f ar i\)t Doimtj. 
THE ICE BRIDGE AT NIAGARA. 
SOPHIA C. GARRETT. 
ANY of the young readers of 
the Rural New-Yorker per¬ 
haps have been at Niagara 
Palls, and while there, saw the 
, beautiful Suspension Bridge 
I that spans the Niagara River. 
Were they to visit Niagara 
Falls now, they would see an 
ice bridge across Niagara 
River, built by the Frost King 
assisted by the winds and the waves. The ice 
in the river above the Falls, in severe cold 
w eather, is sometimes suddenly broken up by a 
great wind, and floatiug out into the current, is 
carried over the Falls. The river here turns 
its course north-east, and is much narrower 
than it is above the Falls. Rocks, which have 
fallen from the sides of the high bauks, lie in 
the water, and on these, the great blocks of 
ice are caught and firmly held in place. Other 
pieces rapidly accumulate and lodge there, 
and soon the stream is covered with closely- 
packed ice. 
The traveler in crossing finds tho path 
a very rough one. Blocks of ice several feet 
high have to be climbed over, then the way 
leads down into slippery hollows and some¬ 
times a crack is stepped over, and winding 
from one side to another, the Canada shore is 
reached. Although fatigued, the tourist feels 
repaid for his trouble, as the great cataract 
is pouring its mighty flood down in full view, 
while the ice scenery around is wonderful. 
The Ice Bridge now’ at Niagara Falls, formed 
on Thursday Jan. 15. People crossed on it 
the next day. Ou Saturday, a high wind 
drove more ice over the Falls, and this wi¬ 
dened the Frost King’s highway to Queen 
Victoria fair domain. 
ANOTHER PARTNERSHIP LETTER. 
Such a pile of good letters from our wide¬ 
awake boys and girls, and every one of them 
looking anxiously to see their letters in print! 
Your Uucle hasn't forgotten how he used to 
wait anxiously to see his letters printed, years 
ago, after writing to tho Youth’s Department 
of the Rural, or some other good paper, and 
he is just as anxious as you are to see your 
letters in print soon after they come. 
To give each one a little share, I will have 
to take all the short letters and give just the 
best part of each one, chough if I had room 
for the whole of every letter I would like to 
print them entire, 
FJorine Hawley lives ou a peach farm, in 
Michigan, of three thousand trees, and plums, 
pears, apples and cherries are grown near her 
home. Write us next Summer, Ploriue, and 
tell us about the peaches, if there is a crop. 
Claudia I’ruden lives iu Huron Co., Ohio, 
and is interested iu chickens. She sets her 
beos from the middle of March to the last of 
May and always has nice fat chickens by 
September. 
Ileda Sharp had a nice flower garden last 
Summer, and on Christmas Santa Claus 
brought her a sweet gold ring. 
Ida M. Duvidsou expects to live on a ranch 
iu Colorado next Summer. We would enjoy 
a letter telling all about it, Ida. 
John C. Hu lts, no State given, raised near¬ 
ly two bushels of potatoes from two potatoes 
of the Blush variety, and some extra fine 
Perfection Watermelons, some of Cuban 
Queen, and Iron Clad, but tbe latter did not 
ripen before frost. He took seven prizes at 
the township fair. His sweet coni and pop¬ 
corn made good crops. 
Emory C. Spence gre w, in Ohio, a zinnia that 
had 40 blossoms; and bad many other flowers 
from which he gathered a good store of seeds. 
Many thaulcs for your card, Emory. 
Arthur Smith writes from Santa Cruz Co., 
Cal. be tells of some funny tbiugs that hap¬ 
pened in his school. The teacher showed a 
bright little boy a picture of a cat, sitting so 
only three of its legs could be seen, and asked 
Jimmie where the othorleg was; he answered, 
“rhecathain’tgotuonother leg.” At another 
time the teacher was spelling “she," giving 
the sound of each letter, and Jimmie was to 
pronounce it; as soon as she said *‘sh,” he 
called out “chicken;” he had heard chickens 
driven away by “shooing,” and so guessed the 
teacher was spelling chicken. 
Mary E. Bryant writes from McLean Co., 
Ill., ou a very cold day; mercury was 22° 
below zero, she hud tho care of two invalids 
all last Summer or she would have written 
to us sooner. I hope both your iuvulids are 
well and strong now Mary. 
Isa B. Wells writes from Kearney Co,, Ne¬ 
braska, a part of the country that used to be 
called the Great American Desert. They have 
peach, plum, apple, and cherry trees growing, 
and raspberry, blackberry, gooseberry and 
current bushes. The plant resembling stra¬ 
monium that you ask the name of is Datura. 
Lou Hall, lives on Long Island, and though 
she is only nine years old she bad a garden 
of her own last Summer, and her papa told 
her she cultivated it very well. She has a 
little Alderney calf for a pet; its name is 
Becky and it is full of play and fun. I would 
like to see your little pet, Louie. 
Ruel W. Calhoun writes from Ohio and 
asks the name of a wild flower with yellow 
blossoms that grows there, but I cannot 
tell its name without seeing it. The dry 
weather hindered his flowers and vegetables 
from growing well. 
W. Linn Brown writes from Butler Co., 
Ohio, that he has a big black dog named Fido, a 
cat named Wampus, and a little colt named 
Ramona and a calf he calls Suowball, and he 
says be will write a longer letter next time. 
Remember we are expecting the longer letter 
Liun. 
Gracie Wilkinson raised one hundred chick¬ 
ens and bought a stand of bees with the money 
she received for her chickens. She is glad 
the Rural is out and pasted, because it was 
her work to cut and sew it before. Write us 
something about your bees, Gracie. 
Leonora Marsac writes from Michigan. She 
lives on a farm of 150 acres all covered with 
big sugar maple trees, and their house is in 
the shade of thick woods. She has planted 
some apple seeds, and means to have a good 
garden, too, next Summer. Most of their 
neighbors are Indians and are great beggars. 
We will be glad to hear more, Leonore, about 
the north woods of Michigan. 
I have put all your names on the Y. H. C. 
list and hope that you will enjoy our Club 
cattle disease, but there was quite a display of 
horses. I visited the Exposition Hall and 
saw all its graud sights, and at 6 P. M. we 
took the train for home. Ma met us at the 
depot and found us tired and just worn out. 
Well T will close my letter; it is a long one, 
and the first I have written this year. 
Your Niece, 
Madison Co., Ill. dora ricks 
[Your Christmas w T as not a very merry one, 
Dora. We are pleased to hear about your 
trip tO St. LoiliS.— UNCLE MARK.] 
Dear Uncle Mark:— The Summer beiug 
very dry with us, our crops were not so good 
as we anticipated. My potatoes did not yield 
well, in fact 1 only made ten cents on the 
crop. My watermelons were good, but small, 
I planted D. M. Ferry’s “Peerless;” will try 
the “Ice Rind” this comiug season, I had a 
fair crop of Rutabagas, some weighing two 
pounds. The Black Champion Oats did well, 
but it is a very late variety. We have a 
white oat which is SO days earlier. We were 
well pleased with the peas and saved them for 
seed. We thank you for the flower seeds; we 
sowed them in a narrow border near tbe house 
and watered freely through the dry weather, 
and enjoyed the flowers very much; have 
saved a nice lot of seeds for this Spring. We 
have plants in the house, that, are looking 
well. I must tell you and the Cousins of my 
experience in getting subscribers for tbe 
R. N.-Y. I started early one morning in De¬ 
cember and walked over 10 miles, called on 
about 20 persons, all owners of large farms, 
but not one would subscribe for tbe “boss 
paper.” I felt disgusted; some of them would 
for the wee ones. 
Dotty, and Polly, and Freddie Bell 
Climbed Into a birdie’s nest. 
Whether the children were very small. 
Or the old mother bird very tall, 
To build a nest to hold them all. 
Where they are not afraid they’ll fall, 
Dotty, and Freddie, and Polly, tlielr guest. 
I’m very sure I eannot tell. aunt beth. 
this year. There are other letters waiting, 
but this letter is as long as we have room for 
this week, so I will sign it for you and me. 
UNCLE MARK AND COUSINS. 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Dear Uncle Mark:— I’ll tell you how I 
spent Christmas Day. My grandfather was 
going to make a Christmas dinner, so ma 
dressed a nice, fat turkey and sent it to him; 
he lives about five miles from here, at a small 
town called Worden, On Christmas morning 
we all were iu a bustle to be off to the dinner, 
when 1 took a chill, and ma sent me to bed 
and told them to untdteh the horses from the 
sleigh, for she would get no turkey that day. 
My throat swelled terribly, and ma applied 
soap poultices, and made me take medicine 
instead of turkey und cherry pie; but I am 
able to go to school again, so 1 am satisfied. 
We have been having some cold weather; the 
thermometer has been eight below zero, so we 
have to sit close by the fire. I study my higher 
arithmetic and ulgebra ut night or read the 
newspapers, so the winter evenings seem short. 
Pa and I went to the St. Louis Fair last 
Fall. We live 55 miles from St. Louis. We 
went on the lightning express. The first build- 
iug we entered at the fair was a very large one 
set aside for relics that had been found on 
battle-fields, and Indian clothing just as (t was 
when the fudiuus were captured, also their 
tomahawks, and so many things 1 could have 
spent hours there; but pa said we must move 
on. The next building contained the Grotto; 
it was as pretty a sight as I ever saw. It is a 
large cave with the water peuring down over 
the rocks, and the green plants are growing 
among the rocks, and flowers blooming in 
front; the cave is lit up by au electric light, 
and the rock overhead shows almost every 
color of the rainbow. 
We went into the poultry house, and such 
crowing, singiug and cackling I never heard 
before; some of the fowls were very large, but 
the little banties beat them all for cuteness. 
There were no cattle there on account of the 
not even listen to a word, “Didn’t want any¬ 
thing to do with it.” I am sure if they would 
read it as we do, they would all think as highly 
of it. I saw iu one of the Rurals of March 
last that a number of boys were getting out 
blocks of the different kinds of wood; I have 
been doing so, too; have SO varieties with 
name und date written on each. Shall con¬ 
tinue until I have all the different kinds. 
Your nephew, 
Grant Co.. Ind. Herbert lenfestey. 
Dear Uncle Mark. —I am eleven years old 
and my little sister Ella is eight. Ma has 
twenty-six stands of bees. In Summer, in 
the bee season, I help hive them, I caught a 
swarm of bees last Summer, and when we 
went to hive them one stung me. “You can’t 
help that,” ma said, “you have to be stung a 
good many times before you can be a good 
bee-keeper.” I don’t like to ^handle bees as 
well as ma does. But Uncle Mark, you for¬ 
got to send me any flower seeds last Summer. 
W e had a great many flowers, including the 
Rural seeds. In our garden we had beets, 
carrots, beaus, cabbage. Rural potatoes, pars¬ 
ley, celery, cress, egg plant, lettuce, and had 
very nice tomatoes from the Rural seeds. 
We will have 15 cows to milk next Summer. 
Pa has seven head of horses. Mu does all her 
work with my help and we help milk beside. 
My brother who is a senior at tho Iowa Agri¬ 
cultural College, is going to send me a botany 
next Spring; ami I am going to study botany 
through the Summer. Uncle Murk asked 
some time ago how many of the Cousins bad 
seen a birch bark cuuoe. Well, I have never 
seen one, but ma often tells me about the bark 
canoes of the Indians in Canada. 1 hope that 
my card will roach you Unde Mark. 
Truly yours, 
Keokuk Co., Iowa. ida m. jackson. 
[Many thanks for the card. I hope you will 
enjoy studying botany, u. M.] 
--- - - 
If you have not sent something for our Dis¬ 
cussion of beans send it now. It will reach 
me in time if you are prompt, 
Pte'ffllanfau.s 
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RAUCH’S $25 PHOSPHATE 
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Iu writing, mention tho IIuicai. New.Yorkkk. 
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