the Territorial convention, which was exceed¬ 
ingly interesting, because of the fight the peo¬ 
ple were waging against the N. P R. R. and 
its laud grants. No women were candidates 
for office on either of the Territorial tickets 
although both parties strongly iudorse woman 
suffrage The Democrats put a plank in their 
platform in favor of making jury services for 
w Dtnen. optional. But on the various county 
tickets women were nomimated for the offices 
of school superintendent, county treasurer aud 
Justice of the Peace, and quite a proportion 
were elected. Between ten and eleven thou¬ 
sand women voted on the fourth of November 
in the Territory, and a thousand in the city of 
Seattle, showing that, as large a proportion of 
women, as of men, voted. Of course, the 
male population largely predominates every¬ 
where on this coast. Women attended the 
primaries, and when the nominations were 
made, they selected their men from the vari¬ 
ous tickets in the field, and proceeded to work 
for them. It was well understood that the 
women voters did not care a straw, as a body, 
for party: but formed an independent vote 
which would determine the result of the elec¬ 
tion. In Seattle, the women, by committees, 
canvassed the city by wards and learned 
exactly the seutimeut of the women as to suf¬ 
frage. Pour-fifths ot the women favored 
suffrage and one-fifth were opposed to it, or 
indifferent. Fully a third more women 
voted iu all the towns at the Territorial elec¬ 
tion than had voted previously at the muni¬ 
cipal elections. 
I made it a point to visit all the polls in 
Seattle on election day, both in the moruing 
and evening.and auything more quiet, orderly, 
and free from confusion could not be imag¬ 
ined—no loud talking, no swearing, no drunk¬ 
enness. no impoliteness. It was a superb day, 
warm aud sunny, snd the women who had 
been selected to look after voters of their own 
sex at the polls, had no discomfort to endure 
and they did valiant service. The women, so 
far as I have been able to learn, throughout 
the Territory, have shown great wisdom and 
discretion from the beginning, in making the 
exercise of the ballot thoroughly respectable. 
The foremost women socially, are the leaders 
politically, and the best women have been, 
and are the first to vote, aud more gentle, 
womanly, modest and admirable women, as 
wives aud mothers, I have never seen any¬ 
where. The result, of the election showed that, 
almost without an exception, the candidates 
indorsed by the women, aud for whom they 
cast their votes, were elected, and vice versa. 
It was the quiet exercise of “the power behind 
the throne," but the result was simply tremen¬ 
dous, and the saloon men, for the first time in 
the history of the Territory, found themselves 
hopelessly defeated. A new leaf had been 
turned over. 
An ex-Chief Justice of the Territory said to 
me one day, iu talking on the subject, that 
until women voted, the Law aud Order Party 
had uo chance whatever; that the whiskey- 
men controlled the primaries and the elections. 
He not only fully believed in the right of 
women to vote, but he as fully deprecated 
auy or all laws that prevent their voting—it 
is their duty to vote and the only element 
which cau be introduced into politics, to puri¬ 
fy and elevate them, is the woman element. 
He gave it at bis opinion that in the course of 
time women would be elected to the Legisla¬ 
ture and bold .State offices. I. laughingly, said 
to him, that if I lived in Washington I would 
stand for the office of State Treasurer, which I 
would fill admirably! As to women ou juries, 
he said the tendency was to improve the ser¬ 
vice decidedly, as the sheriff only calls good 
and capable women, which necessitates in 
turn the best class of men. The sheriff, or 
officer, who would have the hardihood to sum¬ 
mon a disreputable woman as a juror, would 
not be tolerated. The number of bad women 
is so small in comparison with that of good 
women, that their influence as voters or in 
politics does not count. 
As regards women on juries, there is one 
significant thing. It' a lawyer is defending a 
bad client, known to be such, be It man or 
woman, he excuses all the women ou the jury 
that he can, and if saloon men, gamblers, 
keepers of houses of ill repute, or disorderly 
resorts, dread any one thing more than anoth¬ 
er when arrested and brought to court, it is a 
jury with women ou it, some of the best work 
done in the Territory, has been done by wom¬ 
en on grand juries. In Beattie, six of the 
grand jurors were women, some of the very 
brightest women in the city; and what is true 
of Seattle, is proportionately true of every 
othtr town iu Washington. Seattle, being u 
sea-port, the social forces are more varied aud 
perplexing thau in inland towns, and the eases 
tried in the courts, embrace nearly every kind 
known to general jurisprudence. 
In order to see women as jurors, I attended 
court a number ot times, presided over by the 
Chief Justice, who has only words of the most 
unqualified praise and commendation of wom¬ 
en as jurors. I found a pleasant, light, well 
ventilated court room, clean and entirely free 
from tobacco smoke; everything was as well 
ordered, and conducted with as much decorum 
as a religious service in a church, excluding 
“revival” meetings, and it was no more dis¬ 
agreeable, so far as I could see, to sit on a 
bench as a juror than to sit in a church pew, 
while it was vastly more interesting. Aside 
from the three dollars per day, pay, to serve 
for a term as a juror is equal to a good edu¬ 
cation. Some of the women sat bonneted, 
some took their bonnets off which I thought 
the proper thing to dn in a temple of justice. 
When it is impossible for women to leave 
their homes to serve as jurors, they are 
of course excused the same as are men. 
1 heard a woman lawyer defend a China¬ 
man, she having been appointed by 
the court for that, purpose. She was neither 
a beauty nor an experienced attorney; but 
she got her client acquitted. Two women, 
one of them a Swiss, have been admitted to 
the Seattle bar. One is a graduate of the Bos¬ 
ton Law School and is said to do very good 
work. She studied the law because she had a 
“liking" for it. although, in conducting a case, 
she evinces no unusual talent. 
Seattle, has a woman physician, a graduate 
of the medical department of Ann Arbor, 
Micb., University. The city has also what is 
unusual, a woman who is a barber. I took 
the laddie to her, to have his hair cut, and we 
found her busy shaving a man, with another 
waiting his turn. She has allied with her, in 
the business, a man whom I took to he her 
father. She said she had been in the business 
about a year. She is a sensible, practical, 
quiet, good looking little woman, dignified 
and with no “nonsense’ about her, to invite 
discourtesy from evil-minded patrons, and she 
keeps her shop as neat as a new pin. But I 
didn’t like her hair cutting, altogether. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Texas, 
Bellville, Austin Co., Jan. 20.—In this 
portion of the Sunny South we are at present 
haviug a terrible spell of winter weather 
for during the past 24 hours the trees have 
been so heavily laden with sleet as to cause 
many to break; 1 hear them fall from where 
I am writiug. Stock on the “range” without 
shelter must suffer terribly, as the mercury 
is now falling rapidly. Grass is very short, 
owing to the severe drought last Fall, which 
will very probably cause great losses of cuttle 
in early Spring. Our present Winter was re¬ 
markably warm and pleasant, until within 
the pastteu days, in which we have sec-u the 
ground frozen hard enough to bear up a horse, 
and have had ice throe inches t hick iu exposed 
situations. Before this cold spell, farmers had 
begun to break up their corn lands, prepara¬ 
tory to plautiug early, with a view of getting 
the crops matured before a protracted drought 
sets in, as has been the case in the last two 
years. Sowing oats will be the labor of next 
month, and gardening, plautiug early vegeta¬ 
bles, such as Irish potatoes, peas, onions, rad¬ 
ishes, turnips, lettuce, etc. Transplanting 
fruit trees, and shrubbery is now in order. 
Corn is worth 65 cents per bushel, and sweet 
potatoes, 75 cents; butter, 2d cents per pound; 
eggs, 15 cents per dozen; turkeys, from §6 to 
$0 per dozen; chickens, $2 to #3 per dozen. 
Wheat is not raised here on account of rust. 
Apples, from the North, and only medium, 
are $4,50 to $5 per barrel, and Irish potatoes, 
from North, $8.50 to $4. I think fully three- 
fourths of all the bacou used in this State 
comes from the “Great Northwest,” the corn 
country of America. Hence one may see at 
a glance why our farmers are every year 
greatly impoverished, as they should make 
more corn and meat, and less cotton, h.c.f. 
RURAL SEED REPORTS. 
Kansas. 
McClure, Crawford Co.—I planted Brow- 
nel’s Superior and the Blush Potatoes on May 
1, and mulched with old hay and straw; dur¬ 
ing the dry weather the viues of all died ex¬ 
cept the Blush, and from 17 pounds l plunted 
I raised 20 bushels of tubers of medium size. A 
few were very large and. there were but very 
few small ones, Quality excellent, white, 
mealy, and well flavored. M. T. E. b. 
Maryland. 
Liberty Mills, Wabash Co.—The Ru¬ 
ral Union Corn was a failure. Of course, 
it ripened; but the ears were small and no 
two were alike. 1 planted the R. N.-Y., Mar¬ 
ket Garden aud Tom Thumb Peas at the same 
time. The R. N -Y. Peas were as good as Tom 
Thumb, and ripened at the same time. That 
is saying a good deal; for the the Tom Thumb 
is bard to beat. The Market Garden Pea is 
not so good, and is about a week later. The 
tomatoes I expected much from; but got but 
little. They wouldn’t ripen and would rot; 
but tomatoes did not do w ell in our immediate 
vicinity. Wife planted the Garden Treasures 
late and in a poor place; but what came up 4 
were nice. Oats a heavy grower, but too late. 
H. c. 
New York. 
Benson, Hamilton Co.—The Rural New- 
Yorker Pea ripened a week earlier than Ilors- 
ford’s. Both bore well. The R. U. Corn 
made an immense growth; but didn’t fully 
mature. The Black Champion Oats filled 
well; but were later than my other varieties. 
The tomatoes were very large, smooth, and 
solid. I diilu’fc get many ripe owing to the 
late season. The Garden Treasures afforded 
much pleasure. The wheat and rye wore 
sown September 24. and were looking well 
when snow came. d. w. c., jr. 
[Every query must bn accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to Insure attention Before 
asking- a question, please see if It Is not answered in 
our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions 
ntone timed 
USING A COMPOST. 
T. A. P., So. Bend, lad. —l Are bone meal 
and uuleached wood ashes together a complete 
fertilizer? 2. My laud is a clay loam with 
hard clay, gravelly subsoil. I can get coarse 
stable manure at 35 cents per cord: bone meal 
at #25 per ton, and unleaehed wood ashes at 5 
cents per bushel, all to be hauled miles. 
For small fruits and potatoes which had I bet¬ 
ter buy. 
Ans. —1. Thecompouud would lack nitrogen 
in sufficient quantity. 2. Buy all three 
Make a pile of the stable manure, say 12 feet 
square, spreading it as level as possible; put 
down a cord of manure, and over this sow 40 
pounds of boue, thus alternating and keepiug 
the pile level andof full size, aud it will prob¬ 
ably get rain and snow enough to prevent 
fire-fonging. When you have the pile 10 
feet high, it will contain 11 cords of man¬ 
ure and 400 ponnds of bone, and will have 
cost you $8 85, besides the labor, which is no¬ 
thing in Wiuter; so you may make as many 
piles as you can afford. After the pile has 
been completed about one month, commence 
at one end aud fork it over, mixing it well 
aud keeping it of the same size. In Spring 
plow the ground and then scatter these 11 
cords upon an acre. Cultivate aud harrow it 
well into the soil; then sow 25 bushels per 
acre of ashes, aud harrow that iu. All this 
will have cost you $10.10 per acre, and, our 
word for it, it will more than double your 
potato or small fruit crop. Try it and report 
the result. 
TOBACCO STEMS AS A FERTILIZER. 
IF. II. B , Mooresville, N. C .—What are to¬ 
bacco stems worth as a fertilizer? On what 
crop would they pay best? How should they 
be applied ? 
Ans. —Our friend does not specify whether 
he means leaf-steuis, the refuse from cigar 
factories, or the statics left after stripping off 
the leaves. Both, however, are valuable as 
a fertilizer. The ash of the latter contains 30 
to 40 per cent, of potash, and 10 to 12 per cent, 
of phosphoric acid: but the former are un¬ 
doubtedly richer iu fertilizing elements. A 
very marked effect in the growth of pasture 
and meadow grass is noticeable where tobacco 
stalks have been scattered ou the soil broadcast 
during the Winter aud Spring. Many of the 
best farmers in the Chemung Valley, N. Y., 
dispose of their stalks in this way, regarding it 
as, on the whole,the most satisfactory method. 
The stems may be composted with barn yard 
manure, but they are slow in decaying. If it 
is desired to apply them with barn-yard ma¬ 
nure, an excellent method is to scatter them 
in the barn-yard during the Winter, and per¬ 
mit the stock to break them up by treading 
over them. They may he readily composted 
with barn-yard manure, or applied lightly 
alone. They will prove beneficial to almost 
any crop, and especially on soil lacking potash. 
A COMPOST. 
A. II., Barrie, Ont. —1. I can get at a tan¬ 
nery a mile away large quantities of skulls 
aud horns at 30 cents per hundred pounds;are 
they worth it for burying at the roots of grape¬ 
vines and fruit trees? 2. Is this the best 
way of treating them? 5. I can also get large 
quantities of “fleshings,” with scraps of hides 
and the hair for the hauling; what is the best 
way to treat thftm to bo used as a fertilizer for 
strawberries'? 
Anb. —1. We think they are. Break them 
as fine as possible with au old ax or iron sledge. 
2. A splendid way to treat them is to pile them 
with fresh barnyard manure, breaking them as 
fine as possible, aud keeping the pile just wet 
enough so as nob to Ure-fang. In a few mouths 
the bones will become very rotten and soft. 
The horns are quite refractory, and can be 
piled in tanks or large casks with unleached 
bard wood ashes, keeping these just moist, and 
keeping the top covered with charcoal dust or 
laud plaster. 3. There is no better way to treat 
this than with the fresh mauure, as above. 
If doneuow, and forked over once, the com¬ 
post will be iu pretty good shape by planting 
time. 
APPLES ON LOW HEAVY LAND. 
L. 11, Orangeburgh, N. Y. —1. Why are 
apples on heavy clay land well drained but 
low aud level, generally smaller in size, infe¬ 
rior in appearance and poorer in quality than 
those on higher and lighter land? The trees 
are more vigorous on the heavy land, but the 
fruit is very inferior. 2. What would you re¬ 
commend to be applied ? 
Ans.— 1. In our experience apples on heavy 
lauds are smaller in size but of better quality 
aud better keepers than those on light lauds. 
There must bB something wroug in the land 
or cultivation in the case mentioned; nut, of 
course, we cannot tell what it is from such 
imperfect data. 2. Try some experiments: 
uuder one tree spread two bushels of hard 
wood ashes; uuder another, 20 pounds of su¬ 
perphosphate: uuder another, both; and put 
plenty of barnyard manure around others. 
A few such applications in different places 
should show good results somewhere. 
A CORDIAL FROM CHERRIES. 
W. and IF., Charlton, Mass. —1. What is a 
recipe for making wine from black cherries? 
2. Can the Enterprise Combination Press be 
used to extract the juice? 
Ans—L It is uot possible to make wine 
from anything but pure grape juice. A cor¬ 
dial can be made from black cherry juice and 
sugar. To even' gallon of juice add one 
pound of the best granulated white sugar; 
place it iu a cask, or other suitable vessel, 
filling entirely full, and as the juice ferments 
and the sediment works over, fill up with 
some of the juice kept forithe purpose. After 
all the sediment has worked over and the 
juic has become perfectly clear, cork tightly 
and place in a cold cellar or other cold place. 
When six months old, rack off and place in a 
clean cask or demijon, and if it does not fill, 
drop in cleanly scoured pebbles uutil the 
vessel is filled, and again cork tightly. Age 
will improve it. 
“reducing” “green” bones. 
C. IF. A., Pall River , Mass. —I am boiling 
green bones, (mostly hard shin bones); what is 
the best way to prepare them as a fertilizer, 
and would they be good for corn? 
A ns —Such are the hardest kind of bones to 
handle, and they are reduced very slowly. If 
you can break them quite fine, you can com¬ 
post them with fresh stable manure, 
or with fresh wood ashes, keeping the piles 
covered with a littlo loam or plaster to 
catch any escaping ammonia, or you can re 
duce them with sulphuric acid, as frequently 
described iu the Rural. They may also be 
burned, when they can be readily reduced to 
powder. In this case, however, the nitrogen 
which is contained in the organic matter, es¬ 
capes; but as thisig only ahout two per cent., 
the advantages gained by burning the bones 
are often enough to counterbalance the loss, 
as the deficiency can usually be readily sup¬ 
plied by the addition of some nitrogenous 
manure. 
GROWING POTATOES BYTHE RURAL'S METHOD. 
A. P. S.. Or ring ton. Me, —1. What are the 
two earliest and best black, rod aud white 
grapes; the Uoucord is too late for us? 2. Iu 
trying the Rural’s method of potato cul¬ 
ture, cau I add the chemicals next Spriug 
with good results? 
Ans. —4. Try Moore’s Early aud Janesville 
for black; Delaware and Brighton for red, 
aud Lady aud Jessica for white, 2. Yes; 
after putting the seed in the trenches and cov¬ 
ering a couple of inches deep, scatter the ma 
nure along in the trenches, and then finish fill¬ 
ing them with soil. If you can get hay, chaff 
or cut straw, don't fail to try a few rows by 
mulching a couple of inches deep. After the 
seed is first covered, scatter the mulch in the 
drills and put the rest of the dirt on top of 
that. We think there is much iu this, and wo 
want it tried. ______ 
Miscellaneous. 
A. 1). M., Amhert, Mass. —1. What garden 
crops, including melons and squashes, are 
least injurious to young fruit trees? 2. Of 
Rogers’s Hybrids which is the better for ama- 
lu hard times, all prosperous journals 
should be willing to share their prosperity 
with those of their subscribers who are less 
prosperous. This year is thus far an ex¬ 
ceptionally hard one to our country friends, 
mul the Rural would suffer without their 
wonted support. We therefore offer them 
for every new subscriber, sent to us before 
March 15, a Webster's Diet ionary or World's 
Cyclopedia, either of which is really worth 
me dollar. Bee page 128. fifteen cents 
will be required for postage. 
