370 
JUNE S 
THE BUBAL NEW-VOBMEB. 
probing for f|r goitng. 
HINTS FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE HOR¬ 
TICULTURAL CLUB. 
The very warm weather, which has lately visit¬ 
ed nearly all parts or the country, will naturally 
tend to curb the activity of young horticulturists, 
and garden work will perhaps he pursued with 
iess ardor than in early spring. But, whatever 
your inclination may be, there are two conditions 
lndlspenslble to successful gardening, which you 
must not lose sight ot; namely, the plants should 
have. Urst, the necessary supply or water, and 
second, clean culture. I place the condition or 
water flrst, because upon It depends all plant 
growth. Sahara would not be a desert if It had a 
rich supply ot water. Those or you who live In 
portions or tue country liable to suffer from 
drought, know from experience how necessary 
water Is to plant Hie, while others, who live in sec¬ 
tions where the crops are seldom stunted tor want 
of rain, may not be so familiar with this fact. But 
what I mean to say now is, that. If necessary, you 
must water your garden crops. Water diligently 
and thoroughly, if rain should tall you. But even 
the mere task of giving a plant water Is something 
of an art that must be learned belore one can do 
it nicely. It Is hard work to carry water, and It 
should therefore be applied In such a way that It 
may do the most good. I have sometimes seeu 
people pour a pall of water over a plant in a man¬ 
ner that caused more harm than good. The water 
would run away In long snakes In all directions, 
hardly wetting the ground, and, by the violence 
with which It was thrown on. several leaves or 
even branches would sometimes be broken. First 
loosen tbe ground about the plant as deeply 
as can he done without Injuring the roots, and 
then, at a little distance from the stem, make a 
circular basin round tbo plant with tbe hand or 
with a trowel and pour the water gently Into this. 
Water thoroughly; fill up the basin about the 
same plant two or three times, as fast as the soli 
can absorb the water, till the roots are thoroughly 
soaked, and when finished, level the ground again 
as It was betore you began. One such good soak¬ 
ing every three or four days la dry weather Is 
much better than a superficial spattering every 
day, and less troublesome. Of course, on a large 
scale so much care cannot he exercised In tbe 
work, but in small gardens, like those of the mem¬ 
bers of the club, this Is the best way to proceed. 
Now as to clean culture. No cultivated plaDt 
can do well when surrounded by weeds, and no 
good cultivator will tolerate them. They not 
only Interfere more or less wltU Its growth by 
smothering It, but they live at the expense of the 
cultivated plant by absorbing the moisture aud 
nourishment which belong to it. This la the sea¬ 
son for weeds. Be watchtul, therefore, that they 
do not get the start ot you. Use the hoe and rake 
vigorously in your gardens. It will give you a 
healthtul exercise, develop muscle, and each faith¬ 
ful worker will enjoy the exquisite satlsiacLlon 
that a cleanly hoed garden, full ot thriving, prom¬ 
ising, petted plants, always gives to Its possessor. 
Uncle Make. 
-- 
REMINISCENCES OF A LITTLE GIRL. 
JlilS. JI. J. GALPIN. 
CHAPTER VIII. 
We will now follow the fortunes of Uncle Tom 
and wife, after their departure from the Lakes, as 
they wandered here and there with the surveying 
expedition. Sometimes they went through lovely 
valleys that would remind one of the beauties de¬ 
scribed in "Rasseias Happy Valley,” and anon 
over precipitous and frowaing mountains, whose 
summits reminded one of the poetic lines,'• Sky¬ 
lark never warbled o er,” Dashing cascades, rip¬ 
pling streams aud laughing brooks Interspersed 
themselves along the route, cheering or awing 
them by turns. But all things have an end, and 
so had this ordinance survey. After months of 
hardship and work they at last returned to their 
starling point, the city of Athlone, and here, one 
stormy night, when the wind howled in unabated 
fury and the elements seemed determined on set¬ 
tling all their differences, our Hale heroine put In 
an appearance In the home ot Uncle Tom. sue was 
a wooderiul bany. A crop of silky, silver hair 
adorned her head, aud her eyes looked like violets 
peeping from beneath the snow. She gave good 
evidence of being hearty by the exemplary man¬ 
ner In which she used her lungs, to the demoraliza¬ 
tion of Uncle Tom, who was afraid that there was 
something wrong with the precious child. She was 
a living curiosity to him, aud even to the hour oi 
his death he worshipped and idolized her. He was 
but twenty years old at her birth. The child was 
named Therese after one of Ills sisters, who had 
always been bis favorite. Uncle Tom had now a 
good, lucrative profession, so that be no longer 
dreaded the wolf of hunger at his door, and so 
happy was he in watching the development of the 
little Therese, that he relt his heart full or love to 
all mankind. There’s nothing In tne household 
like a baby. It will serve to bind hearts together 
that otherwise might grow estranged. 
Well, this wonderful baby grew and thrived 
like most other healthy babies. But when about 
two and a half years old she was taken with that 
dread disease, the small pox. For days the 
little life fluttered lu the balance, but a pure, 
strong const.tutlon carried her safely through the 
danger, and she recovered, although nearly every 
little one smitten iu Lhelr street died of the fell 
disease. Ab >ui this time Mrs. Silk sent for her 
oldest child, the little Italy we have previously 
spoken of. she became ardently attached to her 
baby sister, and all through their lives up to the 
present time, that love has stood the test of ab¬ 
sence, sorrow and all else combined that fall to 
the lot of mortals on this mundane sphere. When 
Therese was about three years old her parents 
moved from Athlone to Maryborough, as a better 
position was here offered to Uncle Tom. Upon 
his arrival at that place he leased a pretty cottage 
which became their home. It Is useless to think 
of buying a home lu Ireland as we do In America, 
There all the land belongs to the “ crown. 7 ' 
our heroine was now In her element. The gar¬ 
den was lull of flowers, and on e white Moss-rose 
was her especial favorite. A no Lie Ash tree stood 
on one side or the garden gate, one of whose gi¬ 
gantic limbs supported a splendid swing, where 
Katy and tUe little Therese used to enjoy them¬ 
selves by the hour, morulng-s and evenings, swing¬ 
ing to lhelr hearts content. Uncle Tom had 
changed hla given name to Peter, In order to 
elude pursuit and persecution. But when the 
Methodists, with whom he had united, found out 
that he was a turn-coat priest, they commenced 
orthodox persecution. Men who owed Uncle Tom 
for surveying failed to pay him, reverses followed 
so that his soul was once more enveloped In gloom. 
He was at this time, too, suffering from asthma 
and unfit to do anything. The rent was remiss, 
and the landlord, being a “good Christian,” 
served a writ of ej ectment on him. A posse of police 
was sent to throw the family out and leave them 
to starve or to die as they might. You see, In those 
benighted days people could be thrown into jail 
tor debt If the creditors saw flt. 
in this case the police shrank from the task; 
but some of the persecu torsran up the stairs like 
demons, and seizing Uncle 'lorn who was lying 
helpless in an easy chair, they proceeded to haul 
him elf. At the sight of this the police grew Indig¬ 
nant and threatened to arrest any man who did 
not leave him alone, others proceeded to throw 
out the furniture, but Aunt Katy quietly took an 
old blunderbuss from the closet which so fright¬ 
ened them that they ran away. The Joke of It 
was tbat the blunderbuss was unloaded, and had 
an old rusty lock that no amount of oil could make 
work. 
Little Katy, meanwhile, waiclied her chance 
and as the minister was on the stairs haranguing 
the police (a minister was among the persecutors) 
she came wltn full force against him, tumbling 
him from the top to the bottom of the steps, where 
he lay in an Ignominious heap, too thoroughly de¬ 
moralized to make farther trouble. The police, 
now completely arou.-ed, cleared the rabble away, 
and In the name of the law placed a guard round 
the house, so that outsiders could not get lu, nor 
Uncle Tom and family get out. They were virtu¬ 
ally prisoners for debt, but the Lord of Hosts rais¬ 
ed them Up friends In the midst of their tribula¬ 
tions. The attending physician proved himself to 
be a noble man at heart, and came forward to the 
rescue of the unfortunates, paying their rent and 
giving medical attendance free of charge. When 
the demands ot the law were satisfied, there was 
nothing farther left for enmity to do, except to 
worry them. Uncle Tom was sick for weeks, 
owing to the prostration brought on by the ex¬ 
citement. Not long after this persecution 
the chief leaders of it came to grief. The 
ungodly minister was detected in grave misde¬ 
meanors, aod dismissed In disgrace from the 
church, others of the leaders were similarly 
troubled. One of the chief miscreants was afflicted 
with a loathsome disease, and he died in the 
greatest agony. These facts involuntarily call to 
mind our Savior s words, “ that vengeance Is 
mine salth the Lord, and 1 will repay.” 
I have dwelt so long on these scenes, that I will 
now let our heroine take another chapter. During 
all these troubles that fell on her parents she 
clung to them with chlld-Uke love, not knowing or 
understanding their Import. What a blessing It Is 
that we all have a guileless childhood to look back 
to In after years. How I wish that the trustful¬ 
ness and grace ot childhood might forever remain, 
like a halo of light, to crown the closing years of 
our chequered and fading life. I would transpose 
Tom Moore and say: 
“You miy break, you may ruin the heart If you will 
But the charm of oar childhood will cling round it 
8X111.” 
-» «• ♦- 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Deak Uncle Make:—I received some seeds 
some time ago from the Free Seed Distribution 
and 1 am very thankful that I am considered a 
“cousin." I received a Gladiolus bulb last year, 
but Just as It was coming In bloom some one 
stepped cn it, and broke it off completely, but I 
have saved the bulb and planted it tiffs year. I 
received the radish seed and corn also and we 
enjoyed the radishes very much. 1 planted Pansy 
seed last year but they didn’t bloom. 1 bought 
more seed this spring and have started It lu boxes 
also the seed you sent me. Will Panslea remain 
In the ground through the winter? What plants 
are the best lor a rockery? Wishing all the cous¬ 
ins success, 1 remain your loving niece. 
Monmouth Co., N. J. Nellie Prest. 
[Pansies will remain In the open ground during 
the winter without much Injury, but It Is not the 
best possible way to keep them. A better way Is 
to sow' the seed In August In a seed bed, and when 
they are so large that they can be transplanted, 
set them two inches apart each way in an open 
frame. When cold weather sets In a sash should 
be put ovtJr them, but on suuuy days it should he 
raised a few Inches to prevent the air underneath 
from getting too hot, and on mild duys toward 
spring It may be entirely removed. Tims you will 
have flue plants to set out on the flower beds early 
lu the season, only tbe young plants should be 
wintered this way. unless It Is desired to have 
flowers very early In the spring; then some old 
plants may be taken up In the fall and kept lu eold 
irames during the wlmer. on the flower bed 
Pansies should be planted close together in clumps. 
It Is a plant that does not spread very much, and 
a few straggling specimens With the naked ground 
visible between is not a very Inspiring sight, but 
when the plants stand so close together that they 
form one mass of rich bloom the effect Is very 
pretty. 
The following plants are suitable for a rockery 
The Checkerberry, Mltchelia repeos, the flowers 
are fragrant and tbe fruit of a bright red color; 
the Partrldgeberry, Oaultherla procumbens; the 
Anemone, Hepatlca triloba, and tbe Rue-leaved 
Anemone, Tballetrum anemonoldes; the wild 
Strawberry, sevend species of the Bellflower, 
Campanula; several kinds of Stone-crop, Sedum: 
Mountain Pink, Dlanthus montanus; Money Wort, 
Lyslmachla nummularla; Lobelia speckwa, and 
many more. Many of the plants In common cul¬ 
tivation In the garden will do very well In a rock¬ 
ery.—c.n.J _ 
Uncle Mark and Rural Cousins How do you 
all do ? I am afraid that you are not very well to 
judge by the looks of our letter column. Our 
winter school has been out some time. I have a 
few house plants tbls winter. I have a Calla 
which Is real thrifty; It has had two blossoms on 
It. I also have an Abutllon and a Fuchsia which 
have had flowers on, and my Rose Geranium has 
buds on It. 1 have a white Fuchsia which I have 
had about a year and w hich Is three feet tall. I 
have not cut it back, because 1 expected it to blos¬ 
som. 1 thank you lor the seeds, and 1 will write 
presently and tell you of my success, with this I 
remain yours truly, Clara A. Meaker, 
Broome Co , N. Y. 
Dear Uncle Mark I live In Delaware County, 
Iowa, where the No. l butter was made that took 
the flist premium at the world's fair held in Phll- 
adelpnta. We take the Rural and like It ever so 
much. 1 would like to Join the Horticultural Club. 
I am 14 years old, have a brother lu, a sister nine 
and a little shaver of a brother four years old. We 
have a very good garden and a few flowers. My 
brother Frank likes to play with the calves, and 
yoke them up. Nellie has a few flowers in the yard 
and she hopes to get more. Wm. S. Guilds. 
Delaware Co., Iowa. 
Dear Uncle Mark:— My papa takes the Rural, 
and the letters which have been written by the 
young folks are so Interesting that I thought I 
would ask permission to join your club. 1 have a 
bed of Strawberries wlffch my father gave me. 1 
love flowers very much, and I love to work lu the 
garden. I have peas planted and lettuce. I 
would be glad to have some of your seeds, it I am 
not too late. As this Is my first, I will close with 
love to all the cousins. Allie Pierson. 
East Orange Junction, N. J. 
Dear Uncle Mark:—I would like to Join the 
Horticultural Club. I have got a little garden all 
to myself In which I grow Lady Slippers, Four 
O'clocks, China Asters, Zinnias, Nemophllas and 
other things, and I have also three kinds of foliage 
plants. My pet la a hen that will let me stroke 
her when I please, and will eat from my hand. I am 
ten years of age, but I have not been to school 
more than three months In two years because I 
have been sick. This Is my flrst letter. 
New Haven, Conn. Eddie C. Jones. 
®&< litter. 
HIDDEN MINERALS. 
tarltou sack with a spoonful of cayenne pep¬ 
per and tacked it over a rat-hole. When the 
rat bounced out his eyes were peppered by the 
siftings from the shaken sack. 11c squeeled 
like a pig and escaped. The whole tribe have 
since migrated-8o soon as fairly tried, we 
wish our readers would tell us how they value 
London purple as compared wiLh Paris-green. 
We are usiug the former for the potato 
beetle and prefer it to the latter. . Barbed- 
wire fences. We should be glad to hear from 
our readers who have tried them, how well or 
ill they are pleased.. ..Mr. Bishop says: 
“Probably oue acre of tobacco costs as much 
as about eight acres of corn, as It depends 
upon contingencies to which corn is not so lia¬ 
ble. At best it must be expensively raised, for 
cheap tobacco will not pay... Mr. Conover 
puts the dairy belt as lyiug between the 40th 
and 45th parallels.... If the proprietor of a 
farm is too indolent to take an interest in his 
business and to properly guide his hired men, 
can it reasonably bo expected that the hired 
men will give him their best services? Lazy 
fatm-owuers are the most fault-fluding and dis¬ 
satisfied of men .. By the aid of the electric 
light, it is supposed that fruits and flowers of 
all sorts cau be yrowu to order iu from one 
minute to an hour. It will not be difficult to 
raise strawberries weighing a ton, watermel¬ 
ons a raileloug, etc_Mr. Parry once upon a 
time imported over three hundred varieties of 
Pears from France and cared for them tenderly, 
but failed in the matter of profit, although 
the list included those, sorts most esteemed for 
high flavor, rich and delicious qualities_He 
had hoard prominent horticulturists—those to 
whom wo commonly look for instruction—say 
that '‘high flavor” should be first and profit 
second in consideration. But he had learned 
from sad experience that fruit which cannot 
be grown at a profit will not be much grown 
for market. Wherefore, friends, let us plant 
Wilson Strawberries, Thwack Raspberries, 
Curculio-prool Plums, and blight-proof Pears! 
... .It there is one thing that Mr. Quinn de¬ 
spises mere than all others it is dwarf Pears.... 
A New Fiber Plant. —The American Con¬ 
sul at Vera Cruz calls attention to a new plant 
of this sort, a species of Cactus, commonly 
known as Pita. Some of the fibers are 16 feet 
long, strong and silky, and capable of minute 
sub-division. The plant grows wild and there 
are millions of acres of It. Strong and ex¬ 
tremely beautiful handkerchiefs, more like sil¬ 
ver tissue than iinen, have been woven from 
specimens of the fiber sent to England. May¬ 
be this will turn out a valuable addition to our 
fiber plants—but how about the exalted hopes 
entertained a dozen years ago of ramie ? 
--- 
CATALOGUES, ETC., RECEIVED. 
1. It Is just one o’clock. 
2 . Wear a rrock coat. 
3. It Is late at night. 
4. Poor Remar bled terribly. 
r». Mag ran It easy. 
is. It Is Andrew. 
7. Ella vaulted from ber pony. 
8 . Don’t let music lay round so. 
9. Give me a quart, Zlllah. 
10. The thorn blended with the rose. 
11. His address la Otho Gasreld, Sparta. 
12. Tom, 1 cannot go. 
13. How grave Uewl3 seems, 
u. Philip Ebble stands It well, 
is. He forgot his part. 
ic. Adam, Anthony, Aaron. 
17. Push a levy this way. 
IS. That rap is at our door, 
to. Mrs T. Alconda has arrived. 
C sr Answer in two weeks. Little One. 
HALF SQUARE. 
Report of the Board of Commissioners 
of the Seventh Cincinnati Industrial Expo¬ 
sition 1879—a volume of 408 pages. 
List of Premiums offered by New York Hor¬ 
ticultural Society for the Summer Exhibition, 
to be held in the new Metropolitan Concert 
Hall, on the cornet of 4lst Street and Broad¬ 
way, on the I6ili, 17th and 18th of June, 1880. 
The National Press, a Monthly in the in¬ 
terests of the cider trade, published by Geo. B. 
Boomer, 15 Park Row, N. Y r . This is a bright 
little periodical of eight pages, costing 50c. a 
year, ard the standing of its owners as among 
the best experts iu practical cider making, be¬ 
speaks lor it a large circulation among those 
interested iu this industry. We wieh it all the 
success it is sure to deserve. 
l, A flue deep-red ochre; 2, a genus ot birds; 3, in 
the middle; 4, an apsis; 5, procured: 6, a prefix; 
7, a letter. Gus. 
S&~ Answer In two weeks. 
-m-- 
A NAME PUZZLE. 
Place three male names so as to form a fourth. 
isr Answer In two weeks. l. o. 
-- 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-May 15. 
Hidden Colors.-! Scarlet, 2. crimson; 3, red; 4’ 
gray; 6, roau . t>, dun ; 7, black , 8. white; 9, green ; Iu' 
purple; 11, blue; 12. mazarine, 13. magenta; 14, veL 
low; 16,pink; 16. crystal, 17. drab; 18, brown ; 19, vio 
let; 20, iliac.; 21, vermilion22. bay; 23, tan; 24, salmon ; 
26, mauve; 26, corn eolor; 27, umDer; 23, ruby; 29, ma¬ 
roon. 
Half Square: 
F. S T 
8 P O 
T O N 
O It (i 
P A U 
IDE 
LED 
L S 
A 
O P I L L A 
liADES 
li U E D 
A N S 
N E 
H 
BRIEFLETS. 
Mr. Idell says that the Leconte finds no 
sale in the N, Y. market. It Is a second-rate 
pear, and, although Mr. Parry quoted them at 
$4.50 per bushel, he found plenty that sold for 
half that amount_A writer lu the N. Y. Tri¬ 
bune says that an inventive genius filled a small 
Ohio. Poland China Record.— This very 
handsomely gotten up work of 36S pages, 
strongly and neatly bound in cloth, is pre¬ 
faced by a full history of the origiu aud spread 
of this flue breed of swine; after which comes 
an account of the chief herds of the breed, 
followed by the pedigrees of 298 boars aud 738 
sows. The work is published and for sale by 
Peter G. Thompson, Arcade Book Store, No. 
179 Vine St. Cincinnati, O. Price $3. 
Report upon the Cotton Insects. This 
exhaustive report was prepared under the 
direction of the Corns, of Agriculture, by J. 
Henry Comstock, Entomologist to the Dept, 
of Agriculture. The greater part ot the ma¬ 
terials for this compilation of 511 pages were 
collected under the direction of Proi. C. V- 
Riley, as Entomologist of the Agricultural 
Department, previous to the appointment of 
Prof. J. Henry Comstock to the positiou on 
May 1st 1879. The latter, however, has s> ste- 
matically arrauged the mass of collected In¬ 
formation, added materially to it, drawn con¬ 
clusions from It, and, in short, very efficiently 
edited the wolk, which gives all the informa¬ 
tion at preseut known with regard to the 
cotton worm and its doiugs. We shall prob¬ 
ably take occasion, later on, io refer more at 
large to the eontcuts of this volume, and 
meanwhile advise our friends in the cotton belt 
to apply for a copy of this work on a topic 
of much importance to their interests. 
