AH 
JULY 7 
tax t\)t Boting. 
CHICKENS. 
“I didn’t!” says Chip. “You did !” says Peep. 
“How do you know?—you were fast asleep.” 
"I was under Mammy’s wing, 
Stretching my legs like everything, 
When all of a sudden I turned around, 
For close beside n>e I heard a sound— 
A little tip and a little tap,” 
"Fiddle-de-dee ! You had a nap, 
And, when yon were only half awake. 
Heard an Icicle somewhere break.” 
“What's an Icicle T' "I don’t know; 
Rooster tells about Ice and snow: 
Something that isn’t as good ns meal 
That drops down on you and makes you squeal!” 
"Well! swallow Rooster’s tales, I beg! 
And think you didn't come out of an egg? 
I tell you 1 heard the old shell break, 
And the first small noise you ever could make; 
And Mammy eroottled and putl’cd her breast, 
And pushed us further out of her nest, 
Just to make room enough for you; 
And there's your shell—I say 'Ms true!” 
Chip looked over his shoulder then. 
And there it lay by the old gray hen— 
Half an egg-shell, chipped and brown, 
And he was a hall of yellow down, 
Clean and chipper, and smart and spry, 
With the prettiest bill aud the blackest eye. 
“H'm!” said be with a Rule perk: 
“That is a wonderful piece of work! 
Pecj>, you silly! don't you See 
That she Isn’t nearly so big as me? 
Whatever you say. miss, I declare 
I never, never could get In there!” 
"Yon did!" says Peep. “I didn’t!” says Chip; 
And Peep began to dance aud peek. 
And Chip stuck out his wings and neck. 
They pranced and struck, and capered about. 
Their toes turned In and their wings spread out 
As angry as two small chicks could be. 
Until mother Brahma turned to see. 
She cackled and clucked, aud called in vain— 
At It they went with might aud main— 
Till at last the old hen used her beak, 
And Peep and Chip, with many a squeak, 
Staggered ott' on either side 
With a very funny skip ami stride. 
" What dreadful nonsense! ” said mother Hen, 
When she heard the story told again ; 
“You’re as had as the humans that don’t have 
wings, 
Nor feathers, nor combs, the wretched things! 
That’s the way they fight and talk 
For whal isn't worth a mullcu-stulk. 
What does It matter, I’d like to know. 
Where you came from or wuere you go ? 
Keep your temper aud earn your food: 
I can't catch worms for u fighting brood. 
I won’t have quarrels—I will have peace: 
1 hatched out chickens, so don't he geese! ” 
Chip scratched h|s ear with his yellow claw 
The meekest chicken that, you ever saw: 
Aud Peep in her feathers curled one log, 
And said to herself: “ But he was an egg ! ” 
-Rose Terhy Cooke. 
-- 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Dear Uncle Mark and Cousins:— Though 
J have written but out* letter to our dear old 
Club, 1 don’t believe that any of the farmers 
read the Rural with any more pleasure than 
1 do, and I am very foud of trying all of the 
new plans which tire suggested by the Cousins. 
1 planted some potato seeds, but not one of 
them came Up. The grape seeds came up and 
have the third leaf on them; they were plant¬ 
ed in the garden when the other seeds were 
planted. My flower seeds all came up and 
look line. We have moved to Kansas and I 
wish the Cousins could come and take a walk 
with me and see the wild flowers; some of 
them lire prettier than our cultivated flowers. 
The bouquet 1 gathered this morning is nearly 
all white; some of the flowers are beautifully 
tinted with, pink or cream color. I will send 
you a specimen of clover I found growing 
wild by a little creek Can yon tell me the 
name of it, Uncle Mark? Though 1 miss the 
grand old forest trees of my old home, i would 
not exchange these beautiful prairies forthem. 
There is timber along the creeks, aud the We- 
osho River furnishes good fishing too. We 
children enjoy going a-fishing and never think 
of going home until hunger drives us. I wish 
i could w rite such good, readable letters as 
some of the Cousins can. 1 always turn to our 
part of the Rural first. Mary Weed. 
Colfey Co., Kansas. 
[Uncle Mark is sorry to say the clover sent 
was lost. Can you not send another head aud 
it will be named?— Uncle Mark.] 
Dear Uncle Mark:— Since Uncle Mark 
complimented rae so highly when 1 wrote be¬ 
fore, I am encouraged to write again. One of 
the Cousius proposed another excellent plan 
for a strawberry lied, theCousiu said, plants 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKERS 
in the hill system are liable to the attacks of 
the white grub; my plants have not been 
troubled in that way yet, that I know of. 
Uncle Mark, which system do you prefer for 
a small garden patch; the hill or matted row? 
I suppose the matted row system yields better, 
but are the berries as large and perfect? My 
strawberry plants are loaded with fine fruit 
this Summer. 1 plauted quite a patch of onions 
some time ago, intending to raise sets. 1 
sowed the seed very thickly in row's, about 
four inches wide mid one foot apart, 
only covering them about a quarter 
of an inch deep. I will let you know how 
I succeed with them, later iu the season. 
As is our custom we also planted a large patch 
of Red Wethersfield and Yellow Danvers, to 
raise largo onions for family use, and also to 
sell. Last year we hud a nice patch of the 
above named varieties, and raised about 15 
bushels of the nicest, largest onions 1 ever saw; 
one of them weighed a pound, We took first, 
premium on them at, our County fair. As 
they were too cheap last Fall to pay us to sell 
them, we buried them, intending to sell them 
iu the Spring; we were afraid they would rot, 
but when uncovered iu the Spring, they were 
as nice as ever. Your nephew, 
Noble Co,, Ind. Walter Franks. 
[The question as to whether the strawberry 
should be planted by the hill or the matted 
row system, cannot lie answered Without hav¬ 
ing a knowledge of the soil and variety of 
plants.—U ncle Mark.] 
Dear Uncle Mark: —We are having quite 
rainy weather, and I am almost tired of seeing 
it rain so much. Although 1 like to see it rain, 
it makes the flowers, wheat and other things 
look so green. Wo plauted quite a lot of seeds 
this year, aud most of them came up w ell. 1 
received the seeds of the “Free Heed Distribu¬ 
tion” for which please accept my many thanks. 
1 will try my best to raise them and will write 
you in the Fall how I succeeded. 
Your loving niece, 
Seneca Co., N. Y. Ellen C. Bonnell. 
Dear Uncle Mark:— Spring has come and 
like the rest of the Cousins 1 wall report it cold 
and wet. 1 carefully separated the mixed 
flower seed. Mother prepared the ground, 
and 1 plauted them, marking each kind out 
separate. A great many apple trees were 
injured here last Winter, though we tliiuk 
there will be some fruit. Transcendent Crabs 
were uniujurod and are full of fruit. Our 
wild gooseberry bushes are full but 1 don’t 
think the others will bear any. Last Summer 
a family moved away from here just as their 
late garden was getting big enough to use, so 
their cabbage was not attended to till l‘'all 
and there was not one worm on it, to where 
there were a dozen ou other cabbage. They 
had a tobacco patch close to the cabbage; 
whether that kept the worms oil' or not 1 don’t 
know. We are trying it this year. Cousin 
Walter Franks says to have patience and wait 
till the ground is fully dry. 1 believe the pa 
tience of Job would wear out before we get that 
here. Then 1 don’t think seeds will grow 
without moisture. Uncle Mark of course you 
know better than 1 do, but I will tell you why 
1 do not think the long always the best way to 
make the rows in the garden. 1 have lately been 
to Marion Co., and saw a garden where the 
length of the rows run east, and west aud the 
slope to the south. The heavy Spring rains 
had washed through several of the rows aud 
the low places between them were very wet, 
because the water eould not escape. Some 
vegetables, such as lettuce, will receive the 
morning sun better if the rows are north and 
south. 1 would like to ask U. M. this question. 
Does the moon have any influence ou vegeta¬ 
tion? if not, wluit. causes grass to grow un¬ 
der a board laid down iu the light of the moon, 
while under one laid down in the dark of the 
moon, no grass will grow? 
It was Hophia’s lints that inspired me tor 
past neglect to make amends. Could not Un¬ 
cle Mark and the Cousins celebrate the coming 
Fourth of July some way ? We might think 
it had nothing to do with a horticultural club, 
but if the Declaration had not been signed 
perhaps there would never have been any club 
for us to benefit ourselves and one another by. 
Polk Co., Iowa. Anne Winfrey. 
[Unde Mark thinks that it was better that 
those rows ran east and west us they did, be¬ 
cause if they had run north and south, the 
water would have run down the hill between 
the rows aud without doubt have done much 
more damage thau it did do, because iu that 
case it could have the descent of the hill, 
while as it was, the water probably did not have 
force enough to do much damage. 
The wisdom of having the rows run the long 
way the Cousin can easily see. If a farmer 
has a field to be cultivated that is one-quarter 
of a mile long aud five rods wide, it would be 
a great saving of time and patience to have 
the rows runnmg the length of the field. In 
the small garden it is not as important. 
U. M. does not have much faith iu the moon’s 
influence, or in old-fashioned .superstitious 
ideas about planting in “the moon,” etc. Man¬ 
ure and sunlight are what make crops grow, 
and not the rnoon. If you will experiment 
a while 1 think you will find that the grass 
will grow as well under the board put down 
in the dark of the moon as those laid down 
in the light of it. Uncle Mark. 
Dear Uncle Mark and Rural Cousins: 
—1 thought 1 would write and tell the Cousins 
what 1 am going to do this Hummer. My 
brother and 1 have an acre aud a half of Rural 
Dent corn. We are caring for 70 acres of 
corn this year. I received the seeds you so 
kindly sent me, and planted them; they are 
coming up nicely. We planted the melon 
seeds and five plants came up. Home of the 
flower seeds that eame with the Rural are 
up. We have a hen sitting upon 18 duck 
eggs but as site has only been sitting a week, I 
do not know whether they will hatch or not. 
Our wheat was nearly all killed last Winter; 
wo only have about 20 acres left. The corn 
looks very well. It is very wet here this 
Spring. L will write this Fall and tell the 
Cousins how 1 succeed with the (lower-seeds. 
Edgar Co., 111. George H. Driskell. 
Dear Uncle Mark:— 1 received the flower- 
seeds which you seut me a few days ago. 
Thank you for them very much. Mamma 
sowed them for me yesterday. She thought 
she could sow them better than I could. 
There are some wild rabbits living under our 
piazza. Wo have only seen one, but tliiuk 
there must bo more of them because it is so 
young. My big sister saw it first and she 
thought it was a rat. We have tried to catch 
it but we cannot. As soon as we go near it it 
will run away from us as fast as it can go, 
Do you know how we can catch it ? I like to 
watch it eat grass, it looks so cunning. We 
call it " Bunny.” I wish it would come to us 
when we call it; but it will not. We have 75 
little chickens. I havo to feed them when 1 
am at home, hut as I go to school I cannot 
feed them when I am there. I think my letter 
is long enough for this time. Yours truly, 
Syracuse, N. Y. 0. a. r. 
Dear Uncle Mark:— If it is not too late I 
would like to take part in the discussion of the 
Youth’s Department. Although I am very 
fond of all the vegetables that grow in the 
garden, my favorite vegetable is the water¬ 
melon. 1 tliiuk the host way to raise melons 
is to prepare the ground well, and when dan¬ 
ger from frosts is over, plant iu hills which 
have been prepared by having a forkful or 
two of fine well-rotted manure mixed with the 
soil, and 1 think a tablespoonful of some good 
fertilizer would be good to give plants a start. 
As soon as the vines appear above ground 
they should bo hood and sprinkled with some 
air slaked lime, ashes, soot or plaster to keep 
the bugs from destroying them. A good rem¬ 
edy for the cabbage-worm is to dust the cab¬ 
bages (while the dew is on) with common 
black-pepper. We have had a mess of ospar 
agus from seed received from the Rural. 1 
received from the Department of Agriculture, 
among other seeds, a package of New Bruns¬ 
wick Oats. C’au you tell me anything about 
them? Also the* Prairie Dent Corn ; is it a 
good variety? 1 have been busy making gar¬ 
den for the past few days. I set 25(1 raspberry 
plants this Spring; among them were 50 Shaf¬ 
fer's Colossal. 1 have been studying botany 
this Spring aud like it very much. 
Very respectfully, D. J. C, 
Caledonia. N. Y. 
[1 know nothing of the oats of which you 
write. The coni (you probably mean Queen 
of the Prairie) is very good; it is valuable on 
account of its maturing very early.— Uncle 
Mark.] 
NOT SO NEW.—QUITE GOOD ENOUGH 
Squire.—T hen you don’t see your way to 
marrying my Niece, young sir? 
Young Sir. No, Squire; I’m afraid I don’t. 
Squire. —In that case, I shall strike you out 
of my W ill. 
Young Sir. —Oh. don’t do that, Squire! i 
will marry your Niece immediately; for, as 
you know, where there’s a Will there’s a way 
—Judy. 
ittisreUancous' 
“REX MAGNUS.” 
Unfailing Success of 
THEEUMISTON FOOD PRESERVATIVE. 
Rkfort of Piiok. Sam cel W. JOHNSON of Yale 
COU.KUK. 
" My tests of Ml < In vs In ilnlly menu temperature of 
70°. on meats, fee., bought In open market have cer¬ 
tainly Been severe uml 1 UIII satisfied that t.h® different 
brands of Hex Magnus, The Hn mis tun Food Preserv¬ 
ative, with which I have experimented, 
Have Accomplished all Claimed for Them, 
So far as t nave yet learned, then arts the only pre¬ 
pared d/r.s lli'il 'in' t'Jt '' ^ ice, mu/ u/ the mime time 
practicable, for domestic use. At the banquet on 
‘treated' meats at the New Haven House 1 could 
not fltyint/uMi hrtirern theme which hud hern six¬ 
teen (In j/« in mij lubamtoi y and those uewtu token 
Jrom the refri()erator of the. hotel. The oysters 
were perfectly palatable and fresh to my taste, and 
better, ax tt happened, than those served at the same 
time, which were recently taken from the shell. The 
l-oast beef, steak, chicken, turkey and quail, were all 
as (toad as J hare erer mien," 
Safe, Tasteless, Parc. 
Rex Magnus Is safe, tasteless, pur , and Prof. John¬ 
son adds in his report; “I should anticipate no ill re¬ 
sults from Its use and consider It less harmful 
than common suit," 
It Is a perfect substitute for lee, heat, sugar, salt or 
alcohol in preserving fund, and retaining Its natural 
flavor and sweetness— regardless of climates and 
seasons. 
How to Get It. 
All druggists and grocers keep It. Samples sent 
post paid on receipt of price, except Aqua-Vitae ami 
Anti-ferment which arc put up Iu bottles. “Vlau- 
dlne,'' for meats, poultry, etc., 5n ets. per lb.: “Ocean 
Wave,” for ovs.ers, lobsters. He.., 50 ets. “Pearl,” 
for cream, $l.m "Snmv Flake" Tor milk, butter, etc. 
50 ets. “Queen,” for eggs *1.00. “Aqua Vitae” for fluid 
extracts,ete, $1.00. ‘Anti Ferment," "Anti Fly,” and 
’Anti-Mold" 50 ets. per lb. each. Mention this paper. 
Put up In 1 lb. nnd 5 Ih. cans and In 25 lb. boxes. 
HUMISTON FOOD PRESERVING CO., 
T2 Kilby St.. Boston, Mass. 
THE NEW PATENT 
DUST-PROOF 
Stem Winding Open Face Case, 
MANUFACTURED BY THE 
American Watch Co,, 
WALTHAM, MASS. 
This rase is formed in one solid piece with 
out joint or seam, opening in front only , thus 
avoiding the usual Cop, and securiug greater 
strength ami durability. 
These Watches are all open face. The bezel, 
into which an extra strong crystal is fitted 
with an especially prepared water-proof ce¬ 
ment, is attached to the ease by screwing it 
thereon, and thus forms an air-tight, junction 
with the body of the ease, which is proof 
against dust and moisture. 
To railrdad men, travelers, miners, lumber¬ 
men and others who are almost constantly ex¬ 
posed and who have to make frequent reference 
to the watch, these qualities are of the utmost 
importance. 
The following loiter* tell ilielr own 
story: 
“ Valdosta, Ga., July 20, 1882. 
“ I sold one of your Patent Dust-Proof Cases 
al>out ton months ago, and the other day it came 
hack to me with the request to make it, wind 
easier. On examination 1 found that the stem 
was rusty, and 1 inquired into the cause of it. 
The gentleman stated to me that he was start¬ 
ing some saw-logs that had lodged in the bend 
of the river, when his chain caught in a bush 
and threw his watch into about twelve feet of 
water, and he was about two hours finding it. 
When ho got it. out it was running and he 
thought all right. In about throe mouths he 
foimd that the stem was hard to turn aud sent 
it to me, 
“ I can say that the watch is all that the 
company claims for it, aud recommend it to all 
railroad aud mill men. B. W. Bently.” 
“ Clinton, Iowa, April 29, 1881. 
“ I wish you would send me a spring for the 
Win. Ellery Watch * * * By the way this 
Ellery is a watch 1 sold in your Screw Bezel 
Case to a farmer last Fall. The first of Janu¬ 
ary ho lost the watch iu t,lu< woods, nnd found 
it this week in about one foot of water. It had 
lain three months nnd over in snow and water 
with but slight injury to the watch—ouly ? 
hair-spring. C. S. Raymond.” 
The above were very severe tests, and dem¬ 
onstrate beyond a doubt that for any reasona¬ 
ble length of time during which a wutch might 
be under water it would receive no injury 
whatever. 
We make those eases in both gold and silver, 
and an a Perfectly Dust-Proof Stem Winding 
Wnii'li fuse. Challenge the World to Produce 
it* Equal. 
FOR SAIF BY ALL FIRST CLASS JEWELERS. 
ASTHMA & HAY FEVER 
THEIR CAUSE & CURE. 
KNIGIIT’S NEW TREATISE sent free. 
Address L. A. KNIGHT, 15 E.Thlrd St., CINCINNATI, a 
