$Mw ££ttbiiea ion 
HRi'SceUaujcousi ^VdvfftiiSinfl 
iu about an hour it died. The next day its 
sister was similarly affected, and died. Do 
you know what was the matter? Where can 
I get a book giving information of dogs and 
their diseases, with instructions for raising 
pups? 
Franklin Co., N. Y GEO. P. BRYANT. 
[Not having had much experience with 
dogs, I cannot inform you what ailed them. 
The Dog. by Dinks. Mayhew & Hutch¬ 
inson, edited by Frank Forester, price §3; 
Richardson on Dogs, paper cover, price, SO 
cents; Stonehenge on the Dog in Health and 
Disease, price, $3.75. To be obtained of the 
American News Co., New York City. Your 
letter was overlooked. Uncle Mark. 
Dear Uncle Mark:—I don't suppose you 
will care to take me in as a Cousin, with my 
spectacles on my nose, but perhaps will re¬ 
ceive me as a “sister” or an aunt. It has 
occurred to me that it might interest the 
Cousins to hear about a plant largely culti¬ 
vated here by the Chinese. They get the 
bulbs from China every Fall, place them in 
shallow dishes, surround and imbed them in 
clean pebbles, and fill the dishes with water. 
The plant soon throws up bright, straight 
green leaves, that grow 14 or 16 inches tall, 
followed by tall stems, covered with clusters 
of white and yellow blossoms, resembliug our 
Narcissus, and are very fragrant. 
With the Chinumeu they must bloom by 
their New Year, a moveable feast, coming 
somewhere from the first to the middle of 
February. If the plant fails to blossom by 
that time, iu Chinese parlance it is “No 
good.” They all have great quantities of 
them, and certainly all through the month 
of February their poor little shanties look 
bright and gay with them, all the gayer for 
having their leaves tied up with red paper, a 
custom the Chinaman never omits. I think 
the plant must be very dear to their hearts, 
they have such quantities of them. Certainly, 
they are both curious and very pretty. 
Nevada Co., Cal. mrs. l. h. bickford. 
[I guess I shall have to class you among the 
“aunts,” because they are supposed to wear 
the “specs.” Let us hear from you again.— 
Uncle Mark. 
Dear Cousins:—I suppose you will see I 
am a new cousin to you all. My Pa takes the 
Rural, and I have for a long time read your 
letters At last the thought came to me that 
I too might join your band; so, after getting 
permission from my parents, 1 wrote to dear 
Uncle Mark, and he kindly added my name to 
his many nephews. 
I live on a farm, and am 13 years old. I 
have a brother younger than myself. We 
have a dog, three cats, and two doves for 
pets; we also have a white rohin, although he 
is not tame; but he stays right near the house 
all the time, in a Mountain Ash tree, and feeds 
on the berries. My brother and I ha ve tine 
times together; we go to school, and after 
school at night we go fishing and berrying. 
In the Spring we set out lines. Last Spring I 
caught the first eel I ever saw. We set a line 
about nine o’clock in the evening; we got up 
very early the next morning to see what kind 
of luck we had; so, after looking at one or 
two books, I came to one on which I was sure 
I had something. I called my brother to help 
me, and soon we saw something coming 
towards us that looked more like a snake than 
anything else; but I bad heard and read 
about eels, so I knew that it must be one. It 
weighed tive-pouuds-and-hnlf. Your uephew, 
Wayne Co., N. Y. fkkd e. reeve. 
Dear Uncle Mark:— May I be a member 
of your Club? I am 12 years old. I live in 
Dakota. There are a good many flowers out 
here ou the prairie. I think the wild roses 
are as pretty as the tame ones Some 
little green worms got ou our cabbages 
(of which we had 400 heads) aud ate holes 
through them. I have a gaiden. I planted 
radishes, peppers, lettuce aud endive. My en¬ 
dive did not do very well. We hud never 
raised any, and I sowed it so thick that I 
could not blanch it. We have eight acres of 
corn, five of wheat, and four of oats. I have 
four sisters and two brothers. When I was 
three years old 1 went from Illinois to Oregon; 
in the year of 1880 l went back to Illinois, 
and last Kali I came to Dakota. 
Youruieee, lauka c. Godfrey. 
Douglas Co., Dakota. 
AN EXTRAORDINARY 
of the attractions which It has secured for 188-1 is 
made by the Youth’s Conpanton, and especially note¬ 
worthy is the group of serials which It will publish. 
These Include original stories by Mrs. Oliphant. 
Thomas Hardy. James Pay n, Katherine S. Maemioid, 
-Uphntlsc* Dutldet, George Mnnvllle Kenn, J. T. Trow¬ 
bridge and Frank R. Stockton, V0 these were writ¬ 
ten expressly for it. and Mrs. OUplioiit’8 story Is said 
to be toe best one she hos produced for some time 
Da inlet's story is of life In Furis. Hardy's of the 
Peasantry in the West of England, Penn's of Lon¬ 
don, Mrs, Mueqnnid'sof Normandy, and Trowbridge’s 
aud Stock ton's of America. 
BEE TALK, 
. HIS has been an exceptional 
\\f year for honey-bees as well as 
for humble-bees, wasps, and 
yellow-jackete. Last Spring Pa 
l Y had two stands of bees. The 
vj JJ first hive of bees did very well; 
swanned late in May one large 
swarm, that I put in a small 
hive. They went to work right, 
• away on the White Clover, of 
Avhich there were 10 acres. I was very much 
amused, while sitting immediately in front 
of the hives, watching them return to 
them with a ball of nectar on each 
limb, as large as a small pea. The 
first swarm deposited 20 pounds of honey 
in a box. which I carried away about the 
middle of June, and iu 10 days after, a nice 
swarm came out of this hive, which 1 hived. 
They have nearly filled the lower part of their 
hive. Another swarm also came out of the 
first old stand early in Juue, from which I 
have taken 30 pounds of honey, and 30 
pounds from the first old stand itself. 
The other liive of bees did not do quite so 
well, being a different kind of bee. The bees 
swarmed twice, but one swarm went away. 
The swarm I hived, which Pa gave me, has 
filled the lower part of the hive nicely, but 
bas made uo surplus honey. I took 30 pounds 
from the second old stand. I have taken 
110 pounds altogether from four hives; took 
the last away August 1. Pa said I ought to 
have left.it, and ought never to take any away 
after July 20, as they ueed all they make to 
Winter themselves on, 
I never saw bees work harder thau they did 
in the White Clover season in June. As I 
said before. Pa bas two kinds of bees: the 
first are small black bees. They are very quiet 
and nice to work with, and beat the Italians 
all to pieces making honey. The others, which 
are Italiaus—I call them “ old Red-backs”— 
are not as good honey-makers as the former 
but are excellent fighters, and are very mean 
to work with. 
Bees ueed careful attention. The little black 
ants nearly “tuck'’ two hives: I tried salt 
with good effect, but nothing was so good as 
the contents of Mrs. R.’s tea-kettle. Next 
some strange bees got to robbing one hive. 
Ma used to tell me that the large bees, the 
drones, did uot do anything: hut 1 noticed 
them going to a hive and coming out with their 
mouths full of something, and the other bees 
would fight them when they could get a chance. 
It was real fun to see the little working bee 
kill and drag out the drone, notwithstanding 
the drone is nearly twice the size of the work¬ 
ing-bee; I have seeu a bee drag out a drone 
that was alive. I shall put my bees in the 
cellar this Fall, aud next Summer I will not 
allow them to swarm naturally, but transfer 
them, so that I shall lose no swarms. 
Now, some one will say: “Oh! I am so 
afraid of bees!” Well, just so sure as a per¬ 
son is afraid of bees, they will sting him. 
Don’t run aud strike at them; just stand still 
aud let them fly around, and if you are sure 
one Is going to sting you, kill it without strik¬ 
ing at the others. Bees will sting some peo¬ 
ple much sooner than others. Pa’s Red-backs 
will sting the hired man when he is two rods 
from the hive, whereas I can sit in front of 
the hive that has the little blaek bees in it for 
30 minutes, without being stung. Pa does not 
sell much honey, for we all like to eat it, and 
we use some medicinally. If any of the 
Cousins have good old Dutch mothers, they 
will make use of it in some way. An excel¬ 
lent cough sirup is made of honey, and the best 
poultices for carbuncles and boils are made of 
flour, mixed with honey, to make it stick to 
the rags. jno. p. confer. 
Greene Co., O. 
PROFESSOR 
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IN CLUB WITH 
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AND HOME MAGAZINE IN AMERIC A. ITTE LEAD 
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IRQ PAGES. ILLUSTRATING FASH- 
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IS t O I U fc & Novelettes, Stories anti Poems, by 
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Made from Professor Horsford’a Acid 
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Makes lighter biscuit, cakes, etc,, and 
iB healthier than ordinary Raking Pow¬ 
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In Unities, Sold at n reasonable price. 
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Sold by Grocers everywhere. 
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use our “Barbebs’ Bar Soap." Sample mailed for 8c. 
and a cake of Yankee. Soap for 12c. Address, 
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This Ik the principal premium for koUIuk up clubs 
for 18 HI, and n miporb quarto volume, bound in nnt- 
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LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS, 
Dear Uncle Mark and Rural Cousins.— 
I received tbe seeds sent me, and am much 
obliged for them. I planted them on rich 
soil, in open ground, aud about two-thirds of 
them came up. Thus far (Sept. 23) only one 
plant has blossomed. The Rura l com is look¬ 
ing very well, in spite of the wet weather 
and early frost which this season has experi¬ 
enced Graiu is yielding very well here this 
Summer. We have not yet dug the Blush 
Potato which we received from the Rural, 
but if it yields like the White Elephant, it ■will 
be good. 
I had four puppies, born September 18th; 
when born, they were all well aud strong. 
When two or three days old one was taken 
sick, bloated considerable, and seemed to be 
in great pain if touched. I n about four hours 
it became apparent that it was going to die, 
and I gave it a strong dose of Epsom Salts; 
Uncle Mark:—1 was surprised and pleased 
to see my letter iu the Rural, and thank you 
very much for pirating it. ! wrote to you 
that 1 had planted a little garden. I had over 
throe bushels of potatoes, besides sweet corn, 
lettuce, radishes, beans, etc. My father has 
the Beauty of Hebron, White Elephant and 
the lllush Potatoes, that were sent from the 
Rural, that are beauties this year, they are 
so large. The seeds you sent me came up and 
produced some nice flowers, I urn only 
eleven years old and do not think I can say 
much about apples. Think I could if I had 
some to oat. I. too, would like to know what 
Uncle Mark’s given name is. 
Your Nephew, wilbur f. saxton. 
[My given name is Uncle. Don’t you think 
it a good one? uncle mark. 
COLD WATCH FREE! 
The Publishers of IbeUuiiituI City Home Guest, 
tbe well-known Illustrated Literary and Family Mag¬ 
azine, make tbe following liberal oiler lor tbe Hol¬ 
iday*.; Tbe person telling U* tbe longest verse Intlie 
Bible before January 1 st. wilt receive a Solid (.'old 
Lady’s Homing t’u*e w»\i»s Wateb. worth 
g.V),UI. If tbe re be more than one Correct answer, i be 
second will receive ati elegant -icin-n iudiitu Gen- 
tlciuiui’s Wateb, The third a key wlmilng Eng¬ 
lish \Ynt oh. Each person must send Tie. with their 
answer for which they will receive three months' 
subscription to the Home Guest, a 50 page Illus¬ 
trated Holiday Book, a Cane of 85 urlioleN 
thnt- the ladles will appreciate and paper containing 
the names of winners, HOME GUEST, Hartfoud, Cw 
BIG CHRISTMAS OFFER. ISS3. 
We will send the fUtLAmai'rOA Hkhalu (size of Har¬ 
per's Weekly) to any address,1J months, and either or 
our two beautiful cnroinoH. in ten colors ••i’resent- 
ime tbe Bride,” or "The GnrlieM Family,” 
size 24x80 inches, also 30 Visiting Cards (no two alike) 
with unv name you wish printed on I horn. Life of tne 
probable Democratic Presidential Candidate for 188-1. 
Oen. Winfield Scorr Hancock. (120 pages, with cover) 
anil one dots- Lithographic Cards of popular Actresses, 
all prepaid, for only *11 ct. one-pent slumps. 
J, LU.M SMITH, 91*5 Arch Ht„ l’hila., l’a. 
