522 
THE BUBAL 
APBJL 7 
bloom, are cut off for decorating school-houses 
and churches. One Spring, when the snow- 
had melted away, I found my lilacs almost 
entirely girdled by mice, to which—the lilacs, 
not the mice—I applied a mud poultice with a 
decidedly good effect. Some others, sprouts 
from these, which l planter] at our new house 
six ye*s ago, with ouly a small quantity of 
the barm-ard fertilizer, are not to be compared 
with these for profusion of flowers, haviug 
only twenty or thirty hunches each, and 
1 am satisfied that if we want the lilac in 
its perfection, we can hardly make the soil too 
rich I have been experimenting with some 
sprouts from the first that have been planted 
ten year s and have never bloomed, but they 
lack the barnyard dressing. I have noticed 
that they bloom liberally in the woods. where 
the soil is rich with leaf-mold. Bushes of 
thrifty appearance of both the white and 
purple varieties, 16 years old, on a neighbor’s 
farm have not yet blossomed, though my 
white one, ten years ago a small sprout taken 
from that, aud planted near the first-men¬ 
tioned in my rich soil, has "bloomed every year 
since the first three after planting. I have 
been thus explicit because so many have re¬ 
marked. " It must be that mine are not of the 
flowering kind.’’ 
Although the lilac is exceedingly hardy, 
being a native of Sweden, in some of the 
Western States the flower buds are frequently 
injured when near ready to open by the 
stealthy ravages of Jack Frost. To remedy 
this they are sometimes planted on the north 
side of the house, aud after the ground is 
frozen every Fall a heavy mulching of chips or 
other dressing is applied to prevent their start¬ 
ing too early in the Spring. 
Minnesota. Hope Evermore. 
THE BOY’S FRIEND. 
Louie came in from school and found Aunt 
Susan sitting by the fire, knitting very fast, 
and talking with mother. He hung about the 
latter's chair a little while, and glaucod rather 
doubtfully over toward the other, when he 
came to proffer his request, She was never 
very- sociable with little boys, liouie was 
“glad she wasn't his real aunt.” 
“Mother," he said at length, “could Seth 
come over bear© a little while to-night and see 
mv play-things? He dou’t have a bit good 
times over at his house, and he’s a real nice boy. ” 
"I have no objections, Louie.” 
“I knew you'd let nu\" he exclaimed, joy¬ 
fully; “and may we fetch our things inhere?” 
“Certainly, my dear, and we w ill make it 
just as pleasant as we can for the poor bov.” 
Louie did not say much, but his happy face 
expressed a good deal as lie kissed her and 
bounded off to see his boy, and then dashed 
into bis work with all his might. Beth helped 
him bring a ba.g of shavings from the carpen¬ 
ter's shop and split up his kindlings, and then 
he borrowed the shaving bag to get, a load for 
his ow-ii mother. 
Meanwhile Louie’s mother set. out a little 
stand in the corner and covered it with a 
bright cover. A lamp with a pretty shade 
was placed upon it, ready for lighting. It 
took only a minute to fill a pretty painted dish 
with apples and cookies and doughnuts and 
place it beside the lamp, but it made the nook 
look very pleasant, and cheery to a couple of 
lads with school-boy appetites. 
Aunt Susan could stand it no longer, but 
felt she must speak out: 
“I think you do go out of your way to spoil 
children pampering 'em.” 
“1 have always found it worked just the 
other way,” said mother. “I have known 
very few children spoiled by mailing home 
pleasant. Make it pleasanter than the street 
is my doctrine.” 
“My doctrine is to make children stay at 
home, whether or no,” said Miss Susan, with 
energy. 
“You can't make the young men stay at 
home, but you can make them love home so 
that the rum-shops will have no counter- 
charrns. But you must begin with your little 
hoys or your hold will be very slight on your 
bigger ones. I wish all pleasures were as 
cheap as these 1 have arranged for Louis.” 
It was a bright evening indeed for poor 
Seth and one to be long remembered—and 
Louie had a merry time tneking the left-over 
cakes aud apples into his various pockets to 1 m? 
“shared with Iris little dog” w hen lie reached 
home—but doggie did nut get all 1 iy any means 
BUSTLES OR TOURNURES. 
Without a doubt, there is now existing 
with the present style of dress the necessity of 
something to puff out. or fill out the skirt. 
There are various styles of tovrnnrr; some are 
made of hair-cloth, others are made of striped 
skirting trimmed up the back breadth with 
narrow ruffles, lined with hair-cloth These 
are good, but after a while become worn down 
by wearing and lose their stiffness. The cut 
given here is that, of a whit© skirt (onecould be 
made of colored if desired) having four gath¬ 
ered ruffles all the way up to the waist. They- 
ean be tucked and trimmed to suit the most 
fastidious, but for eveiw-day wear the plain 
hem is good enough. Starch very stiff and 
iron only to remove the rough-dry look. 
Two of these are enough for any lady’s 
wardrobe, for one would be always ready for 
wear. One advantage a skirt like this has over 
those made like a lioop-skirt or of hair-cloth is, 
they are not. so heavy, and so are more com¬ 
fortable for Summer, Worth, the great Pa¬ 
risian dress-maker, is making the skirts of 
dresses with casings across the back breadths, 
for steels to be run in them. This, of course, 
will be followed by many, aud is a good plau 
for heavy dresses, but we prefer the stiff, white 
skirt for comfort and for wearing with Sum¬ 
mer dresses. 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
Please give through the columns of the 
Rural New-Yorker cut of a dress for a girl 
two years old; and also one of infants knit 
cap, and oblige. Mrs. B. H. George. 
Ank.— We will do this the first opportunity 
with pleasure. 
t. Will you please give the addi-ess of the 
Boston Society for the promotion of home 
st udy. Also the address of the Chautauqua 
Society. 
New London, N. Y. b. l. 
Axs,—1. We do not know. 2. Rev. J. H. 
Vincent, *05 Broadway, N. Y. City, will send 
you circulars if you write to him. 
Please inform me where such handkerchiefs 
as were shown ill Rural of Jan. 1.1 can bo pur¬ 
chased and the price of same. E, Palmer. 
Ans.—I n any first-class dry goods or fancy 
store in this city; aud we presume, can be had 
in any other city. The prices are from 50 
cents to $1.50. Of course those which are 
more elegant and finer, range much higher 
in price. 
Will yon give through the Rural, instruc¬ 
tions about Chenille embroidery; how many 
different, stitches are required and what they 
are. Please tell us and oblige, D. Homer. 
Ans.— This would require more space than 
we can afford in this department. Address a 
line to Bentley & Co., 856 Broadway, X. Y., 
and you can obtain full information. 
Domestic Cconomi} 
CONDUCTED BV EMILY MAPLE. 
ABOUT RAG CARPETS. 
MAY MAPLE. 
While sweeping the family sitting-room, 
this morning, [noticed some of the breadths 
of the carpet were the worse f<>r wear, and I 
did not wonder, because for at least ten years 
it has been on the floor where many feet have 
pressed it daily, not carefully oi sparingly; 
for this same carpet belongs to u farm-house 
whose male occupants are like average fann¬ 
ers and are not always particular to put on 
clean slippers before entering the room from 
the field or farm-yard. Yet it could be made 
to do good service for a year or so by a few 
timely repairs; and after that some of the 
best breadths euu be sewed together to cover 
part of the kitchen floor. I know some ob¬ 
ject to a Lit of carpet being fastoued to the 
floor in the working-room oil account of the 
dust: but, for my part, 1 cannot see why dust 
that arises from sweeping a carpet is any worse 
for the lungs than that which comes from 
shaking rugs. And I never could see the 
economy of health iu washing floors every day, 
which seems ulmost always necessary if one 
cannot endure the dust of the carpet. The 
dirt, will Ik? there, carpet or no carpet. 
But it was not. of the dust I designed to write, 
hut of the colom that would wear and of the 
value of rag carpets. I noticed tha t many of 
the fancy colei’s were quite obliterated, owing 
in part, I suppose, to the abundant light with 
which the room is almost constantly flooded; 
darkened rooms always seem prison-like. 
But there wera the threads of dark orange or 
copperas color that were still as bright as ever; 
also some stripes of the old-fashioned dark 
blue. The crimson-colored flannel had met 
with no material change; tiny white threads 
had by long use become a delicately-tinted 
drab or stone-color, and the narrow black or 
gray strijies retained their distinguished ap¬ 
pearance. From the general appearance of 
the carpet, after all these years of constant 
wear. I learned that the old-fashioned colora 
were better for rag-carpeting than the modern 
fancy dyes. 
The new rag carpet in the library is much 
admired by visitors, aud one of its pretty fea¬ 
tures is a main stripe of hit-and-miss. The 
bright pieces are not much, if any, over one- 
fourth of a yard long, in this stripe, the soin- 
ber-hned pieces are longer. The stripe is 
nearly or quite two Angora wide, and does not 
show dust and tracks as one with a black body 
wi mid. The rags are cut fine, and as nearly as 
possible of uniform width; and are of flannel 
and cotton goods. Fulled cloth or worsted 
dress goods do not wear as tong as the warp, 
so we do not use them. With painstaking in 
cutting, sewing and winding our rag carpet 
Comes from the good weaver's loom as smooth 
as a piece of sheeting; a comfort to the feet 
and a delight to the eye. 
“Does it pay to make rag carpets;” is a 
questiou we often hear. Of course, that de¬ 
pends upou circumstances. If one has limited 
means, but time iu abundance, also plenty of 
worn out. garments. I should say it was a pay¬ 
ing business to work up the cast-off garments 
into tidy, comfortable floor covering, for 
oue good rag carpet will outwear a half-dozen 
three-ply carpets, especially on the floors of a 
farm-house. 
SOME THOUGHTS ON VARIOUS SUB¬ 
JECTS. 
House-cleaning. 
A writer in the Rural of March Ifi asks 
to hear opinions of others on this subject. I 
have learned much from the writings of others, 
their successes as well ns failures—and the 
interchange of opinions is good, even if our 
ways of doing things are different. Customs 
must vary to a certain extent to suit different, 
localities and climates as well as individual 
tastes. The care of our health is of the first 
importance, a fact we too often overlook. We 
should try to araange our work so as not. to 
crowd too much into one day, especially in 
house-cleaning; it is better to make baste 
slowly. It is well to begin by having a supply 
of bread, meats. [lies and fruit, or other things 
ready to avoid extra work on cleaning days 
and to be able to set the table quickly with 
good food, which will greatly lighten the 
worry which is too often worse than the work. 
It is well to begin with the garret, cleaning 
downward, but if any room should need it 
more tliau another, clean that first.; do nut. 
undertake more than one at a time, keep all 
the other rooms in their usual order aud if iu- 
emipted by company you will not be caught 
at a disadvantage. Do not begin too early 
while it is still rough and cold, as severe colds 
or pneumonia for yourself or family may bo 
the penalty. Choose a still, bright day so you 
can work with doors and windows open with¬ 
out danger of drafts. Do not work too late 
iu the day: either rest or change to some light 
employment tending to divert your mind, and 
next day you can begin with renewed vigor 
without that strain on nerves and temjier 
which is almost sure to 1m? t he result of over¬ 
taxed muscles. For those who cannot white¬ 
wash without spattering the floor, it is well to 
cover the floor with saud; experience has 
taught me that soap is useless for cleaning up 
lime. I tried vinegar instead, going over the 
spattered places with u scrubbing brush dipped 
in water aud vinegar, afterward mopping up 
the floors with water to which is added about 
hnlf-a-pint to two gallons of water. It will 
also relieve the feeling of dryness on the hands 
after the work is done to wash with a small 
quantity poured in the water; paints after 
being washed in the same way are improved 
b\ going over them «itli a cloth dipped in ker¬ 
osene; furniture is also much improved liy it. 
unless badly scratched; it looks as if newly 
varnished, i have not written anything per¬ 
haps but what housekeepers of experience 
already know: but 1 hope what I have said 
may keep some beginner off some of the shoals 
on which most of us sometimes strand. 
I read the articles in the Rural by the dif¬ 
ferent. writers with much iuterest, the sketch 
by Eva Ames a few numbers back was true 
to the life. Mary Wager-Fisher’s article 
on public schools lias more than a local signifi¬ 
cance. I think the patrons of public schools as 
much to blame as the trustees; first to elect 
such trustees often as unjust as incapable. 
Another fault equally reprehensible is, for 
parents to speak disparagingly of teachers in 
the hearing of the children and permitting 
them to do the same, and allowing them t<> go 
to school or stay at home as they please. 
Nothing will so cripple the efforts of a teacher, 
however faithful he or she may be. I do not 
agree with Mra. Fisher on the subject of music. 
A knowledge of music need not interfeie witli 
a thorough schooling iu the science of house¬ 
keeping: every little girl should be taught at 
home how to moke good bread and butter, as 
well as how to sew, knit and darn, and will la? 
taught by every right-minded mother, little by 
little as her strength and capacity admit. Such 
things can be taught pleasantly, so as not to 
make them irksome or distasteful. I began to 
help make my dresses when I was seven years 
old. and have made all of them since I was 12. 
and have made most of the bread for the 
household since I was nine. Withal, I found 
time to learn music and sometimes teach it. 
Not lm\iug a teacher to instruct me it was not. 
a royal road.” yet I would uot on any account 
part with what I know of it and the pleasure 
it has given me. I think it wrong to compel a 
child to learn music merely because it is 
a fashionable accomplishment: but if there is 
oue iu a family who loves it. -oiue means 
should be provided for that one to learn it. 
Music, like flowers, has a refining aud enno¬ 
bling iufluenee which should not lx- lightly 
estimated. 
The result of Mra. Fisher’s efforts to refoi m 
a drunkard were discouraging, but T think she 
ought not to condemn all on that account, nor 
stop at one failure. It might be t hat otheis 
with the same care would reform and be grate¬ 
ful for the kindly aid. It is our duty to help 
the weak and erring; all eaunot be saved be¬ 
cause they will not, yet some may be saved by 
a kind word which we must uot withhold, but 
for any woman to marry a drunkard with the 
hope of reforming him afterward is like drop¬ 
ping over the edge of a precipice with the ex¬ 
pectation of getting up unhurt. 
T tried Mra. Buck's recipe for yeast take 
when it was first published and have used it 
ever since as it is the best I ever used. If Aunt 
Rachel will try buckwheat cakes made with 
buttermilk or sour milk aud soda. I think those 
made with yeast will be set aside; if the milk 
is very sour it is better to add a little water: 
use just ns much soda as will neutralize the 
acid, too much soda in any bread is unwhole¬ 
some and distasteful. A Reaper. 
-♦ 
DOMESTIC SCIENCE. 
ANNIE L. JACK. 
I have a letter of inquiry from a gentle¬ 
man who reads the Rural, and mentions 
it as one of the most interesting papers 
that, comes to his table. He asks regarding 
cook books that give a small variety of food 
cooked in the hest, manner, and also if there is 
a paper published on domestic science, adding 
that if there is any help for housewives in such 
books, his wife ought to have the benefit of 
them, as he does from 1 sinks and papers in his 
business. I am obliged to answer that I do not 
know of any paper or magazine devoted entire¬ 
ly to domestic science, though I have contribu¬ 
ted to several at one time or another. It does 
not look well for the interest in the subject, 
that they have failed, though one in particu¬ 
lar was well conducted by a well known writer 
of ablity. and treated of many topics of iuter- 
torest. I think from a long experience that 
Marion Holland's three books, are of real value 
to young housekeepers. It is necessary, 
to state that the letter of inquiry isseusible and 
to the point, but I think it. is not generally 
acknowledged how much good is obtained 
from books and papers on this important 
subject. Men are apt to think that cook¬ 
ing is a part of a girl's “ bringing up” when 
the truth is that nowadays “the girl of the 
period” pays little attention to what she shall 
eat. aud would need to servo an apprenticeship 
in some school of domestic science heforo a* 
suiuing responsibilities that require her ntten 
tion to these subjects. But there is no such 
school, uor is it usual for these practical con¬ 
siderations to he thought of before marriage, 
and if we are to believe the evidence of our 
own observations, and the novel of the day, it 
is not the domestic girls who are sought by the 
young men of the jieriod, but rather the pretty 
creatures whose lily hands are unaccustomed to 
labor; for would it not mar their whiteness? 
and who know nothing of the practical and 
numerous duties that follow the sound of wed¬ 
ding bells, and the vows made often how 
thoughtlessly at, the altar. But, even to the 
novice, with ordinary intelligence there is 
much help to be found in books and the words 
of those who have had experience. 
FAMILY WASHING MADE EASY. 
On the recommendation of a friend who had 
used Doty's washing-machine for about 15 
