JUNE 30 
£nx i\)C J)own0. 
A FEW DESIRABLE PLANTS. 
OME of the plants in ray 
window garden last. Winter, were 
£yi so satisfactory that I think they 
at deserve speeial notice. The large 
clusters of bloom on ray Ciner- 
Hr ' as ’ remained in perfection a 
j]|® month or more. This plant has 
& not received half the care that 
it merits; the seeds germinate freely and with 
proper care the plants can be made to bloom 
beautifully in an ordinary farm bouse window. 
The flowers of the dwarf varieties are fra¬ 
grant and of exceedingly brilliant color, many 
of them rich shades of violet-blue, not, found in 
any other class of plants; they endure the dry 
atmosphere of the parlor admirably; better 
than any plants which 1 have tried. They re¬ 
quire only the morning suu and should lie 
potted in a light, rich soil composed largely 
of leaf-mold and sand. 
Ageratum alba, blossomed all Winter long; 
the length of the styles give the flowers a very 
graceful, feathery appearance. Plants de¬ 
sired for Winter blooming should be kept 
piuched back through the Summer, to make 
them grow strong and stocky; before severe 
frosts they should be carefully lifted and 
brought indoors, and soon every shoot will lie 
crowned with its fragrant, snowy-white blos¬ 
soms. The Hormosa and Agrippiua roses, 
never fail to give me plenty of buds and blos¬ 
soms. But 1 do not have any success keeping 
them in pots through the Summer the way 
the florists tell us to. I bed them out in May 
in deep, rich soil and let them grow and blos¬ 
som according to their own will. Before they 
set buds for Fall flowers I carefully lift them, 
cut them back about one third, pot them iu 
good, rich soil and place them in the cellar. 
If they have boon well eared for they will be 
strong plants full of life and vigor and will 
quickly establish themselves in their new 
quarters. After a little rest, they are gradu¬ 
ally given light and heat, and finally placed 
in full light and sunshine. 
For foliage plants there is nothing more 
beautiful than our own native ferns. A pretty 
rustic box about four inches deep cau lx? made 
by sawing off the bottom of a nail keg, and 
trimming it with gnarled branches and roots 
found in the woods. The ferns may be placed 
in it about the 1st of .Tune and water given 
them until they are well rooted. The box 
should then be set in a cool, shady place and 
the fronds allowed to die down, and the roots 
to remain dormant. 
The first of Dec., place the box upon a round 
stand of the same size, giving it plenty of 
water, light, and heat. One plumy frond 
after another will rise and droop over the. 
box, excelling all other plants in grace and 
beauty. The fronds are much longer aud 
more delicate when grown indoors. A few 
roots of the Liver-leaf (Hepatiea acutilobaj 
stowed aw ay among the ferns, will l>e sure to 
reward one with its tiny (lowers. 
There are a great, many of our native plants 
that are worthy of more attention than they 
have received. The Collinsia bicolor aud 
other varieties advertised in the catalogues of 
the florists are not half as beautiful as our own 
Collinsia verna, with its exquisitely shaded 
blue and white flowers. The Smooth Lung¬ 
wort, (Mertensia Virgiuica), though preferring 
a moist soil along river bottoms, readily 
adapts itself to the open border. Its drooping 
panicles of bell shaped flowers seem to borrow 
their tints from the blue skies above them 
The Greek Valerian is another pretty plant 
w ith pinuate leaves and nodding blue-and. 
white flowers in blossom at the same time. 
All of these plants can be raised from seed 
and are deserving a place in the florist’s cat¬ 
alogue. 
Considerable caution is required in moving 
wild plants to the home grounds, lest those of 
a pernicious nature be admitted; often there 
is a wide difference in varieties of the same 
tribe. Hydrophyllum Virginicmn was given 
a place iu our grouuds on account of its va¬ 
riegated leaves, hut it commenced to spread 
from the root and sow itself in every direction 
so that it has been rooted out without mercy. 
H. append!culatum 1 think will prove of 
value. There is nothing prettier for a dainty 
vase than its lovely blossoms. If they are cut 
wheu in bud and placed iu water they will 
open beautifully aud arc much finer than 
when left, to flower in the ojxm ground. 
Plainfield, Ill. IVY Giieen. 
--- 
YOUNG QUERIST. 
Geo. B. Fox. —Will different varieties of 
Lima beans mix if planted close together? 
Ans. —Yes. There was such a variety of 
seeds in the packet that I am uuable to give 
you the desired information. 
C. B., Arkadelphia, Ark.—Please give the 
name of inclosed flow r er. 
Ans.— Azalea viscosa, L. or Swamp Pink. 
Allie E. Warner.—If you cau contribute 
anything to the Women’s Department of a 
worthy character, the Rural will he seut to 
you free. Please do not send auy poetry. 
C. A. Butterworth.—See answer to G. B. 
Fox’s query. 
W. S., Hickory, N. C.—1. I placed a setting 
of 11 duck eggs under a heu; uow she has only 
five. There arc no eggshells about. What, is 
the cause? 2. How long a period does it take 
for duck eggs to hatch? 
Ans, —1. Possibly rats or some other animal 
may have removed them. If the heu had 
eaten them she would probably have left traces 
of her work. 2. About 31 days. 
J. H. Ballard.—What was the matter with 
my young turkeys? They grew finely until 
about three weeks eld, when their wings com¬ 
menced to droop, aud they would go about for 
about two days and then fall and lie as though 
dead for hours, but at times they would jump 
up aud scratch thei r heads. 
Ans.—T hey were probably troubled with 
lice. The best way to get rid of lousy fowls is 
t) kill them, as you cau never get rid of the 
lice otherwise. If you are t roubled that w r ay 
this year, fatten them the best you can, then 
kill, and thoroughly renovate the premises 
aud start in agaiu. 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Dear Uncle Mark:— Thanks for the nice 
flower-seeds, i will save aud plant them uext 
year. Wc prize the Sweet William very 
hi lily: have a number of varieties now 
blooming. One of the Rural Diadem Pink 
bushes had 97 open blossoms ou it at one time, 
some larger than a quarter. It was and is still 
very much admired. All of the Hollyhocks 
died during the Winter except two; one of 
them has now over one hundred buds aud blos¬ 
soms ou it. It is very double, and is of a light 
shade of buff. We have a Hydrangea now iu 
full bloom that has a pretty cluster of piuk 
flowers on it darker than the rest. The pre¬ 
vailing color is pink, but one is of a bluish pur¬ 
ple color aud another almost white; it attracts 
much attention. 1 fear my letter is already' 
too long. Your uiece, Lcla May. 
Cool Springs, Ga. 
[It would be best to plant the seeds this year, 
and obtain seeds from them, rather than 
keep them a year or more before planting. 
There may be among the collection some vari¬ 
eties iu which seed u year or more old wall not 
germinate.— Uncle Mark. 
Dear Uncle Mark:— The seeds which you 
sent were gratefully received, aud I thank you 
for them, though I do not think I deserved 
them as much as some of the more faithful 
Cousins. 1 have planted some popcorn aud 
potatoes this Spring. In the discussion i wish 
to say that I like potatoes tlic best i\,r garden 
pui poses. We have a herd of Durham cattle. 
Why do not the Cousins give histories of their 
lives? I think some of them must have some¬ 
thing interest!ug in their lives which they 
would like to tell. I have a shoi t history which 
if it pleases you I will tell. I was born in 
the yeai 1809, at Diamond Springs, Allegan 
County , Michigan, where I lived tij-j years. 
My mother and sister then died, which lett 
foui- children iu the family. My other sister 
was taken by my aunt to Ohio, while my 
brother aud myself were taken to Saugatuck, 
another place in Michigan, situated at the 
mouth of the Kalamazoo River, whore we 
stayed one Winter; in the Spring we removed 
to .Indiana, where I was taken by my uuele, 
but soon went to live with a man named 
Harter, aud have resided with lnm ever since. 
My brother was taken by a man named Jump, 
where he stayed nearly a yeai-, when he went 
to live with a man named Eley who lived 
alxiut 50 rods from where my guardian lives; 
he then moved to Noble County, while l 
stayed in Allen County, keeping us about 3u 
miles apart. I lived 14 miles from my sister 
during all this time (over seven years) and w e 
have met but once. 1 will ask some history 
questions. Why don’t the Cousins do so also? 
Who was King iu Prussia when Washington 
comma uded the army ? Who said anil under 
what circumstances, “millions for defence, 
but not one cent for tribute?” Wheu was the 
U. S. flag adopted? What did Nathaniel Halo 
exclaim wheu about to die ? 
Young Historian. 
Dear Uncle a no Cousins: — I read with 
much pleasure the letters of the Cousins in the 
Rural, some of which I think are very inter¬ 
esting and also useful. Mr. Walter Frnuks 
deserves credit for the very sensible letter ho 
wrote, on the ’‘Cultivation of the Strawberry.” 
Some of the Cousins, in giving their experi¬ 
ence in gardening, say I had “very bad luck’* 
with my seeds, or plants, as the ease may be. 
Now, I think that the word luck should be 
struck out altogether. It is used for almost 
everything nowadays. Unfortunately, there 
are some things that are unavoidable, but iu 
nine cases out of ten bad luck can be traced to 
bad management. 1 he Rural is doing a 
great amount of good iu helping the youug 
folks along, in taking so much interest in 
them. There should be more paius taken with 
the boys on the farm. That w ould make farm 
life more agreeable; if not, the lively and 
more intelligent ones will away at the first op¬ 
portunity to learn a trade, and us it is from 
the boys that are now, that the future farm¬ 
ers are to come, 1 think it is worth the trou¬ 
ble. If there is one thing more than another 
that w-ill drive a boy away from home, it is 
telling him that he don’t know anything; 
never let him have a say iu auytluug as to 
how it should be done; give him all the clumsy 
tools about the place to work with, and if he 
ever says anything against it, toll him again 
that boys don’t know' anything about using a 
good tool, and if he does not embrace the first 
opportunity to get aw r ay, there is something 
wrong with him; he is not sharp. Now. all 
the Cousins that write io the Rural seem to 
have some favorite w'ork ou the farm, some¬ 
thing iu which the}' take an interest aud call 
their own. Mine is in raising fowls, and al¬ 
though they make a great amount of work, 
even children can do a great deal towards 
helping. I got a pair of thoroughbred Ayls- 
bury Ducks last year for which 1 paid $4, uud 
also a pair of thoroughbred Bronze turkeys 
for $(i. and it cast 81 for express charges on 
the train. I saw them advertised, so 1 wrote 
for them, and had them seut to me. They are 
all fine birds; their plumage is beautiful. I 
raised 40 ducks (I kept some of the common 
ducks and turkeys besides) and over 40 tur¬ 
keys, 20 chickens and 13 geese. 1 made over 
$45. for what I succeeded in raising. Five 
pairs of the thoroughbred realized just $4.05 
per pair. Try it for yourselves, boys, aud bo 
convinced. 1 hope to be able to give you a 
better account this Fall. 
Yours respectfully, J. H, Ballard. 
Dear Uncle Mark:— 1 do not like the 
article in the Rural of June 2, entitled “A 
Sharp Criticism;” it is altogether too shitrj) 
I think. The writer should remember that he 
is not the only one w ho has raised chickens, 
and every Itody’s experience is not the same. 
My sister and I take care of our chickens, aud 
we are to have all we can raise. We have 28 
hens aud 100 chicks, and notwithstanding they 
are the so much condemned Plymouth Rooks, 
they are as healthy a lot of chickens as 1 ever 
saw. Wo have only lost three by sickness. 
Do you know Uuele Mark whether meadow 
moles will kill chickens or not? .Something 
very small entered the coop at night aud car¬ 
ried off two or three chiekeus. I can see 
where thu moles work, plowing up the ground 
near the coops. We are going to try to raise 
200 chicks; 1 will let you know in the Fall 
what luck wo have. Do you think hens will 
lay in lfl days after sitting? I have takou the 
mother away from some of mine because they 
were so cross to other chickens, and they did 
not lay within two or three weeks; perhaps it 
was because they were Plymouth Rocks. 1 
have never had a garden of my own, but 
sometimes 1 work in my brother’s. 1 have a 
horse of my own. I learned to ride wheu I 
was seven years old; when ray brother sold the 
horse I learned to ride upon I cried two 
days; then he gave me a little colt and my 
father built a small stable back of the house- 
just largo enough for her, and since then 1 
have always taken care of her. She is four 
years old now; I broke her to ride when she 
was three. She is kind and gentle; my sister 
and I hitch her up and take a ride when ever 
we wish to; my sister has a riding horse too, 
but be has never been driven. We have beau¬ 
tiful flowers growing wild here; have you ever 
seen the Laurel? I think it is the handsomest 
wild flower I ever saw; the glossy, dark green 
leaves form a striking contrast to the white 
and pink, wax-like flowers. Have you auy of 
Red-bud trees growing at the Rural grounds? 
If you have not and would like some of the 
seed I will send you some. Good by. 
Your loving niece, 
Amelia Co., Va. Alida Brewer. 
[Very likely your chickens were carried off 
by weasels. They are very small and can 
squeeze through a very small hole. Moles will 
not injure your poultry; they live on insects 
aud ground worms. No, I do not think hens 
will lay ten days after being taken from the 
chicks. It is almost too soon to expect it. Of 
course it dejiemls upon the breed, some varie¬ 
ties making much better mothers than others. 
Yes. Iu that part of the country where Uncle 
Mark came from, Laurel grows in great 
plenty, and as you say looks very beautiful. 1 
have spent many pleasant hours ou the moun¬ 
tains among the Laurel-beds. The Red-bud 
grows upon the Rural grounds. Many thunks 
for your kind offer. Uncle Mark.] 
new members op horticultural club. 
Alfred B. Bird, Thomas Leroy Mills, Carrie 
Drislcell, Daniel Depew. 
PisceUiincous gkdvcvti.oinfl. 
“REX MAGNUS,” 
• THE HUMISTON 
FOOD PRESERVATIVE 
FOR KEEPING FRESH FOOD IN AI L SEASONS 
AND CLIMATES WITHOUT ICEI 
This Is the name given to the Humlstou Food Pre¬ 
servative, by which nil orgauto matter may be pre_ 
served from decay without Ice, heat, smoke, sugar 5 
salt or alcohol. Its name signifies a Mighty King 
and It Is a royal preserver and Invincible conqueror. 
The process Is a new one, perfectly simple In Its 
application, and It preserves all kinds of meats, 
poultry, fish, oysters, game, butter, cheese, lard, tal. 
low, milk, eggs, tuer, elder, wine, fluid extracts 
and vegetable juices of all kinds, all of which retain 
their natural flavor In 
All Seasons and Climates. 
Rex Magnus consists of a variety of antiseptics, 
carefully combined (after exhaustive experiments 
ami thorough trials) upou truly scion title prlnclples > 
anti perfectly adapted to the preservation of a great 
variety of animal and vegetable products. 
Destroys Germs of Disease. 
Rex Maonts opposes and prevents putrefaction by 
too utter destruction or lioldlug at. bay of those par¬ 
asites that prey upon organic matter. In the same 
manner it destroys all germs of disease, thus render¬ 
ing the food wholesome and healthful. 
The Several Hlands. 
“Vlandlne,” preserves ail kludtmf meats, poultry. 
Hsh and game, price SO ets. per lb.: "Ocean Wave," 
for oysters, clams, lobster*, Ac., 'si ets. per lb.; 
"Pearl," for cream, $ 1.00 per lb.; “Know Flake" for 
butter, cheese and milk. Duets, per lb,* “queen,” tor 
eggs Sl.oo per tb.i "Aqua Vitae ’ I* tor medical pur¬ 
poses, and for the keeping of all kinds of fluid ex¬ 
tracts without the use of alcohol, glycerine or sugar. 
anilut tins than one-twentieth tin ; cost of alcohol—anil 
il does it— $1.00 nor lb.; “Auti Fly,” "Anti-Mold” and 
"Anti Ferment." are special brands whose names ex¬ 
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It Will Do All It ( IniniM. 
Prof. Samuel W. Johnson, the noted chemist of the 
Scientific Department of Yale College, said In his 
published report of Mureh 7th, isss, 
“My tests of 35 day* In dally mean temperature of 
70". oh meals. &e.. bought In onett market liuve cer¬ 
tainly been severe and 1 amsntfsfled that the different 
brands of Rex Magnus, The Humtston Food Preser¬ 
vative. with which I have experimented. Inter <ieoo»<- 
[iltKln d aII . liiliutul for thrill. So far as I have yet 
learned, thry arc the only jirrpnratUnui Ihnt arc ejfrr- 
tirr.iuol at /hr <aj/w lino practicable, for domestic 
use. At the liumpirt ou 'treated' meats at the New 
Haven House / rouhl not diuHntfUink Oct wrm I hone, 
which hail been xistcen 'lay* in mil laboratory amt 
til ote tiricly taken from the re friar, at or of the hotel. 
The oysters were perfectly palatable and fresh Pi my 
taste, and better, as It happened, than tbososorved at. 
the same time, which were recently taken from the 
shell. The roast beer, steak, chicken, turkey and 
ouall. irere all a, p aud ha 1 hum err eii/eli.” 
Hex Magnus Is safe, tasteless, purr and Prof. John¬ 
son adds lu his report: “I should anticipate no ill re- 
nulls from its use and consider It no more harmful 
than common mill." 
It Has No Taste. 
"I particularly endeavored to detect the taste of 
any foreign substance," said Dr. C. A. Llndsley, 
Dean ->f the Medical Department of Ynle College, 
and Health < iflteer of New Haven, “but. could not do 
so. I know of no otlu-r agent that will do what Rkx 
Magnus has done, L e.. save meats uud still be harm 
less and tasteless. 1 thought I could detect the 
treated chicken, liul I teas mistaken, 
A Mighty King «>f Preservatives. 
Ir is the only ugi-ni of Its kind (combining as it 
does tile several characteristics mentioned above) 
that )iub ever been discovered. 
It must not be compared with 
the thousand and one worthless 
compounds which have preced¬ 
ed it. 
How to Get It. 
A trilling expenditure and fair trial according to 
directions will convince every one that Rex Magnus 
Is a necessity In every household. You do not have 
to buy n county right oreostly recipe. H'r sell neither’ 
If your grocer, druggist or general store keeper 
hasn’t It on hand, send the price ami we will mall 
you usump/r package of any brand desired,except 
Aqua Vitae and Anti-Ferment which ore put up in 
bottles. 
Mention the Rural New-Yorker. 
A legion of testimonials from persons of national 
and International fame, arc ou Ille at the office of the 
company. 
HUMISTON FOOD PRESERVING CO., 
72 Kilby St., Boston, Mass. 
DTMS.t of J-ur UmireM or Croc.i-i 
25 CKNT Dottle ALLEN’S 
— ROOT BEER 
EXTRACT 
which will unuo-Gun Ilona of Boer. Ac 
trouble to maJo No tsiililig. No straining. 
M ucli preferable to tee wider Made en¬ 
tirely of rooteandherbs,sucb as Dande¬ 
lion, Hups. Ginger, Spikenard.Ac. l'nek- 
age ol herbs for making sunt by mall lor 
t |l As.K.t’AllTI'.IUjiHilk 
ASTHMA & HAY FEVER 
THEIR CAUSE & CURE. 
KNIGHT'S NIC W THE A TIRE sent free. 
Address L. A. KNIGHT, 15 E.Thlrd St., CINCINNATI, 0 
Itching Pile*. Symptom** nud Cure. 
The symptoms are moisture, like perspiration, 111 
tense Itching, Increased by scratching, very distress¬ 
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crawling In and about the rectum; the private parts 
are sometimes nlli-eted. If allowed to eontlnue very 
serious result* follow. " SWAYNK’S ulNTMKNT" is 
a pleasant, sure eure. Also for Teller. I toll. Salt 
Rheum, Seald Head, Erysipelas, Barbers' Itch, Blotch 
«a, all scaly, crusty Skin Diseases. Sent by mall for 
SO cents; 3 boxes, $1.35 (lu slumps). Address DR. 
SWAYSEit SUN. Philadelphia, Pu. Sold by Drug¬ 
gists. _ ___ 
S*; AND NOT 
wear out. 
O A| p%l*y watchmakers. ->y mail 25c. Circulars 
^ U La Lr free j, S. Blit OH 0o,. ifii Hoy St..JSiY* 
