442 
MARCH 4 
£ox i\)t Jjmtttg. 
A CALIFORNIA LETTER. 
Uncle Mark: —Will you permit a little 
girl iu far away California to join your band. 
We have only been subscribers to tlie Rural 
New-Yobkkr for little over a year, but papa 
says we are life-long subscribers now. I 
should like to tell the Cousins something 
about our Western home. I live in a valley 
west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I wish 
I could send you a pen-picture of the moun¬ 
tains as they look now, with their tops cov¬ 
ered with snow. I can see some of the Cous¬ 
ins laughiug at snow being such a beautiful 
sight, but we do not very often have snow 
here, having had it m the valiey only twice in 
the last eight years. We have no rains here 
from early in Spring until late iu Fall, and 
everything is irrigated to insure a crop. We 
raise a great deal of fruit here—apples, 
peaches, apricots, nectarines, plums, figs, 
prunes and persimmons, all grow nicely. 
I should like to tell of a trip we took to the 
mountains oue Summer. A merry company 
of us started very early one morning with 
several wagons and a camping outfit, for we 
were to be gone three weeks. The second day, 
at noon, we got to the foot hills and then we 
went up and down mountains aDd around 
grades (roads cut in the sides of the moun¬ 
tains). It made me dizzy to look down the 
canyons, the bottom seemed so far away, and 
I thought, what if the wagon should slip oil; 
But we met with no mishap and finally ar¬ 
rived at the big trees in Tulare County. The 
largest one is called General Grant aud is 105 
feet in circumference at the base. There are 
several other very large trees near by, some 
being named and some not. One large tree 
had fallen down and been burnt out on the 
inside, leaving only the outer shell. One of 
the party rode inside the trunk on horse back, 
but could not reach the top with his gun 
when he held it up, even when on his horse. 
Another tree that had t>een burnt the same 
way, had been used as a blacksmith’s shop. I 
have heard that since then there has been a 
partition put up iu this tree and two families 
use it for a Summer residence. ’I he bark 
on these trees is very thick—sometimes two 
feet—aud is soft to the touch I was going to 
say spungy, but it is bardly that, and is some¬ 
times used as pin-cushions; wo always bring 
some Rome with us to send to Eastern friends, 
who consider it quite a curiosity. 
There are many wild flowers growing in 
the mountains, some being peculiar to this 
State. 1 should like to describe them, but can 
only do so from memory, so will wait until 
we take another trip this Summer, ami then, 
if Uncle Mark is willing. I will tell of them. 
The most beautiful of all, to my notion, is the 
Snow 1 lant. There are only two or thieh 
varieties of ferns growing there. Game is 
abundant, and we always have plenty of quail 
to make pot pie; that seems to be the most 
common dish of campers. We are never 
bothered with rain in our trips, and we make 
our camps under a large live oak or piue 
tree, and enjoy ourselves to our hearts’ con¬ 
tent and get as brown as gypsies. And oh! 
such appetites as the mountain air gives; it 
seems as if we could eat all the time. How we 
dread the coming of the time when we must 
leave and go home. But the older ones of the 
party begin to tuink of home duties aud so we 
have to turn our steps homeward. When we 
arrive at home again, we think its the best 
place iu the world after all. lillie WILSON. 
Tulare Co., Cal. 
■ - 
Dear Uncle Mark: —Perhupssome of the 
Cousins are as interested as I am in raising 
small fruits, and would like to read my expe¬ 
rience. L set out my first raspberry and straw¬ 
berry plants two years ago this Spring, with 
the expectation of having to work all Summer 
over them, to keep the runners oif, and the 
weeds out, but, to my surprise, they needed 
very little care; in fact, I gave them too 
much, for I cultivated them while they were 
in bud and blasted a great many, but it being 
the first year, I did not expect any berries 
In the Fall 1 cultivated the plants thoroughly 
and set out more plant® on a side hill, sloping 
to the northeast. I do not thins they will do 
as well as my old plants, that were set in a 
low, rather moist place, I gave them no 
mulching, but they came out splendidly in the 
Spring. Last Winter they were mulched, 
aud 1 shall see which method is the best lor 
them—mulching or not mulching. 
Last Spring I set out some wild raspberries 
and blackberries, and 1 am very eager to see 
if they will improve by cultivation, so as to 
equal my cultivated ones. 
1 have found that the Sharpless Strawber¬ 
ries did much better tbau the Crescent, being 
very large and sweet. I have some Manches¬ 
ter plants that Mr. Hale sent me, but 1 had 
only one berry from them, for, as “Uncle 
Mark” told me to do, 1 picked all the blossoms 
off, because they were new plants I wauted, 
and not berries; but the berry 1 did get was as 
good as two Crescents. The raspberry plauts 
he sent mo are the best I have. My red rasp¬ 
berries trouble me by coming up very thick 
aud fast. How can I keep them in rows? I 
want to plont some nuts this Spring; will 
you please tell me how to do so? 
Pittsfield, Mass. allie w. 
[The way to keep your raspberry vines with¬ 
in bounds is by pinching back the sucker buds. 
Treat the suckers as you would weeds. It 
would have been better had you gathered 
your nuts in the Fall, especially if hard shelled 
ones, and buried them in the field over W in¬ 
ter, as the frost would have aided the germs 
iu making their escape. Plant the nuts about 
one inch apart in the row, the rows being 18 
inches apart. Transplant, when of sufficient 
size, to the nursery rows.— Uncle Mark.] 
Dear Uncle Mark and Rural Cousins— 
Our flowers did not do very well last season, 
for they were drowned until the first of Au¬ 
gust, and then baked until frost, so you see I 
did not have a very good chance. But I shall 
try and do better in the future. Dear Cous¬ 
ins, why dou’t Uncle Mark tell us bis real 
name! I have come to the conclusion that he 
surely must be some forlorn old maid, or per¬ 
haps an old bachelor that, has been crossed in 
love, and is now trying to do some good in the 
world by amusing and interesting the child¬ 
ren. Now Ullcle Mark, if I am right, I pre¬ 
sume you will keep silent. 
Your loving niece, etta shaekner. 
Washington County. Iowa 
[I have decided uot to remain silent, so you 
may draw your own conclusion. Surely, it 
gives me great pleasure to aid the young folks 
in auy way that lean, and ( think I should 
still take pleasure iu doing the same, whether 
I were an old maid, or an old-bachelor-crossed- 
in-lovt, the gray haired father of many child¬ 
ren, or one of those •' real - ’ good-looking youug 
men—providing the children were as interest¬ 
ing and good as the members of the Youths’ 
Horticultural Club. But I think perhaps the 
best way to learn more of me. would be for 
any or all to call at the Rural Office, where 
they would be cordially welcomed by 
Uncle Mark.] 
YOUNG QUERIST. 
C. L , Floyd, Ind —Can a river run up-hill? 
We are having a controversy in our school 
concerning the flow of rivers. One party 
says that it is possible for rivers to ruu up¬ 
hill, and that they do it. citing as an instauce 
the river Amazon, while the other party is 
just as positive that a river cannot accomplish 
this feat. Who is right? 
A ns. —All moving bodies of water, such as 
brooks aud rivers, seek the level of the ocean, 
or of some large body of water, which lias an 
outlet into the ocean, or whose water is carried 
away by evaporation. There must. then, be 
a descent to the ocean, which is more or less 
gradual. Perhaps the reason of tne person 
claiming that the Amazon flows up-hill, is be¬ 
cause the tide is felt 400 miles from the mouth 
of the river. But, ou the other Laud, the river 
current is distinctly perceptible for more thau 
200 miles from the shore at sea. This tidal 
phenomenon on the Amazon is known as pro- 
roco. No, rivers do not flow up-hill. 
W. J„ Jr,, Godfrey, IU — Are Nipheios. Co¬ 
quette, Perle des Jardins, Pink Cluster, Black 
Prmceaud Madame Piantier Roses a good col¬ 
lection? 
Ans—I hardly know wliat you wish your 
collection for. If for out-door culture, Madame 
Piantier, Paul Neyron, General Jacqueminot, 
La Reine, and Alfred.Colomb are very good 
varieties. Nipbetos and Perle des Jardins are 
Tea Roses aud are tender, and will not do for 
outdoor culture. The others, with the excep¬ 
tion of Pink Cluster, with which I am not ac¬ 
quainted, will do for outdoor culture. 
A. K. J., Collins Center , N. Y —What food 
is best for a colt eight or nine months old ? 
Ans.—T he best graiu ration for a colt is 
one to two quarts of oats with a pint of oil 
meal twice a day. This and good hay will 
keep a colt iu flue condition. 
I. G. M., Mallory, N. Y .—How can I de¬ 
stroy cucumber bugs. 
Ans.—A teaspoouful of saltpeter in a gallon 
of water will make a good solution to apply. 
Pour a pint of it on each hill. 
F. M. P., Williamsburg , Va - Will some of 
the Cousins tell me the best way to raise young 
chickens aud ducks? Will somebody answer 
this query ? It will be a good opi>ortumty for 
some one to talk poultry. 
F. S. J., Galesburg, Mich —What is the 
best thing to keep worms from cabbage plants? 
Ans.—P yretbrum powder, or an emulsion 
of soap-water and kerosene is good, 
PterfUaneoujs IMU’crtiiSittg. 
JUDGE KELLEY’S VIEWS. 
The Hon. William D. Kelley, of Philadel¬ 
phia. has long been known for bis fearless ad¬ 
vocacy of the right, aud his uncompromising 
opposition to the wrong. Since 1860 he lias 
been a member of the House of Representatives 
of the United States. Fie has always been 
known as a man of positive counsels; a power¬ 
ful speaker; an earnest debater; an able 
thinker, aud an unwearying worker. 
Judge Kelley has been so long and so prom¬ 
inently before the American p oph. that his 
sentiments on auy important, subject are val¬ 
ued. even by those who do not agree politically 
with him. ’ He L emphatically a mau of the 
people. Elevated to the Judgeship many 
years ago, he proved to be a man of such un¬ 
swerving integrity, such earnestness of pur¬ 
pose and such depth of conscientious convic¬ 
tion, that he was for a long term of years re¬ 
tained on the judicial bench; and on in's desir¬ 
ing to retire to the comparative seclusion of an 
extensive law practice, was told by the people 
that he must serve them in Congress. For 
twenty-three consecutive years his Congress¬ 
ional service has beeu rendered with singular 
fidelity and purity. Bis utterances are well 
known to come from his iumost heart, and his 
opinions to be the result of the most mature 
deliberation. The judgment of such a man 
carries with it immense weight, aud Ids views, 
whether on public affairs or private interest®, 
are entitled to the respect and esteem of all 
thoughtful persons. 
Judge Kelley's power of resistance to obsta¬ 
cles which would have put an ordinary mau in 
his grave. Las loDg been the subject of com¬ 
ment, not only among his friends, but by the 
public generally. Such was his physical con¬ 
dition ten years ago, that it was feared that 
the next Congressional session would be his 
last. 
For rnauy years the Judge had beeu afflicted 
with the most obstiuate catarrh, which defied 
all the old-fashioned remedies, and which 
would have entirely laid on the shelf a less in¬ 
domitable man than himself. Hisllfe became 
almost a burden to him, and he was nearly at 
death's door. To-day, although at an age 
when most men begin tosbow signs of wearing 
out.be is hearty ana vigorous, and as ready aud 
as able to perform his ar duous Congressional 
duties as he was twenty years ago. 
An account of Judge Kelley’s remarkable 
case, as given by himself, will bo of interest 
to all who are suffering with Catarrh, and 
who are wondering what they shall do to get 
rid of this horrible disease One of our editors 
recently spent a morning with Judge Kelley 
at that! geutleman’s home iu Wed Philadel¬ 
phia. To him the Judge communicated the 
history of his illness and recovery subetan- 
-tially as follows: 
“I had. as a hereditary victim to Catarrh, 
suffered for years. I was subject to violent 
paroxysms of coughing. Straining for relief 
had produced abrasion of the membranes and 
daily effusion of blood from my throat. For 
four years 1 passed a portic n of each Congress¬ 
ional vacation m the Rocky Mountains or on 
the Pacific coas.. While there i found relief, 
but when I returned to tide-water the disease 
appeared with apparently renewed vigor. My 
breathing power diminished, so that, in the 
early Summer of 1873 it was little more than a 
panting for breath About two years before 
this my attention had been called to Com¬ 
pound Oxygen Gas as Uieu administered by 
Dr Starkey. A friend who had great faith 
in its efficacy advised me try it Un reading 
Dr. Starkey’s advertisement l threw the little 
book aside, and declined to resort to the tivat- 
meu on the ground that it was a quack medi¬ 
cine which proposed to cure every tiling, aud 
was consequently without adaptation to auy 
particular disease, I grew worse, and in the 
Summer my breathing was so short that a 
cough, a sneeze, or a sigh produced such acute 
pain at the base of the left lung, that I felt it 
necessary to close up my affairs, as 1 did uot 
believe 1 could last, for sixty days. Nor do I 
believe I would have lasted for that time had 
1 not. found a potent curative acent. 
•'I had lost none of my prejudice against the 
gas as a medicine, but iu very despotation, 
seeing that itc.ould not make me any worsethan 
I was, and as medical treatment had utterly 
failed to meet my case, 1 concluded to try it. 
After a thorough examination, Dr. Starkey, 
to whom I w-s then a stranger, said: “Sir, i 
have no medicine for either form of your dis¬ 
ease (alluding to the catarrh and the bleediu^ 
at the throat), but if you will give me time 1 
will cure vou. 1 My response was a natural 
one. ‘You are irutikin saying you have no 
medicine for either form ot my disease, and 
yet you propose to cure me. By what agency 
Will you work this miracle?’ ‘The Oxygen 
Gas.’said he, ‘is uot a medicine. It has none 
of the characteristics of medicine compounded 
of drugs. These create a requirement for con¬ 
tinual increase of quantity'to betaken: and, 
if long persisted iu, produce some form of dis¬ 
ease. But the gas produces no appetite for 
itself. It passes, by inhalation, into the blood, 
and purifies and invigorates it. The system is 
thus enabled to throw off effete matter. You 
will find by experience, if you try the treat¬ 
ment, that )t will uot Increase the rapidity of 
the action of your pulse, though the beating 
thereof will be stronger under its influence.' 
“This explanatiou removed my objections, 
and 1 could see how such uu a^ent could operate 
beneficially in cases of widely different symp¬ 
toms and character. 
“Dr. StarkOJ said tbul the cells of my left 
lung were congested with catarrhal mucus, 
aud that lie believed the gas would at once ad¬ 
dress itself to the removal or the deposits and 
the restoration of my full breathing power. 
“I entered ou the use of t he treatmeut, and at 
the end of three weeks, with an improved appe¬ 
tite, with the ability to sleep several consecu¬ 
tive hours, with a measurable relief of the 
puiu iu the luug, and with Dr. Starkey’s con¬ 
sent, I made the tour of the takes from Erie to 
Duluth, iu company with my venerable friend, 
Henry C. Carey. Returning, we visited friends 
in St. Paul, Chicago and Pittsburgh. 
“Notwithstanding the intense heat, I re¬ 
mained in Philadelphia during the Summer 
and inhaled the gas daily', with the happiest 
effect. Before Congress assembled in Decem¬ 
ber, my lung had been relieved of much of its 
nauseous deposit, aud 1 was able to breathe 
without, pain. 
“Without detaining you with detail, I may 
say that iu the progress of my recovery, l had 
occasional hemorrhages, which always pre¬ 
ceded a palpable step in the progress ot recov¬ 
ery; so that I came to regard thoseunwelcome 
visitors as part ot the remedial action of na¬ 
ture, assisted by Compound Oxygen Gas. 
“I am now more than ten years older than 
I was when I first tested the treatmeut. I 
have had no perceptible effusion of blood for 
more than six years I breathe as deeply as I 
did at any- period of my youug manhood, and 
my natural carriage is so erect us to elicit fre¬ 
quent comment. 
“I have regarded my case as a very extraor¬ 
dinary oue, aud yet I nave had under observa¬ 
tion oue which I regard as more remarkable 
than my own—that of a youug lady who Lad 
been paralysed by fright and contusion when 
her horses rau away and her carriage was de¬ 
stroyed; aud to whose father, Dr. Btarkey, 
after examining the case, said she was beyond 
the roach of human agency. 1 know her now 
us a happy' wife aud mother, restored to most 
excellent, health. 
“You may judge of my restoration to health 
by the contrast between the results of some of 
my recent Congressional debates, compared 
with what they' ware in 1371. In that year 
wbeu 1 spoke iu the House iu favor of the 
grant by the Goveriuent to the Centennial 
Exhibition, 1 w as so prostrated by theoxertion 
that my deal 1 friend, the late Col. John W. 
Forney, left the gallery in which he had been 
sitting, in order to come to the door of the hall 
to assist in<? when I should fall. I found on 
quitting the floor that there had been a gen¬ 
eral four that in uiv zeal I was passing beyond 
the bounds of prudence. 
“But on the fifth of May, 1882, whensubmit¬ 
ting an argument iu favor of a Tariff Commis¬ 
sion. 1 hold toe floor for nearly' three hours; 
though parts of t he debate mi ht be character¬ 
ized as a wrangle between myself aud others; 
uud as l did not obtain the floor until the atter- 
nOOti. I surrendered it, because the close Of the 
day had come, when members, appetites told 
them that dinner was ou the table The t-ven- 
iug w as passed in my rooms, with a high de¬ 
gree of sociability, iu which a number of 
young ladies and gentlemen from my district, 
w ho happened to have been in the House dur¬ 
ing my speech, participated. 
“On a recant occasion 1 addressed five thou¬ 
sand people iu the Philadelphia Academy of 
Mu mV, w ilhouf. feeling auy exhaustion. 1 have 
a hearty appetite and am able to take 
abundant exercise. I sleep web and have a 
far better color in my cheeks thau I bad ten 
years ago. 
“Youask if I still continue the treatment. 
Whenever I am iu Philadelphia, and feel a 
fresh cold, or suffer from the nervous exhaus¬ 
tion which follow s vxcTSwive labor, I go to the 
office of Drs cuu key A Palen and resort to 
the treatment, aud am never without the 
‘home treatment’ iu Washington, l have the 
highest confidence, uot only in the treatment 
itself, but in Drs. Starkey & Palen as gentle¬ 
men of skill, integrity aud good judgment.” 
To learu all about Compound Oxygen, 
write to Drs. MacKey A Palen, 1100 Girard 
Street, Philadelphia, for pamphlet setting 
forth full particulars. 
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