350 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
JUNE 2 
The two adventuresome girls were cordially 
received by Miss Gordon's cousins the Kents. 
They gladly made the “ Kent Place” a basis of 
operations, from which every day or two they 
sallied forth to Storm some new place of inter¬ 
est; the Big Springs, the various mines and 
saw-mills; they lost themselves in the thick 
pine forests, aud paid decorous visits to school 
trustees. With Richard Kent’s influence the 
trustees were moved to appoint Alice to the 
charge of the public school ut Allen’s Gorge, 
with the coveted salary of eighty dollars per 
month. So far Fortune was amiably accom¬ 
modating, but Dorothea could not find her 
school. So the girls left the heart of the Sier¬ 
ras, and w ent over into Yuba county. Then 
Dot found a position in a private “ Institoot,” 
and managed to lucrea.se her iucome by writ¬ 
ing up the agricultural part of the Country for 
the city papers. During the two years that 
followed, Dot became a practical farmer, by 
going about among the Yuba fanners, ob¬ 
serving their ways and becoming wise. On the 
other hand, Alice developed a wonderful 
adaptability for the carpenter’s trade; and 
more than that earned a reputation for being 
a *• regular dabster at managin’.' 
There were discouragements aud disap¬ 
pointments, of course, scattered in among the 
successes, "to keep our ingenuity iu proper 
trim,” Alice said; but finally, a little before 
the end of the two years, during the week’s va¬ 
cation iu March, the would-be farmers were 
ready with a capital of $1,600 to huut up a 
spot upon which to plant their vine and fig- 
tree. Should it be Yuba County? Dull local 
market, aud too far from the city markets. 
Los Angeles? Not enough water. One of the 
Bay Counties? Land too dear; and so on. The 
puzzled capitalists thought of making a bal¬ 
loon ascension and adopting that laud where 
Fate and the Pacific breezes might waft them. 
They gave up the balloon ascension, but they 
were very sura, finally, that if they hadn’t 
given it up, Fate and the Pacific breezes would 
have dropped them in Plumas County. Here 
a railroad was being completed, countless 
mountain streams danced under the cool pines; 
here the natives imported their fruit anil vege¬ 
tables from Chico in teams, and Chico wus 65 
miles away! All because they had money and 
had not enterprise. The country was admira¬ 
bly adapted to the cultivation of the small 
fruits, but scarcely any one had attempted to 
raise them. Here there was some chance of 
success for missionaries in the cause. 
Bo it came about that “them two teachers, 
Miss Gordon and Miss Carew’s just taken up 
some er Ijiwtou’s land, an' they’re goin’ to 
farm it! Did you ever hear o’ such doins!” 
Very well Mrs. Proddles, you have only to 
wait aud see! 
For $700 cash, Lawton sold a tract of 12 
acres of good laud, upon which were three liv¬ 
ing springs, 25 young apple-trees just begin¬ 
ning to boar, and an old log barn. Mr. Law- 
ton was a lumberman, and bad no eye to any¬ 
thing but lumber, so he was easily induced to 
sell this almost timberless laud to the “school- 
marms.” and was glad to get his payment in 
cash iu a Country where everybody owes his 
neighbor, aud is in no distressing hurry to pay. 
These 12 acres at their upper end rau about 
five rods or so into the timber, and here the 
springs had their source. Fi’oin the timber 
the Land sloped gently to the river below. 
Richard Kent was invaluable to the girls. 
He advised them as to the best varieties of all 
the small fruits to plant, aud recommended 
certain of the best kinds of fruit trees. The 
girls were determined to have their stock all 
of the choicest varieties, for those required uo 
more care to raise, and brought a higher price. 
Cousin Dick encouraged them in this and was 
very sangui ue as to their success. 
With $3<X) the farm was stocked. Nine 
acres were planted with pear, apricot, cher¬ 
ry, plum and peach trees; these wore planted 
far enough apart iu rows to allow r..ws 
of small fruits to flourish between them. 
The fruit trees ware all a year old from 
the bud, and would not bear for two yeans 
more. These same nine acres were planted 
with strawberries, currants, gooseberries, rasp¬ 
berries aud blackberries. Noue of these were 
allowed to boar the first year, all the blos¬ 
soms were carefully clipped off. line acre 
was sowed in alfalfa, oue was reserved for 
house uud barnyard, and another acre was 
sowed with j>otatoes. This last acre was to 
be devoted to vegetable growing at.er the 
first year. 
There was now remaining of the original 
capita! $600, with which to erect some sort of 
a house. Timber was very cheap aud u saw 
mill was situated but a quarter of u mile up 
the river. Thus it came to pass that u neat 
little cabin, built of barked logs, went up just 
on the edge of the timber, it contained but 
four rooms; the partition walls were only 
planed pine boards, but the floors were nicely 
laid. 1 u fact the floors were the only luxury the 
girls allowed themselves. The windows had to 
be propped up by sticks \\ lien opened, and there 
was but one chimney, but a delightful porch 
Van m ound the front aud one side t*f the house, 
£ox Women 
JONDUCTED BY .tllSS KAY CLARK.. 
and that made up for almost anything. The 
front door opened into a hall that ran straight 
through the house, two rooms opening from it 
ou either side, kitchen and sitting-room, and 
two chambers. At the back door was a wide 
porch aud a wood-house. But a few steps 
from the door were the spring hea's always 
kept cool by the tall pines. Dot said she meant 
to have a spring house over them gome day. 
When put together, the log cabin cost $400. 
There now remained $200. for further stock 
aud labor. 
During the long vacation the girls had super¬ 
intended all the planting, doing some of the 
actual work, and they had sceu almost every 
nail driven in the house. Now August was at 
haud, and the Fall term must begin. They 
left their factotum Martin to gather the apples 
and take them to the “store:” he was to dig 
the potatoes and attend to the orchard, getting 
it in trim for the Winter. 
The potatoes, alfalfa hay, and the apples 
were easily sold, and the proceeds paid Mar¬ 
tin’s wages for a year, bought a subsoil er and 
a plow as well as a set of ordinary farm tools. 
Meanwhile Dot had gone back to her "Insti¬ 
toot” and Alice to her savages at Allen’s Gorge. 
Every Saturday and Sunday of the Fall, 
Alice spent with the Kents, for they lived only 
a mile down the river from the farm. 
Saturdays she spent with Martin doing odd 
things about the place, while on Sunday a 
good deal of talking and pi earning was done. 
Alice w-as a famous carpenter; she put locks 
and bolts ou doors and windows, made win¬ 
dow' seats and shelves, and dually hegau a 
kitchen table. It sounds preposterous but it is 
truth. She was not a “daLstet at managin’’ 
to no purpose, aud practical Dot thought with 
affection of the cupboards iu t wo corners of 
the kitchen, one of them closed with a frame 
door covered with gray mosquito netting. 
With Martin's help, screens were prepared 
for all the windows and doors, for the flies aud 
mosquitoes always make a point of being ex¬ 
ceedingly neighborly iu the country. The tri¬ 
umph of Miss Gordon’s skill w as attained when 
two neat cots stretched with padded canvas 
were placed in the two bed-rooms. Then, to 
Martin’s alarm, Alice walnut-stained and oiled 
all the floors but that of the kitchen. That 
w as the last straw, aud poor Martin shook his 
head, exclaiming “Wal 1 nmirsoesich doins!” 
But Alice hud uo pity. Bhe showed him more 
and more wonderful “doins” till the poor fel¬ 
low said he didn’t kuow whether he was "ridin’ 
afoot or horseback.” 
Winter came only too soou, aud the girls 
were very anxious to know how the orchard 
was going to stand the snow. The Lawton 
trees would be all right, but. those lately' set 
out were tender yet. Dot had Martin pack 
ashes aud manure about, the base of the trees, 
aud straw over the strawberries and raspber¬ 
ries, aud around the other small fruits. This 
probably protected them, for not oue plant 
died. 
The Winter passed quietly; everything was 
snowed up and Alice remained at Allen’s 
Gorge. When March vacation came again 
Alice and Mrs. Kent sat in the cosy sitting 
room at the Kent place, discussing the work 
to be done in the Spring. Mrs. Fanny was 
quite as enthusiastic as Alice aud had many 
practical suggestions to make. Mrs. Funny' 
was saying, 
“Martin has done very well; now that the 
snow has gone the place looks finely But 
there is any amount of work to be done on it 
yet. Whut are your plans for this Bpring? 
You ought to be able to live on it this season. 
It will certainly need all your time.” “Yes, 
I know. I have a letter from Dot, this even¬ 
ing. She -ays she has saved $2*0 this last 
term, and 1 have—Let me.sec, I've spent almost 
nothing for clothes, I guess 1 have nearly 
$300. Now there is over $550 to rim the place 
on this year. 1 think we might get along 
on that, don’t you Fanny ( 
" Get along? I’d agree to do it myself on hall 
that. 
“lYOSpect is good, isn’t it? Well, Dot said 
she would give up her position ut the Knox¬ 
ville institute aud come here uud look after 
the farm. We could live together in our 
house, get one of the miner’s daughters to do 
the housework and help uroui.d, while 1 could 
go on teaching until June. That would in¬ 
crease our income a little without much in¬ 
convenience, aud I could ride over to Alleu’s 
every day. I have my jiouy, you know.” Dick 
presently joined the two ‘plotting, scheming 
women,’ as lie chose to call them. He was a 
delightful man, and as he leaned ugaiust the 
mantlepieee with one huud ou his little wife’s 
shoulder, he discoursed on the best method of 
treating blackberry vines and the best garden 
seeds. He advised the girls to begin directly 
ou the acre devoted to vegetables, putting iu 
manure uud preparing the ground for the 
seeds as soon as they should arrive. He as¬ 
sured Alice that early vegetables would bring 
a high price in the local markets, as the whole 
population was ready to rise in meeting against 
the everlasting pork-and-boan diet 
{To be Continued)) 
NOTE. 
Our readers will notice ive publish this week 
our first prize article. As we have stated 
already, some of the subjects have been more 
ablv handled than have others; but we believe 
each will meet with a hearty welcome and 
be eagerly read with interest by all.—[E ds. 
CITY AND COUNTRY KITCHENS. 
My time having been about equally spent 
between the city and country 1 have been able 
to gather some items (which I propose to tell 
the waste bosket) in regal’d to “City and 
Country Kitchens,” and what I know about 
them. 
There is a wide difference between the kitch¬ 
ens, 1 have often wondered at it as the work 
done there is for the single purpose of keep¬ 
ing body and soul together. This feat is per¬ 
formed by the simple hoe-cake baked before 
the lire place, or a meal of several courses 
both answering the same purpose, but it must 
all come from the “City or Country Kitchens.” 
As this happens to l>e Thursday we hud bet¬ 
ter visit the city kitchen first, for it is Brid¬ 
get’s day out. and-lew of us can muster cour¬ 
age to face this queen ou her throne. This 
is something she will not tolerate, even the 
“ madamV’ visits are met with a look that 
plainly ask, “ what business ye havo here ?” A 
survey of the regions lielow shows us that the 
basement kitchen belonging to a city house is 
built half way underground, so when you look 
out through l.he iron barred window you look 
on the surface, which is on a line with your 
eyes. The effect is prison like, aud the char¬ 
itable thought ut once outers your head; no 
wonder Bridget is so often out of sorts, if she 
gets out of this deu only once a week except 
as she goes to (5 o’clock A. si.) Mass. But 
within it is pleasanter. Everything shows 
the result, of what is vulgarly termed “elbow- 
grease” but at once conveys the idea that 
muscle has taken an active part. The hot 
water boiler shines like a new p®my. The 
black range and sink contrasts well with the 
hand-scrubbed floor aud table, as white as 
boards can lie made; the part that is not 
covered with oil-cloth. This is accomplished 
by getting down on the knees with scrubbing 
brush, soap and soda, even if the floor covers 
several yards square. It must he very hard 
w ork, at least Biddy foams at this time the 
most. I knew one who invariably gave her 
mistress due notice that she would “ lave if 
she didn’t get some nigger to do the scrub¬ 
bing” every time the floors had to lie cleaned; 
but when the work was done the result had a 
soothing effect, aud her goodness was over¬ 
whelming, attended with the usual apologies. 
The dresser, an iudisjieusable piece of kitchen 
furniture, w here the every-day crockery is 
kept behind the glass doors, and the iron aud 
tin-ware kept underneath, and all necessary 
cooking utensils, makes it an important fea¬ 
ture. The long white table iu the center of 
of the room Is the “ work bench,” and also 
used for the servants diuing table. Another 
table on cross legs is used for ironing-board 
and can lie converted into a sofa when not. 
needed for a table. The stationary w ash-tubs 
are usually m the kitchen, unless the house is 
large enough for u laundry. Every conveni¬ 
ence, and it would seem us if everything 
tended to labor-saving, even to the baker 
supplying the bread and the milkman the 
milk, which is poured through a tunnel into a 
patent can hung ou the gate, and yet there is 
enough to do. Luuch takes the place of a 
midday dinner, so the day is not broken in 
upon us in the country. After the all import¬ 
ant six o’clock dinner is over, all is rest until 
ten o’clock, when it is time to close up aud 
retire. 
The country kitchen, deprived of all modern 
conveniences, makes work still harder and 
yet considered more enjoyable and healthy, for 
there is plenty of out-duor exercise iu the way 
of getting iu wood and water,* and the spring 
or w ell and wood-pile are never very near the 
house. In Winter half our kitchen is appro¬ 
priated for dining-room purposes and is 
carpeted with rag carpet; this saves scrubbing, 
which is done with an old broom and dried 
with a mop. A “ hired girl” is looked upon 
as a luxury, and in nine cases out of ten 
treated so. Bhe oats with us anil sits with us 
in the evening aud shares our joys and sorrows 
when we ha voany. Bo unless there are young 
women in the family the hired girl lias no 
more of the hand-soiling work to do than the 
rest, but does everything from milking to 
making beds, and rises at “ live o’clock in the 
morning” and gets out the bench and wash- 
tubs and gets w ell on w ith the washing before 
“mother” bus breakfast ready, and done 
long before the midday dinner which is made 
up of one course, at least the ' pi*' is put on 
uud served often times with the vegetables- 
a boiled dinner perhaps. Somehow country 
people manage to get out of the kitchen after 
the dinner work is done, except on special 
days, so ns we have viewed the impoi-taut 
points iu a country kitchen we will go to and 
return to the six-o’clock tea which is prepared 
to a fraction as, everything is ready but 
steeping the tea. K. 
YOUR CHILDREN’S TEACHER. 
The public schools of our land have their 
uses aside from educating onr children. If 
you w'ould like to be convinced on this sub¬ 
ject, a bad storm winch keeps three or four of 
your flock at home will be a very conclusive 
argument. 
“I am sure another such day would drive 
me wild!” exclaims the tired mothei - as she 
presses her hand to her distracted head. “I 
don’t see how Miss Hodge puts up with so 
many of them all in one room through the 
day. Teachers cum their wages, if only in 
the care they take of so many children for so 
many houi-s every day.” 
Yet how seldom a mother feels any consid¬ 
eration for this part of a teacher’s work. 
Tliiuk of the tens of thousands of children all 
over the land, safely housed and cared 
for, besides being taught, who arc “kept out 
of mother’s way” through the busiest hours, 
leaving her to work ou uninterruptedly. She 
might turn them into the street, to lie sure, 
when the weather w as warm, but what anxi¬ 
eties would haunt her. if she merits the name 
of mother. Now they arc comparatively safe 
and better still, are gaining something worth 
more than the factory child’s money every¬ 
day. Surely working mothers ought to ap¬ 
preciate the public schools, and do all in their 
power to make the teacher’s hard life endura¬ 
ble, if they cannot make it. pleasant. It does a 
teacher good to be invited home to tea at times 
by one and another of her patrons. It is a 
small courtesy, but brightens a dull day- for 
her, and binds all together in bauds of strong¬ 
er attachment. The children will take their 
learning more kindly from a teacher whom 
their parents treat with respect than they will 
from one with whom they are always find¬ 
ing fault. I knew a neighborhood where oue 
energetic woman, with plenty of money, a fine 
house and a number of children to attend 
school, keeps the whole district in a ferment 
by her sharp criticisms of each successive 
teacher. As soon us a new one comes on, she 
puts on her double magnifying-glasses, and 
sets herself to espy defects. When one is of 
that mind, the work is pretty easy. As soon 
as she has detected the weak spot she makes it 
known as far as her influence w ill curry it. No 
wouder that no teacher stays long enough to 
fairly calculate the scholars’ rapacities, and 
that education is not up to liigh-w ater mark in. 
that community. It is economy to supple¬ 
ment the public money enough to secure a 
first-class teacher in any school, for the child¬ 
ren can grow- up but once. Olive. 
BATHING COSTUMES. 
Now that the warm weather is approaching, 
the prospect of having a renewal of many 
Summers’ acquaintance with old ocean, is one 
conducive of pleasure. Perhaps nowhere else 
does one see “beauty unadorned” more univer¬ 
sally- than at onr seaside resorts dining the 
“bathing hours.” There is uo reason why a 
bathing dressshould not be made with asmucli 
taste as any other garment, and not of the 
kind of material too good to Ik? wet. 
We remember seeing a few Summers ago ut 
oue of our fashionable watering places, a lady, 
who came down to the l>each regularly- each 
day-, to all apiK’arauce prepared for a frolic in 
the surf. Bhe looked very* pretty, and having a 
good figure, mude the most of it. by always . 
being iff front of the largest crowd. Her 
dresi was white flannel, of the best quality, 
trimmed with points of red cloth, put ou in 
several rows around the skirt, and having the 
same trimming on sleeves uud waist. White 
shoes of suttoeu, with scarlet, velvet ribbon 
“criss-crossed,” from the ankle half way up 
the liuib. Of course she was “the observed,” 
as it was only fair to judge w as her desire, and 
then she never w ent into the w ater, but always 
having the appearance of just, alsnit to do so. 
Buch u suit as this is decidedly not of the 
kiud required for service, because the salt 
water would huve no ic.sjxst. for the delicate 
cream color, but would soon fix it so that a 
new name for its color would have to be given. 
There is nothing better than dark blue flannel 
of a flue quality, because the weight is less. 
It. is all heavy enough when saturated with 
water. Trim this liberally with white, yel¬ 
low. or scarlet worsted braid, and follow the 
pattern in this Ritual. We kuow that uo 
lady wearing such a oue, will he ashamed to 
be seen by her friouds who may l>e seated oil 
the sands, eommeuting ou the grotesque tig 
ores bobbing about in the surf, w hich they are 
watching. 
The gentleman ha' ing il.t.i gt < f 11,116 l at*' 
