g?4 
report shows, as translated by J.Badvvin, of the 
Hague, Holland. 
[Mr. J. Van Der Breggen Azn. lives at Wad- 
dinxveen, Holland.— Eds.] 
It is a pity Mr. Muncey has made such errors, 
as they detract from the value of bis essay and, 
those not thoroughly conversant with the sub¬ 
ject, ou finding that his article is incorrect in 
some particulars, may hesitate in accepting 
what is true. I trust Mr. Muncey will eulight- 
en me if I am in error. 
The Holland breed of cattle known here as 
Holstein and Dutch Friesian, is, without 
doubt, by far the most profitable for beef, 
cheese, butter and milk combined, and this is 
acknowledged by all who have given them a 
fail' trial. Dudley miller, 
Oswego, N. Y. 
£ov Women. 
CONDUCTED BY SI ISC RAY CLARK. 
DEVONSHIRE IN OLD ENGLAND. 
Looking over some last year’s numbers of 
the Rural I came upon an article entitled 
“ Our Dairy-maid Elizabeth," which I had 
not read in the hurry of last Spring’s work. 
The writer is a native of Devonshire, in 
Old England, and the incidents told center 
round that charming country. Quite as much 
heart as brain is shown in the way she writes 
of farm-life there with its strange legends 
and innocent joys. With me it touched a 
sympathetic chord and awakened memories 
of by-gone years. A native of Scotland, I 
was known there as au enthusiastic fern- 
hunter and roamed the country round in 
search of fresh treasures, until I had nearly 
every native variety not only in my port¬ 
folio but also iu my fernery. But m3' am¬ 
bition did not stop there, as I found through 
hooks there were fresh fields and pastures 
new- in the sunn}' south. Devonshire w r as the 
home of many varieties, and I lcoked upon it 
as a perfect El Dorado, and longed to explore 
its hills and glens iu search of m3 7 favorites. 
Soon a sister, w'ho had been trained as a teach¬ 
er, obtained a- situation in Somersetshire, and 
the following Summer I made up my mind to 
go there for my holida} r s, and if possible reach 
Devonshire as w'ell. I had many pleasant 
anticipations of that visit, and looked forward 
to it with no ordinar3 7 degree of interest. At 
length the time did come,and 1 set out,not with¬ 
out some doubts as to whether the anticipation 
might not be the better part of it. A very 
short time at my destination convinced me I 
need have no fears on that point. A visit to 
Wells Cathedral, and Glastouhury 7 Abbes 7 , 
awoke in me a new sense of the beautiful, and 
called forth an emotion that well nigh bore 
me from the material life into one too ethereal 
to last on this side time No oue with the 
seeing eye can visit those places without beiug 
uplifted with their solemn grandeur, the one 
nearly perfect in all the glory of a hoary old 
age, tli“ other magnificent in its ruins. And 
what associations cluster round those sacred 
piles from the days of the Norman Conqueror 
down to the present time 1 
Some of the finest hymns in the English 
Church Service were written iu the garden 
attached to the Bishop’s palace. Walk down 
the one broad street of the town of Wells, 
look at the fountain in the center, and at the 
stream of crystal w'ater that flows continu¬ 
ously down its midst, and at the quaint 
houses ou either side, and answer whether 
oi' not you have seen something not oul3 r 
uncommon hut quite idylic iu its beauty? 
Or go to Glastonbury and visit the Abbott’s 
Kitchen, with its huge fire-place, the Haw¬ 
thorn tree that blossoms every Christmas, or 
the inn where the Friars entertained 
travelers, and say if you cannot suppose 
yourself back in the good old times 
uncontaminatcd by modern machinery or 
manners. And what interest to the natu¬ 
ralist is the plant-life around! I busied 
myself gathering specimens of my favorites. 
How the little Wall Rue (Ruta muraiva) (?) 
clings to the old walls! One almost hesitates 
to pull them from it. 
After a few days spent there I set out for 
Devonshire alone and on foot, winding my way 
almost south, and visiting the many places 
along its sea-coast as far as Torquay. There 
I drank in the warm breath of the sunny 
south, and lingered along its shores, mingling 
with a motley crowd, who go there in search 
of health or amusement. But I had made up 
my mind to penetrate the whole length of the 
shire, and so turned my steps inland, "far 
from the madding crowd." 
Nothiug can exceed the quiet beauty of those 
Devonshire lanes. Along the hedge-rows floral 
treasures peep out. at every step; ferns, iu all 
their wealth of foliage, rise in thick profu¬ 
sion. while overhead, high above the hedges, 
hang sprays of the native Blackcap, literally 
weighted down with clusters of fruit. The va¬ 
riety of ferns ires pot large, but the plants 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
themselves were exceedingly fine, and included 
the Male Fern (Aspidium Filix-mas), the Lady 
Fern (Asplenium FUix-femina), and the Hart’s 
Tongue (Scolopendium vulgare). 
On, through those green laues, and past 
quaint little hamlets, I threaded m3' way with 
no care on m3’ mind, but enjoying to the full, 
a country to me quite as romantic as auy por- 
tiayed in Oriental tale. 
At length I reach Barnstable and, having 
restedmyself there. I set out the following day 
for Ilfracombe, on the Bristol Channel coast. 
There I had the most success, gathering ferns 
far along its rock-bound coast, aud in its cool, 
shady glens, they were exceedingly plentiful, 
and included the Sea Spleen wort (Asplenium 
marinum), the Polypody (Polvpodium vul¬ 
gare), giant specimens of the Hart’s Tongue 
(Scolopendrium vulgare), the Black Spleen- 
wort. (Asplenium Adiantum.nigrum) and, 
loveliest of all, the true Maiden Hair (Adiau- 
tum Capillus vineris). I could have spent 
weeks exploring its recessed but I was re¬ 
luctantly compelled to pack up my treasures 
and embark on board the steamer for Bristol. 
Along the coast lie charmingly situated vil¬ 
lages aud private residences, very pleasant to 
look at as one sails up the channel, but the 
feeling that I was now’ homeward bound took 
possession of me, and in the day or two that 
was left of an all too brief holiday, I had 
onl3 7 , as it were, a melanchol3 r pleasure. After 
bidding a sweet farewell to m3 7 sister aud the 
troops of friends I had made there, I began 
my journey north, and was soon in the practi¬ 
cal life of a busy city. Two years afterwards, 
I again paid it a flying visit on m3' way from 
Ireland to Southampton. Our steamer got 
disabled and w'e lay in Plymouth two days. 
Every minute was spent visiting its historical 
places and its many natural beauties. Few 
towns have such a lovely situation, and no 
town has such a maguificeut promenade as 
'The Hoe," from where Sir Francis Drake 
watched the Spanish Armada as it sailed up 
the channel. Such is my connection with De¬ 
vonshire, and such is my love for it, that I 
cannot place it second even to the land of my 
birth. And now, when out on the unpoetic 
prairie, I sometimes wander in imagination 
through those green lanes and along its sunny 
shores, aud conjure up scenes from that happy 
past; a past that will ever have a chief place 
in my memory till I cross that bourne o'er 
which no traveler returns. 
T. MACALPINE. 
-♦ - *- 4 - 
BE A GOOD WIFE. 
The article in the Rural, entitled “What 
Can we Girls Do I have just read, and per¬ 
haps the3' will take a word from a wife of a 
quarter of a centur3’. Marriage with a worthy 
man is woman's privilege, and her best and 
highest development, mental aud physical, 
can be attained in this state. Men aud wo¬ 
men were made for each other, and a very 
old, but uevertheless a true truism, is, that a 
happy marriage is the very garden of Eden. 
An unhappy marriage is the reverse, and the 
greatest of all caiamaties that can befall a 
pure, affectionate, and noble woman. Faith 
in God, aud a strong resolve to do every duty, 
can alone keep such an one from absolute de¬ 
spair. Miss “Braddon” says, “a good woman 
who does not love her husband makes the best 
wife.” If this is true, it Is because she is control¬ 
led by duty, instead of the changing caprices of 
affection. “Trouble in the flesh" will come to 
every married couple. Why not expect it? 
The most wretched married people I have 
ever known, were always quite willing, and 
even eager, to see their children settled for 
life in marriage, knowing that they would find 
shelter and protection thereby, if not in the 
affection at least by the law, w.iicb co 7 pels 
the husband to support his wife—a support 
perhaps meagre enough aud grudgingly be¬ 
stowed. Look around ou all of 3'our friends, 
married or single, and ask yourselves the 
question, which is the preferable lot? If you 
are strong enough to fight alone the battle of 
life, to earn your own bread and butter, you 
are just iu the condition to gain the respect at 
least of a husband, and having a hearty, 
genuine respect, admiration and love ure not 
far distant. The truth is, dear girls, too many 
enter this holy condition hoping to find iu it 
only ease, adulatio 1 and pleasure. Such per¬ 
sons will find the reverse of what they seek. 
Read Tenn3'son’s “Princess.” Had not he the 
true conception of happiness in this condition? 
A mau must be bad, indeed, that can treat 
with disrespect a woman who respects herself! 
As a rule, a good woman will make a good 
home—we know exceptions to this, however. 
But if you have made up 3'our minds to follow 
the bent of your own wills, aud pave a way 
for yourselves, you may do well; but to those 
w r ho intend to enter the married state, should a 
good opportunity come to them, I have only 
to say, see it that you individually under¬ 
stand what is required of you as a wife. Be 
willing to make concession at any time if in 
the wrong, and, above all things, don’t find 
fault with your husband before others. 
m. h. s. 
BOYS, AND HOUSE-WORK. 
I was much interested in Mrs. Fisher’s re¬ 
cent article on “ Boys and House-w'ork,” as it 
is a subject to which I have given much atten¬ 
tion. 
It has long been a theoi'y of mine that men 
would make better husbands than the majority 
of them do, if they had been taught the rudi¬ 
ments, at least, of house work. Some might 
reply as a bright boy did, who differed with 
me on this subject: “ Do you want your daugh¬ 
ter to do a man’s work? To go iuto the stable 
and harness up horses and all such work?" 
“ No," I replied, “ I do not want her to have 
it to do, but I waut her to know how to do it., 
in case of au emergency.” 
I am always provoked to see a great, lazy 
boy 7 , read, play 7 , or sit around idle, while his 
mother and sistei's make mend and darn for 
him. A nd his mother I feel all out of patience 
with. I have seen cases where the girls of a 
family, who were attending school along with 
their brothel's, were obliged by their mother’s 
rule to make their own and their brother’s 
beds before going to school, and to do their 
own mending and darning, and that of their 
brother’s beside. This would have been all 
right if the boys had been at something 
equally useful, but no, they were out-of-doors, 
playing ball, or something similar, on Satur- 
davs, and in the mornings looking over their 
lessons, or “bothering around” until school- 
time. It is not just, but Here are few famil¬ 
ies iu which there are boys and girls, that the 
girls don’t get imposed upon in some such 
way. 
I know of a man who, when he was grow¬ 
ing up, was taught by his mother to not only 
dam, but to make bread, which requires 
strong hands to make good; to wash dishes, 
never forgetting to rinse them with hot water, 
aud in fact to keep the bouse as neat as 
mother did, aud as eai'eful about keeping out 
the flies. 
Yes, and two others, who, in case of sick¬ 
ness, company, or the wife’s absence, proved 
themselves as “ handy as a girl" about the 
house, and a great deal more so than some 
hired girls. They had no experience in such 
work preyious to their marriage, but they were 
men quick to catch au idea, aud like to be use¬ 
ful on all occasions. 
I also kDow a woman, a farmer’s wife, who 
has never, during her married life, been away 
from home for more than a day 7 at a time, 
because her husband and the boys “ would 
starve to death.” She has no daughters, and 
her sons scorn to learn “ girls work.” And 
when, as it sometimes happens, the poor 
woman gets Hat on her back, father and sons 
are helpless, aud must run for some neighbor. 
She often say's: “ Oh! if I had only made my 
boys learn house-woi'k while they 7 were small, 
how much it would have saved me.” 
\V. V. A. 
Domestic (Dconomi) 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MAPLE. 
KITCHEN GARDEN WORK—No. I. 
ANNIE L. JACK. 
*■ The blue-bird In the meadow brakes 
Is singing with the brook; 
Bear up, oh Mother Nature, cry 
Bird, breeze and streamlet free, 
Our winter voices prophecy 
Of summer days to thee!’’ 
So sings the poet Whittier, and by many 
outward and visible signs, we know that 
Spring is here, and that soon there will be a 
change in the routine of our “kitchen-garden 
work,” I use this phrase advisedly, though I 
confess it is not loug since I was ignorant of 
its full meaning. Taking up a daily city paper 
some time last year, I found myself appointed 
as superintendent of a department of the 
Christian Temperance Union, that seemed 
to take in a wide range, aud among other 
thiugs was the “kitchengarden.” In England 
this would mean the place where vegetables 
and herbs used for culinary purposes are sup¬ 
posed to grow. But when the plau of work 
came, 1 found it to read, “The work consists 
of teaching housework to young girls, liy 
means of object lessons. By r this means, it is 
thought the home life of many 7 poor families 
may he greatly improved, aud muuy poor 
girls fitted to find employment as skilled ser¬ 
vants. Hero is a fine opportunity for carry¬ 
ing out the theories of many people, that it is 
only traininy that is lacking to give us effi¬ 
cient servants. For my own part, I own to a 
want of faith. There is independence in tbo 
very air, and girls prefer factory 7 life, or any¬ 
thing else where their evening- and Sundays 
are free, to any servitude however moderate. 
It- has become the fashion, in cities, to reduce 
t.he work by having the cooking done by cater¬ 
ers, and I have friends who receive meals thus 
prepared at their door, and keep up a fair 
establishment by the aid of one servant. If 
the girl leaves them, they are almost indepen¬ 
dent. Th" laundry work is sent out, and there 
is very little to be done in the kitchen, as the 
dishes are taken away by the same hands that 
bring the food. The system has even the 
credit of economy, when oue counts up the 
cost of coal, breakages, the trials of market¬ 
ing, and the inevitable waste. The rest of 
such housekeeping is a pleasure—when the 
meals are provided aud there are no dishes to 
wash. One lady iu a large city gives lunch¬ 
eon parties, though she uses no cooking appa¬ 
ratus except a small stove, so tiny as to be a 
mere toy 7 . She cooks the viands that are re¬ 
quired to be Barred hot., and washes the dishes 
after her guests have left. Such a hostess 
will be able to talk of something besides the 
imperfections of her cook, and it will be a 
“feast, of reason and flow of soul” for such as 
are fortunate enough to be invited. 
But iu large families aud in the country we 
must do our own “kitchen-garden work,” and 
happy is that family where it is done cheer¬ 
fully, helpfully. We mothers must train our 
daughters to sustain the dignity of labor and 
yet, by every 7 possible means, to make the toil 
as pleasant aud attractive as possible. And 
as the days lengthen, aud the multitude of 
w'ork presses, let us think and plan as to best 
methods, iu which, 1 am sure, the Rural will 
help us, as it does the branches of horticulture 
and of agriculture that fill its weekly pages, 
to the encouragement and help of farmers. 
- 4 « <- 
A FARMER’S DAUGHTER’S DOMESTIC 
REVERIES.—NO. 7. 
CHARITY SWEETHEART. 
April 1st. —“There ought to be two more 
letters to your name,” said Joe Sims to me 
this evening. I was afraid to answer him, for 
hoys are full of such tricks on the first of 
April, so he added, after a minute, “The 21st 
and 14th letters of the alphabet." I felt my 
face flush, and began to think, am I unchari¬ 
table to these boys? Is my impatience with 
their ignorance, and want of attention to the 
little nice details of life, unjust? So I only 
said, “I wanted you to see yourselves as 
others see you, and know how you waste your 
golden opportunities.’’ All day the words of 
the Bible have haunted me—“Charity suffer- 
eth loug aud is kind; Charity envieth not,” 
aud I do envy. When I read iu the newspa¬ 
pers of the advantages to be obtained, if one 
only had the rnouey, I envy 7 those who have it. 
When my 7 city friends come to see me, and tell 
me of the pleasures of their winter season, 
and I remember mine, I envy them. Apd, I 
am afraid I am not alw-ay-s “kind." Yester¬ 
day I intended to set a hen, and Burt under¬ 
took to bring iu some really fresh eggs for me 
to mark, before putting them in the nest. 
Just as he crossed the yard, one of the calves 
had got loose and ran out, knocking him 
down, and breaking every egg in bis hat. I 
felt angry, for I had traded all the rest off at 
the store, and it was so much money wasted. 
So I stood and scolded, and if I didn’t say any 
naughty words, some of them came to my 7 
mind, for one can’t help thinking these things, 
though one dare not say them out, as the men 
folks do. I remember a girl said to me once, 
“Don’t you wish you were a man, for then you 
could swear without anybody being shocked?” 
I think people are shocked, only they excuse it 
in a man as some mode of giving veut to his 
feelings, and something to be expected if he is 
a little rough. 
I made a new kind of pie, the other day, the 
recipe for which I saw iu a newspaper. Ap¬ 
ples are scarce, and so are lemons, and it was 
to put iu the pie a little essence of lemon and 
so ne of Hereford’s Acid Phosphate to take the 
place of the lemons. I tried it, and father 
called it ‘lemon pie,” which was a very good 
test, I thought. We had the Phosphate iu the 
house, for a frieud of father’s gave him two 
bottles last Summer. He used one bottle, aud 
thought it good to quench thirst.. 
TIMELY PREPARATIONS FOR MOVING 
OR HOUSE-CLEANING. 
Ere long we shall be plunged iuto the miseries 
of house-cleanitig, and it is well to prepare for 
this on rainy, cold days, while it yet seems a 
privilege to remain near the kitchen range. 
To a home loving woman, the cheerful atmos¬ 
phere of a bright, tidy kitchen, is enough to 
dispel the depression of any stormy weather. 
I offer a few good recipes, and think that a 
person who has once taken the pains to weigh 
ingredients, must, be satisfied that it. pays bet¬ 
ter than the ordinary inaccurate measuring, 
by cups etc. etc. Cakes prepared as follows 
will keep for .veeks, if placed in tin pails ora 
cake box (no napkin about them) for cloth 
gives a stale taste to any baked foot!. It is 
well to have a good supply ill store for the 
