JUaMitg for f|t gouug. 
FROST-TIME. 
How small a tooth hath mined the seasons heart; 
How cold a touch hath set the wood on fire. 
Until it blazes like a costly pyre 
Built for some Ganjfes Euiperorold and swart, 
Soul-sped on clouds of incense 1 Whose, the art. 
That webs the streams, each morn, with silver wire. 
Delicate as the tension of a lyre Y 
Whose faldou pries the eUoetn nt burr apart Y 
It is the Fro-t a rude aud Gotliic sprite, 
Who doth unbuild the Hummer's palaced wealt 
And puts her dear loves all to sword or fight; 
Yet in the hushed, unmindful Wiuter’s night, 
The spoiler builds again with Jealous stealth, 
And sets a nnniic garden cold aud bright. 
-►<-*- 
FARMING FOE BOYS AND GIRLS.-NO. 2. 
HENRY STEWART. 
The Soil, What It Is. 
All forms of matter or substance which exist, 
In whatever shape they may present themselves 
to our view, whether in rocks, soil, the air, water, 
or In the bodies of animals or In plants, aredlvlded 
Into two classes, viz: luorganlc aud organic. These 
are to be distinguished as dead and living matter; 
the one 1 b without life and does not grow or In¬ 
crease its substance, and the other grows and is 
continually changing Its form; K Is called organic 
because It Is organized, ny which Is meant that It 
consists or certain structures, the forms or which 
are visible to sight and are continually changing. 
These organic substances are all derived originally 
from Inorganic matter, bucU as tUe soil, water and 
the atmosphere. The soil. In the form In which it 
Is found In fields aud gardens, or in any condition 
in which it produces vegetation, consists of inor¬ 
ganic and organic substances mixed together. 
The inorganic particles of the soil are derived 
from the solid rocks, of which the earth has been 
once, or is now', composed. These have been 
broken up and are being broken up every moment, 
but slowly, into small fragments by the agency of 
air and water chiefly, aud are capable or being 
slowly dissolved in water. The organic particles 
of the soli consist of the remains of animal and 
vegetable matter which have decayed and have 
returned again to their original element. Although 
this organic matter may have lost its structure 
aud form, and has become mixed with the mineral 
parts of the soil, It is still considered to be ot or¬ 
ganic origin. Thus when manure Is added to the 
soil, In course ot time It decays and Is lost to sight; 
Its remains are mingled with the sollin which tuey 
become food for a new growth of vegetables, which 
In turn become food lor animals, and in turn every¬ 
thing w hich comes trom the soil goes back to it in 
some form or manner. The soil produces plants; 
these plants turnlsh food to animals In part and In 
part remain and decay in the soli; In time animals 
die and their bodies go back to the soli either di¬ 
rectly or indirectly. Thus there is a ceaseless 
round of change always going on which we can 
trace very distinctly, aud the soil Is the great 
storehouse from which everything eornes and to 
which everything returns. 
The Inorganic parts ol the soil which are of the 
most Interest to us are those which are used by 
plants as food, and which we can trace in the 
plants. These are lime, potash, soda, magnesia, 
silica, alumina, phosphorous, carbon, sulphur and 
Iron, which are solids, and oxygen, nitrogen, chlo¬ 
rine aud hydrogen, which aie gases. 
But these substances do not exist In the soil In 
a free or pure state, but are combined one with 
another lu various ways; lor Instance Ume, pot¬ 
ash, soda, magnesia aud alumina are oxides of 
different metals; that is to say that these metals 
are combined wlih oxygon aud In ibis condition 
appear as the commonly known substances 
named. Again, most or these oxides are combined 
with carbonic acid and roriu carbonates; soda may 
lose Its oxygen and combine with chlorine forming 
common salt; phosphorus, sulphur and carbon 
combine with oxygen and form phosphoric, sul¬ 
phuric and carboule acids, each of which are most 
Important and interesting substances in the 
growth ot plants; silica Is a compound of silicon 
with oxygen; water Is a compound ot oxygen and 
hydrogen; the air is a compound of oxygen and 
nitrogen; and ammonia another substance of the 
greatest Importance to plant growth, Is a com¬ 
pound ot nitrogen and hydrogen. A compound 
is such a mixture of t wo substances as produces 
by the combination, a new and different sub¬ 
stance rorrnlug a perfect union lu tact; while a 
mixture Is ouly the mingling 01 par ticles without 
combination, as sand may bo mixed with BUgar, 
but the two do not form a union. Thus the Inor¬ 
ganic part of the soli Is a remarkably intricate 
combination of a large variery of substances and 
not, as might appear, a simple substance which 
merely serves to hold the roots of plants. The 
organic part of the sou is of equally Intricate com¬ 
position and the two mixed together lorn the 
material which the farmer plows and sows and 
from which he gathers his crops. The soli Is 
slowly soluble In water and only furnishes food to 
plants when thus dissolved. A plant cannot live 
without water; this we know; hut It cannot live 
and grow unless the water contains a certain sup¬ 
ply of the substances or which the soli consists, 
and these substances taken from the soli in the 
water which piauts absorb are called plant food. 
It is easy to see that so long as the boh contains 
plenty of these food substances In a soluble con¬ 
dition the farmer will have no trouble In growing 
bountiful crops; also that If the soil is notable to 
Bupply them, It becomes poor, and profltable crops 
cannot be grown. Therefore, as the soil Is de¬ 
prived of a portion ol these substances by every 
crop that Is grown, It is the business of the farmer 
to supply the loss, and enrich his soli continually 
by manure and by cultivation, so as to enable It 
to produce crops that can yield a reward for labor. 
THE BANK SWALLOW, OR, 8AND MARTIN. 
MAUDE MEREDITH. 
I wonder If the little readers have been Interest¬ 
ed in our talk about birds ? And If they would 
like to know something about the bird folk that 
live la the little tunnels they may have seen In 
some deserted gravel bank, or river shore The 
Bank Swallow, illrundo Rlparla, closely resembles 
the other members of Its family, but though bctDg 
the most social among tnemselves, are the least 
intimate with man. On high sandy river banks, 
or, what better pleases them, the sides of deserted 
gravel-pits, they scratch out and bore holes from 
one to two feet deep, in which they build their 
nests. The powers of thlB pretty bird would seem 
to be quite inadequate to the arduous labors which 
it performs with such apparent ease, and few 
would suppose, after contemplating Its tiny bill, 
that It was capable of boring tunnels luto tolerably 
hard saudstoue. But such la the case, lor Sand 
Martins have been known to drive their little tun¬ 
nels Into sandBtone hard enough to destroy all the 
edge of a knife. Yet, like all little folks, he does 
not prejbr a hard task to an easy one, and 
can he and a loose sandy soil, yet quite 
tlrm enough for solid walls to hla little 
domicile, he will choose It, or the sandy Intervals 
between layers of stone, where the work Is com¬ 
paratively easy. It ofien tries and abandons sev¬ 
eral localities as being too hard, but when It dis¬ 
covers a suitable place sets to work earnestly, 
working In a circular direction and using Its legs 
as a pivot, and by dint of turning round aud round 
aB It works, succeeds In forming a tolerably circular 
cavity. 
The tunnel In all cases slopes gently upward to 
prevent the rain from flowing In. At the farther 
extremity of the burrow, which Is always rather 
larger than at the entrance, Is placed the nest, a 
very simple structure, composed of dry grass lined 
with a tew sort feathers, where the eggs, usually 
live lu number, and pure white In color, are de¬ 
posited. 
Few foes can molest the nest or little ones until 
old enough to venture out ot their strong fortress, 
when an army stand ready to swoop down upon 
them. The crow and magpie wait at the entrance 
of the boles In order to snap up the young on their 
first appearance iu public, and if escaping these 
enemies, while lirst attempting to fly In little 
crowds, the klrtsel and sparrow-hawk sweep sud¬ 
denly down carrying dLsmay and desolation among 
the little flocks. And with sorrow 1 must admit 
that boys are sometimes enemies of these little 
creatures, considering it great lun to dig out tbelr 
nest. In some places there are rules against mo¬ 
lesting the swallow, as they are so useful In de¬ 
stroying flies and bugs. I read an account of one 
gentleman wbo took about a gill or the hard outer 
wings of the cucumber bug from a single Martin 
house, after the birds had migrated. Think of 
the busy little fellows as gardners! And the length 
ot time It would take a little boy to rid the cucum¬ 
ber beds of so many of the striped pests. 
The Bank Swallow is always In advance of oik- 
el's ot the same species, arriving In any given local¬ 
ity so early In Spring as often to encounter cold 
storms and rough weather; at which times they 
take refuge lu their holes and huddle together for 
warmth, coming out again In clear weather, so 
benumbed as to give rise, among some, to the be¬ 
lief that the swallow hibernates, but this Is not a 
tact, as search In their houses through the winter 
months, falls to discover auy birds. The Bank 
Swallow is five inches long, and two In extent; 
upper part mouse, colored; lower, white, with 
band of dusky brownish across upper part of the 
breast; tall forked, the exterior feather slightly 
edged with white. They seem to enjoy a visit to 
the seashore, where they go in great numbers, 
previous to their departure South, which occurs 
about the noth of August, 
" O’er fell anil fountain sheen. 
O'er moor aud mountain green. 
O’er the red streamers that 
Herald the day ; 
Over the cloudlets dim, 
Over the rainbows rim, 
Musical cherub. Boar, singing away! 
Then when tho gloaming comes, 
Low by the heather blooms, 
Sweet will thy welcome and l>ed 
Of love be! 
Emblem of happiness. 
Blest is thy dwelling-place - 
Oh, to abide in the desert 
With thee t" 
BEARS AND HORNETS. 
Hornets build their nests high up In the branch¬ 
es of trees, or fasten them to rocks out of reach of 
harm. But cunning as these Insects are, they are 
no match for the bear. A bear discovers a hornets 
nest far out on a limb too small to bear his weight 
or high up on the breast of a rock. If the former, 
he climbs the tree, breaks off the longest branch 
he can get, aDd holding It In his fore paws 
thrashes the nest until It drops to the ground, 
sometimes he dances or stamps on the limb until 
the nest Is shaken off. if the nest Ison a rock, 
the hear goes up to the top ot the ledge above It. 
Then he gathers large stones and pieces of wood 
and rolls them down the side of the rock until 
one strikes the nest and Bends It tumbling to tbe 
ground below. The hornets seem to know what 
has caused their ruin, and not one or them deserts 
the fallen nest, but all seem to await the appear¬ 
ance ot the bear, when they attack him at once. 
*< a hornet sting,” says the old hunter, “ Is equal 
to a blow from a sludge hammer every time, and 
one hornet’ll knock a bull down. But their bite 
wou’t raise a lump as big as a buck shot on a b ar, 
and the shaggy creature seems to think It’s a heap 
o’ fun. He’ll stand up on hla hind legs and square 
off with his fore paws at the hornets. Jest as if he 
waB boxln’ with somebody, only he’s durn careful 
to keep his eyes shet. Then he’ll lay down and 
roll all over the rest, as If he wanted to show the 
hornets how he didn’t care no more for ’em than 
as It they was gnats, once 1 see a big she b’ar, 
which had knocked a hornet’s nest as big as a 
peck measure off’n a tree, take It under her arm 
and walk off with It as coolly as It it was one of 
her cubs.” 
--- 
What a Naturalist Saw.— An English natu¬ 
ralist, while preserving an tsand spiders in bottles 
of alcohol, met with a touching exhibition that 
caused him to forego further experiments. He 
wished to preserve a large female spider and 
twenty-four of her young ones that he bad cap¬ 
tured. He put the mother into a bottle of alcohol, 
and saw that after a few moments she folded her 
legs upon her body, and was at rest, lie then put 
Into the bottle tbe youDg ori3s. who, ot course, 
manifested acute pain. What was his surprise to 
see the mother arouse herself from her lethargy, 
dart around and gather her young ones to her bo¬ 
som, fold her legs over them, again relapse Into 
Insensibility, until at last death came to her relief, 
and the II tuba, no longer controlled by this ma¬ 
ternal Instinct, released tbelr grasp. 
.-- 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Uncle Mark Will you please let me join the 
Horticultural Club? I am twelve years of age, 
and live In the north woods of Michigan. We 
came here In June, so that 1 could not have a gar¬ 
den this Summer, but I intend io bave one aud 
plants next year, and try and ral^e some nice vege¬ 
tables I brougbtsomesllpsof house plants with me 
and they have grown nicely. I like It in the woods 
first rate. I, too, like one of the cousins, can go 
huckleberrylng and what splendid times we did 
have, and how good the dinner tasted m the open 
air. We have had plenty of huckleberries, rasp¬ 
berries, and blackberries, but we do not have any 
peaches or apples. The leaves are now beginning 
to turn their colors, and what a beautiful picture 
we will have with the dark green ot the hemlock, 
and the red, yellow and brown ol tbe beach, 
birch and maple. Minnir d. Judson. 
Indian River, Mich. 
Dear Uncle Mark I see lots of little boys and 
girls writing to you, so I thought I would write. 
I am a little girl nine years old, I go to school and 
read In the Third Reader. I bave three brothers, 
Lenly, Wilbert and a little baby brother. I like 
him very much. He never cries. I wish you to 
remember me when you send out seeds. Good¬ 
bye. Birdie McDowell. 
Norwich, Ontario. 
Dear Uncle Mark:—I bave long wanted to 
join your club. Is there room for me ? 1 go to 
school in the city of Dowaglac. Pa raised 30 bush¬ 
els of sweet potatoes and 350 bushels or Irish 
potatoes. I have quite a number ot house plants. 
We have 17 stands of honey bees. Pa hits taken 
the Rural tor the last 20 years. I have four pets, 
a cat, a dog, a cow and a chicken. The cat Is four 
years old. I have been offered $26 for It, but that 
is no temptation, be weighs 12’* pounds. 
Yours truly, Minnie connine. 
Cass Co , Mich. 
Dear Uncle Mark My papa takes the Rural 
and we all like it very much. Mamina likes to 
read It and all the rest of us, especially the let¬ 
ters,of the Rural cousins. I am 13 years of age, 
aud 1 love to go to school, I study arithmetic, aud 
geography. We thank you for the seeds you tent 
us. We have a magnolia which we raised, 
and would like to know If we are to keep It In 
the house all winter. Your niece, E. L. Berlin. 
Monroe, Clason Co., Pa. 
[The Magnolia will live out ot doors through the 
winter In your climate. L. M,] 
Dear Uncle Mark :— I waut. to Join the Rural 
Club, and I want you to send me seeds in your 
next seed distribution, and 1 will plant them. I 
love gardening very much. May 1 get up a club 
lor the Rural and try for any one of the premiums 
you offer? My love to all the cousins. Your 
nephew, Hrnky J. L. 
Jefferson Co , N. Y, 
l You can of course, try for premiums, Uncle 
Mark will be pleased to add all the new readers to 
the club. U nous M ark . J 
Dear Uncle Mark :—We are two little sisters, 
ten and six years old, please may we Join your 
Horticultural Club ? We live In a big farm about 
five miles from the city; we have a little brother 
and his name Is Gillie, he is four months old, when 
may he Join? If Uncle Mark accepts us as 
cousins we will In our next write about our piauts 
aud pets. May and Nklub Hatfield. 
Luddtngton, Mich. 
[Uncle Mark adds all three of the names to ills 
Club list.) 
Dear Uncle Mark I am a little girl ten years 
old and 1 would like to joia your club. I have 
flowers that are very nice. Ma got flower seeds 
from the Rural, but It was so dry they did not 
come up well but the. Cuthbert Is doing well. Ma 
takes the Rural and we like It very much. Please 
remember me when you send seeds. From your 
niece Ada Hamilton. 
Hansell, Franklin Co., lowa. 
Dear Uncle Mark :—We are much Interested 
In the letters rrorn the cousins and wish to join 
the Club. Maud, ton years old, Guy, eight years, 
Floss, six and Irene tour. We are an great lovers 
of flowers, plants aud gardening. We had a nice 
yard during the Summer, but the frost has made 
sad havoc with them now. j. f. b. 
Susquehanna Co., Pa. 
[Nora S., Elkhart, Ind., will And her name 
among the club members when seeds are again 
sent out. Uncle Mark will be happy to add the 
names of every one;of the young folks In the land.] 
jialitetj) |kat)htg. 
QUESTIONINGS. 
Why do the children leave ns, O our Father— 
The little children cradled on onr breast ? 
Why do our doves fly upward in the morning 
While other bird lint-- sleep within the nest? 
Can it be true that music up in heaven 
Is sweeter when their voices Join the hymn Y 
Is richer light to realms of glory given 
For that which fudiug left our homes so dim? 
And can the angels who, all day are giving 
Care to the lamb* within the .Shepherd's fold. 
Need, as a mother ueeds, amid her grieving, 
Thu little ones at night to clasp and hold Y 
When shall we see again the precious faces 
That gave our homes such sunshine when they 
smiled Y 
Oh, what.!-hall fill thnheart'saad vacant places. 
Or hush the tones that plead, “ Give back the 
child!" 
Why inU8t we listen vainly for the ptftter 
Of little feet at morning on tbe stair ? 
And mhos tho merry sound of childish laughter, 
Or gentler tones saying the evening prayer ? 
Why vainly long for kisses falling purely 
From lips that said their goodnight at our knees v 
Oh, Ho tluit. made the mother-heart hath sorely 
No chiding in his own for thoughts like those. 
E’en this how can we know-His hand hath smitten 
In wrath or mercy Y Only he can tell. 
Perhaps in some sweet day there may lie written 
Upon our hearts this record, “ It is well." 
Perhaps the broken hearts that thrill and quiver 
Through all the night under the hand of pain 
May iu the morning of a glad forever, 
Wake ’lieath God's touch to melody agaiu. 
BE COURTEOUS. 
I will give you a text, a little short text of two 
words only, which you will have no difficulty In 
remembering: these two words are, “Be cour¬ 
teous.” 
You all understand what It Is to be courteous; 
It Is to be polite, and to think of other’s muds, it 
Is a part oi good manners to be Courteous to one 
another, and when wu sec auy one rude and for¬ 
getful in his behavior, we say of him that he has 
never learned manners But courtesy Is even 
more than this; It is a part not ouly ol good man¬ 
ners, but also ol religion. The Bible leaches us a 
great deal about, courtesy In deed and word It 
tells us to be gentle lu speech and manner, to be 
patient with one another, not to answer again; 
not to think only’ of our own pleasures, nor to 
choose out the best places for ourselves. It lu ail 
s .eh little things as these we think not of our¬ 
selves. but of other people, then we shall be truly 
courteous; lor courtesy. Is, In fact, “ unselfishness 
In trifles.” 
One day at a crowded crossing, an old man was 
standing hesitating, afraid io venture over. Just 
atj-liat moment a young girl passed by, with her 
ltrayer-book under her arm, on her way to church. 
She saw the old man’s difficulty, and coming up 
to him, she took him by the hand aud guided nim 
carefully across the dangerous road. Then, with 
a pleasant smile, she turned back aud went ou her 
way again. It was but a little thing, yet It showed 
the spirit of true courtesy, ever on the watch to 
help others. 
it is Impossible to say how mucU good may not 
be done by one courteous deed Not long ago I 
read of a heathen soldier in ludla who was serving 
under an English captain. This captain was a 
very good man, who by his unfailing kindness to 
his men made himself so beloved by them that any 
one of them would have been ready to die for 
“thefather of their regiment,” as they used to 
call him. 
The soldier longed to know what prompted this 
spirit but would not venture to ask. He Bald to 
himself, “ Surely this man mu9t have the true 
religion.” He was taken dangerously 111, and was 
removed to the hospital, a s ho lay suffering aud 
wretched, the door opened and In walked the 
captain, come on purpose to visit his sick soldier, 
lie sat by the bedside and talked to him, and told 
him about our Savior. The man hardly under¬ 
stood what was said to him. for his uilud was full 
of his captain's kindness In thus remembering him 
andcomlug to visit him. As soon as ne was well 
again he weut to the captain's house and asked 
him that question which he had delayed so long— 
" What la your religion?" “ i am a Christian,” 
he replied. The soldier did not know much about 
Christianity, but he thought that the religion 
which made a man so good and brave and unself¬ 
ish must be the true religion, lie wished, he said, 
to become a Christian himself; and so, after he 
had been carefully trained aud taught, he was 
baptized. To the end of hla lire he showed him.-elf 
a true Chilstlan, and died at last happy in the 
thought of his Savior's love. Thus the courtesy 
and unselflstiuess of one man led a heathen soldier 
to believe, and brought him out of darkness Into 
light. 
Be courteous lu word as well as deed. When¬ 
ever you are spoken to or asked a question, lake 
the .pains to give a courteous unswer. It Isas 
easy to answer politely a3 to answer rudely, 
and how differently every one lecls toward any 
one-whether he be a child or a grown-up person 
—who takes the trouble to attend to what is said 
and to answer pleasantly, and one wbo answers 
carelessly or rudely! No one kuows, until they 
try, how much happiness they have it in their 
power to give to others, just by speaking pleas¬ 
antly and courteously, ror, that Is a most, true old 
saying which tells ua that “ good words are worth 
so much, and cost little." f. k. a. 
• - ♦ » ♦ - 
The gentle mind is like a smooth stream which 
reflects every object lu Us just proportion and in 
Its fairest colors. The violent spirit, like troubled 
waters, renders back the Images of things distort¬ 
ed and broken, and communicates to them all that 
motion which arises solely from Its own agitation. 
