hallowed by legendary 
lore. Enchanted co,vs that belonged to the Irish 
lords may be seen at night, the story goe 3 , dis¬ 
puting with the cow3 of the present owners for 
the luxuriant pasturage, and many an earthly bull 
has been killed and worsted In the encounter with 
those from the spirit land. The lings of the 
“ fairies ” (so they tell) may be seen any moonlight 
night from early summer till the end of harvest. 
The ready wit of the Irish la an inborn talent, 
andean be found In the “bugtrotters” cabin as 
well as In tbe homes of the rich. Nearly every 
one has an aversion to bright red hair, and the 
Irish always call a person of that color “foxy- 
head,” when the reply comes Instantly and without 
thought, Hay you never see the dyer.” A gen¬ 
tleman asked u little boy once what made them 
have so many mountains in Ireland, when he 
replied, “shure whin they war malcln the world, 
and they cum to Ireland, they had lots to spare, 
they just set It down here and there, so as lo be 
handy If they should want It again.” Then (hey 
tell of the first O’Donaghue, when he was a “ slip 
of a boy,’ he was sitting In his nurse's cottage, 
when she set up a “screech” that “the O’Sulli¬ 
vans were staling the cattle, so up he gets and 
pulls an ould sword out of the thatch and goes and 
kills every mother’s son of the thalving black¬ 
guards.” 1 wonder If any of my little readers have 
ever read or heard of an Irish lair. Like fairs of 
any kind, they are lively Institutions, full of fun 
and originality of character. You will see all 
grades ot people from the lord of the manor In his 
elegant “ turnout” to the poor mendicant begging 
for alms. Whiskey and xun flows freely. The 
country people from far and near flock to the fair, 
some in jaunting cars, some on loot, and some 
riding on the beast they may want to sell. There 
Is a useful little animal used as a heast of burden 
In Ireland called the ass (now’don’t laugh); it 
occupies there about the same position that the 
mule used to in the South belore tbe war. They are 
not much larger than a Shetland pony and some 
say they are docile and easily managed; but when 
they become old, like everything in life they are 
not of much value, and this gives Pat a chance to 
show his native wit. Taking hlsold, broken-down 
animal in hand he proceeds to fix it for a sale; he 
shines its gray coat, gives it a good feed, and 
taking his station in the horse market, he cries out 
Its value, enumerating all its good qualities, and 
putting It through its grand accomplishments. 
Now this deceit! ul fellow somet tmes carries in his 
hand a nail, so hid that the buyer cannot see ll, 
and when ho wishes to show what a lively ass It 
Is, he strikes It with his hand, of course pricking 
the poor heast with the nail, The ass jumps and 
prances wildly under the pain, but smart Patls 
quite innocent and says, “ whoa! there now, ye 
wild baste; Bhuro, it’s nobody can liowld ye at all, 
at all; look at him, will ye, caperin’ round like a 
young filly; begorra, It’s me heart is sore trying to 
howld ye.” 
Sometimes a man of the medium or lower class 
will wear all the coats he has, at one time on his 
back, while at the fair, and when “for love he 
knocks you down, ” he takes one of these garments 
and hauling It after him, he dares any man that 
wants a Qght, to “step on that coat tall ’’—the offer 
Is generally taken up, as an irishman loves a light 
as well as he does to eat; then there Ls a general 
melee, as the factions of both combatants take 
sides and the fight becomes general until the 
priest appears and restores order. But It would 
take too much space to tell all the funny aspects 
of the fair. In song, rhyme ami poetry the Irish 
stands foremost, you have no doubt read many a 
funny Irish piece or song. I now call to mind one 
about a marriage, of which the first verse runs 
thus : 
“ ’Twas a fine summer’s morning, ’bout twelve in the 
day. 
All the birds Van to sing, and the asses to bray, 
When Paddy the bridegroom and Norah the bride 
In their best bib and tucker set out Bide by side.” 
I only wiah I could let my little readers hear 
the Jolly air or tune of this song, It would do more 
to cure sickness than all the pills In the doctor’s 
I shop. For love tnaklag Paddy stands without a 
rival, 11 e will use more “ blarney ” and persude 
his lady love that the moon ls made of green 
cheese, quicker than any other man under the 
sun. But after marriage, It Is not seldom that he 
uses his lists to his wile. Yet such an anomaly ls 
woman’s nature, that if some well-meaning person 
interferes In these conjugal row's, he ls sure to be 
w hipped by both ot them for hts kindness. 
But how far have I wandered from my subject! 
I have thus deviated from the main track, to re¬ 
late what might be ot Interest to my little lrlends, 
as I love to please the children. The memory of 
my own childish years la still aa bright as If It were 
but yesterday, and how often I remember sitting 
on the stool at uncle’s feet and bear him relate 
wonderful btorles of the “ banshee,” the “ pooka,” 
or adventures of the “fairies” In some sylvan 
glen. The surveying expedition was long and 
wearisome, but Uncle Tom by this time had en¬ 
tered the office of the civil engineers as draughts¬ 
man, and being, as 1 said before, a beautiful pen¬ 
man, he commanded praise and good w’ages for 
his time. We will now leave them, and in my 
next chapter we will meet at the famous “ Lakes 
ot Killarney,” the most beautiful and romantic In 
the world. Perhaps you’ll think my little heroine 
ls never coming, but ere long you will make her 
acquaintance. 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Uncj.e Mark:—I have not forgotten you al¬ 
though I have not wrllten In a long while. I have 
been very busy all winter In school and have neg¬ 
lected writing until now. My plants aie doing 
finely this winter and I must say i have not seen 
any look so well as mine. I had a little Begonia 
leaf given to me In the fall. I put 1c In a bottle of 
water w here It rooted, and it has now four leaves 
and one coming up through the dirt beside It. l 
liaveaCatla and a few’ otuer plants In a south¬ 
east window whero they get plenty of light and 
suu. 
I wish the cousins would tell ol their pets as 
well as plants. 1 have got some pets 1 think 
everything of. They are a pair or canary birds 
and they are quite tame. I got them for a Christ¬ 
mas present. Don’t you tUlnk It w r as a very nice 
present, Uncle Mark? 1 have a pretty hanging 
basket and a big Ivy that covers one window. It 
ls so twined around the basket that l think I shall 
have to cut It off In tne spring. My window gar¬ 
den ls very pretty, there are so many dlffcynt 
kinds of plants in It and some of them are about 
a toot high. I must thank you for the see^ you 
sent and hope we shall have good luck with them. 
Father had a large package sent to him from 
Washington about the time yours came, so we 
will have quite a time experimenting. No more 
this time lor 1 believe you send all long letters to 
the waste basket. Sincerely yours, 
Onlda Co., N. Y. Clara Wood. 
Dear Uncle Mark :—I do not often see letters 
from this part of the “ Badger state,” and have 
been thinking for some time I would like to Join 
me company of cousins. Will you accept anotUer 
member? Am going to try gardening this year 
on a small scale. We live on a farm so 1 have 
all the room I want. Don’t believe i would like 
to live in a city. 1 have several kinds of house- 
plants. Does an Amaryllis require more heat 
and moisture than Geraniums? What kind of 
treatment does a Calceolaria want to have it blos¬ 
som well? is Sweet Alyssum easily grown for 
hanging baskets? I am afraid you will snake your 
head and say, “ too many questions tor the flrst 
time.” Should this be accepted I will write again. 
Sheboygan Falls, Wls. Myrtle. 
[The Amaryllis does need a simewhat warmer 
temperature than Geraniums. Calceolarias are 
grown for winter blooming. Seed can be sown in 
the fall. Give the plants rich soil, and change to 
larger pots several times till they are in live-inch 
pots. Alyssum may be used for baskets.—U, M.] 
Dear Cousins I see a good many new cousins’ 
letters in the Rural, and while 1 enjoy reading 
their letters, and hope they will w’rite often, I 
would like to see some horn our old time friends. 
What has become of them all anyway? I read 
some time ago that Madcap Mollle was keeping 
house. Now Mollle 1 have been helping to keep 
house, too; and although 1 know it keeps a per¬ 
son busy, I think you might take time to write 
your cousins a letter once In a while. And our 
Swiss cousin!—did the briny ocean swallow him 
before he reached his home. If it did Dot I wish 
he would write and tell us about his voyage, and 
some more about that country. We received the 
seedslrom the Rural all right, and I am going 
to try and raise some flowers from them. I did 
not succeed very well with those we received last 
year; only tour kinds grew, but I think It was my 
fault Instead of the seeds’. I am In hopes that I 
will succeed better this year. 
CTawfoi'dsville, lowa. Nellie Wildwood. 
Unole Mark:—W e have received our Rural 
free seeds all right. I put the Magnolia seeds In 
sand and will plant them as soon as the ground 
gets warm enough. I have some flower seeds 
planted in pots In the house, and some are coming 
up. Papa has had my beds all spaded up and ls 
going to All them with leaf mold from the woods. 
I have is different kinds of house plants; they are 
aU doing nicely now. Uncle Mark, will you please 
to tell me where and how I can got some Tea 
Plants tills spring. I will tell you about my Roses 
In my next, and how I got them. Nellie. 
Hamilton Co., Ohio. [Perhaps the Commis¬ 
sioner of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., will send 
you a Tea Plant If you ask him.—U. M.) 
Dear Uncle Mark As I like to read the let¬ 
ters from the cousins In the Rural, I will write 
one, too, and ask if I may Join the happy band. 
My mother died when I was seven years old, and 
left me in the care of Mrs. Squires, but I chose to 
retain my father’s name. I am twelve years old. 
I go to school about half & mile distant. We have 
quite a good many house plants; among them are 
seven varieties of Cactus. I have had a flower 
bed ever since I was nine years old, but will have 
a larger bed next summer. I must close for this 
time, and If I see this In print I may write again. 
So good-bye, with love to all the cousins. 
Wyoming Co., N. Y. Lucy L. Haller. 
Dear Uncle Mark:— Please put my name on 
the Club list, and I hope I am not too late for the 
seed distribution among the members of the Club. 
Papa has taken the Rural a little over one year, 
and likes It very much. He has given me a piece 
or ground to raise the seeds I get. I am 13 years 
old and live on a farm near Easton, Md , on the 
Fred Haven River. I will try and give all the at¬ 
tention I can to my garden, and hope I will be 
successful with both vegetables and flowers. I 
will write and tell you bow’ I succeed. 
George W. Baker. 
Talbot Co., Md. 
Dear Uncle Mark I would like to Join your 
Horticultural Club. My father has taken the old 
Rural for twenty years and we all like it very 
much. Mamma has twice got some seeds from the 
Rural and also some potatoes. They did quite 
well. 1 like flowers very much. This ls my first 
letter to the Rural. From your niece, 
Canaserago, N. Y. May. 
Dear Uncle Mark :-l have been reading some 
of the young folk’s letters and thought that I 
would write one to you. My age ls twelve years. 
We are to have a large flower garden this summer, 
to make it a little more pleasant around our new 
house. My oldest brother takes the Rural and 
likes It very much. One of your young friends. 
Lewis Co., N. Y. Earnest G. Dodge. 
RHOMBOID • 
Across: 1. The awn; 2. a portion of land; 3. 
the tip ot the ear; 4. a slattern; 5. obtained from 
the maple; 6. obliterated. 
Down: i. A letter; 2. a prefix; 3. passion; 4. 
the young or shell-fish; 5. earth; c. a short dag¬ 
ger; 7. pyrainldlcal; 8. a suburb of Constanti¬ 
nople ; ». a word applied to small girls; 10. an 
abbreviation; ll. a letter. “Gus." 
Waterloo, Ind. 
t&~ Answer In two weeks. 
HIDDEN HOUSEHOLD ARTICLES. 
1. It la to ventilate the building. 
2 . I need Letlie to do the housework. 
3. Mab rush to the barn this minute. 
4. Tab lets all the mice live in peace. 
5. 01 vengeance la a dreadful thing. 
c. Mary got up late and was tardy at school, 
A DOUBLE ACROSTIC. 
1. A color; 2. a “ Will ’o the Wish”; 3. the seml- 
dlameter of a circle; 4. dry weather. Initials and 
finals, rour members of the animal kingdom. 
tar Answer In two weeks. Little One. 
SQUARE WORD. 
A cape of Spain. A cape of New England. A 
number. 
tar Answer in two weeks. l. o. 
-♦-«“*- 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-March 27. 
Kidded Sovereigns.— 1. Sultan: 2. Doge: 3. Em- 
perer; 4. Queen: 6. Mouueh; fl. President; 7. Dictator; 
8 . Czarina; y. King; 10. Sultana; U. Pasku; 12. Czarina; 
13. Governor; 14. Autocrat; lo. Ruler; 10 . Cliief; 17. 
Caliph. 
Transposition 
I Rail on the surging oceans tide, 
Where the waves are big and the sea is wide, 
W here storms oft come to cloud the Hides, 
And billows of grief in darkness arise. 
Name Puzzle.— Jabez; Ulysses ; Leonidas: Inigo; 
Aurelius; Norman. Initials iorm ” Julian” 
Square Word :— 
XEBEC 
E A It T If 
BRINE 
E T N A, e 
CHEEK 
Rhomboid :— 
B A S T A 
BARRA 
PARMA 
P A A R L 
S L E E N 
BRIEFLETS. 
• PnoFESSOR Rumsky says: “ Large towns are 
in themselves a monstrous evil—an evil con¬ 
tinually growing through wrongful laws or 
customs. A town of 20,000 inhabitants is large 
enough for every good and desirable object.” 
. . “The Chicago Board of Education has 
adopted a rule which declares that when a 
young lady teacher marries she will be con¬ 
sidered to have resigned her position as teach¬ 
er.” This is rather hard in these days when 
many young ladies who wish to marry have 
to reflect whether they can afford to support a 
husband or not. . . Freuchmen do not often 
speak of their wives, lest they talk about them 
before gentlemen who know them better than 
they do. . . How can he look with con¬ 
fidence to a heaven above who tries so hard to 
make a hell below! . . A difference:—Alex¬ 
ander Hamilton once said, “Men are reason¬ 
ing, not reasonable creatures; but women are 
reasonable, not reasoning creatures.” . . 
Speaking of the baby elephant reminds us that 
we 6hall soon have occasion to introduce a 
White (baby) Elephant to our readers. . . 
Gains of Cunning—If you win by cunning, you 
also lose by it—lose that which is more valu¬ 
able than any object gaiued by it—Character- 
Thoughts and Events. . . The Sharpless, so 
far as we have been able to Jeam, fails in the 
South. . . Longfellow and Warren are re¬ 
spectively a late and early berry spoken very 
highy of by the few who have as yet tried 
them. The Rural will will be able to report 
this season. . . The extravagance of a woman’s 
dress gives rise to the suspicion of extravagance 
of conduct. . . In the spring cough3, colds, 
bronchitis do their office of disaster : In the 
spring a youug man’s bosom finds relief in 
mustard plaster! . . We learn that im¬ 
mense quantities of the Gregg Raspberry are 
being sold by uurserymen. . . Love pleases 
more than marriage, for the reason that 
novels are more amusing than history. . . 
Charles Lamb said; "Women owe to us the 
most of their faults ; we owe to them the most 
of our virtues." . . Mr. Mcchi himself says : 
“ When farmers give up the belief that Mr. 
Mechi is a mere theorist, it will be better 
for their pockets, and tbeu I shall be much 
gratified." Nodoubt. . . Lit Bruy ere says: 
“I would wish to be a girl, a beautiful girl, 
from thirteen to twenty-two, and after that to 
become a man." . . Celery seed may in a 
week or so be sown in tbe open ground. It is 
only needful to keep the plot free from weeds 
until transplanted in duly. It is well also to 
cut off tbe tops so as to insure stocky 
plants. Iu the latter part of June, prepare the 
ground thoroughly and plant five or six inches 
apart in the row—the rows 3X : feet apart. . . 
“The h5gher the elevation the lower the degree 
of heat necessary to boil water” remarked Gen. 
LeDuc at the Elmira Clnb. “ You all know 
you cannot cook potatoes by boiling on the top 
of the Rocky Mountains." 
Col. PioUett—“Why?" 
Commissioner—“Because you can’t get heat 
enough to cook the starchy matter in them." 
Col. Piollett—“That Is the first time I ever 
beard that." (Laughter.) . . “Bredderin," 
said the old negro preacher, “ if we could only 
see into our hearts as God does, it would skeer 
us to death! . . The vice of this dispute be¬ 
tween labor and capital is tbat the first is apt 
to lose its temper, and the last to show its 
arrogance. They arc mutually dependent, and 
they cannot long separate or disagree without 
mutual injury. . . Mr. Forney’s paper, 
Progress, says: “Lord Beacouslield will carry 
the elections in the next struggle, but he is 
clearly providing a terrible reckoning for 
Great Britaiu in making Imperialism tbe party 
gospel of his followers. Adherence to that 
feudal folly in an age like the present is a 
crime before God and man, and wilt surely 
lead to the independence of Ireland aDd to the 
ultimate loss of all the British colonies. Mark 
tbe prophecy!’’ . . Mr. Dairy tuple, the far¬ 
mer of Dakota, will put iu something lc68 than 
17,000 acres of wheat—not 80,000 as has been 
stated. The Prairie Farmer makes tbe cor¬ 
rection. . . Incubators have been called In¬ 
fernal machines by disappointed French people 
who have returned to the good old way of 
batching eggs. . , “There's Rub for you" 
is the title of an English novel soon to appear. 
Mr. Ranby—You excuse yourself too heavily, 
my dear. Yon have sins to jo sure. 
Mrs. Ranby—(in a raised voice and angry 
tone); Aud, pray, what sins have I, Mr. Ranby ? 
A speculative rise or a speculative fall in 
prices always outruns intrinsic value. The 
pendulum goes backwards and forwards, 
and intrinsic value lies between the two 
extremes. ... To some people the 
times are never ripe, and the fruit of the 
tree of knowledge is always too green for pub¬ 
lic digestion. They acknowledge the fruit aud 
the tree whereou it grew ; they make no ques¬ 
tion about tbat; but the fitness of period and 
the ripeuess of condition perplex them sorely. 
. . Field peas and oats go well together on 
rich land. . . It is high time to sow Ver¬ 
bena seeds iu boxes or pots to be transplanted 
later. Seedlings are far stronger than rooted 
cuttings. . . Few annualB equal iu beauty 
the Sweet Pea. . . Portulacca, Petunia, 
Pansy, Miguonotte, Phlox Drummoudli, Can¬ 
dytuft, Balsam, Morning Glory, Aster, are 
among tbe glories of the summer gar¬ 
den. Try whatever novelties you will— 
none can take the place of these. 
