much newspaper discussion of the matter, it 
has been assumed, or stated, that those favor¬ 
ing the change were untruthful in their state¬ 
ments of their reasons and of their purposes. 
An agricultural paper before me holds that 
the fact that officers of the University were 
in favor of this change of name is sufficient 
evidence that they have not been, and are 
not. honestly trying to carry out the laws 
under which it is founded. "Without insisting 
on the standing of the men against whom this 
charge is made, it must be evident that it is 
difficult to discuss a question with one who 
makes such a charge on such a basis. 
I cannot think it was courteous, Christian- 
like or calculated to do good, for the Iowa 
Homestead — even though it be edited by a 
minister of the gospel—to call a body of 300 
or 400 students “a congregation of dudes." It 
does not seem to me efft cttve argument to call 
the question ‘‘silly.” To say that a farmer 
“would disgrace his calling by sending bis son 
to the newly named University,” as did the 
Ohio Farmer, on reflection hardly seems wise 
or true. 
I am glad to see something of a reaction: 
without abating their opinion that the change 
of name was a great mistake, some agricultu¬ 
ral papers are bethinking themselves of an¬ 
other side of the question. Thus the Western 
Rural says: “The University is one of the best 
equipped industrial schools in the world. A 
young man desiring bd industrial education 
cannot do better than take a course at the 
University. * * * It is the duty of the farmers 
of the State to patronize the institution.” 
You ask, “What’s in a name?” Much cer¬ 
tainly; but is not the thing more than a name? 
The University still exists. That motto, 
“Learning and Labor,” still stands. The men 
in control pledge themselves anew to earnest 
effort to carry' out the letter and spirit of the 
laws making instruction in the branches of 
learning relating to agriculture and the me¬ 
chanic arte the chief object of the institution. 
It is still true that more money has been ex¬ 
pended in providing facilities for the College 
of Agriculture than for any other College or 
Departmentthat more men are employed, 
more time and effort spent in giving instruc¬ 
tion in the branches which quite directly re¬ 
late to agriculture than to those connected 
with aDy other industry, or any department 
of the University, and that, next to agricul¬ 
ture, come the other industrial arts which 
have large equipments. I am sorry to Bay it 
is still true that the number of students in tbe 
College of Agriculture is much smaller than 
that in several departments. 
One thing has impressed me as singular— 
notwithstanding the comparatively small 
number of persons engaged in these callings, 
compared with the hundreds of thousands of 
farmers in our State, almost exactly half the 
young men in the University last year were 
preparing themselves to build houseB, bridges, 
roads, machinery, or to manage the latter. 
Those interested in these callings would have 
the same reason to feel wronged by the change 
of name as would farmers; but I have not 
heard of opposition or complaint from them. 
Students seemed well content to come to 
study architecture, mechanical or civil engi¬ 
neering under tbe old name; so far as we can 
judge, they will be equally glad to come for 
these purposes under the new. 
It has been only a few years since the De¬ 
partment of Mechanical Engineering, al¬ 
though with good equipment and able instruc¬ 
tors, was almost without students; now it is 
one of tbe most successful and papular de¬ 
partments in the University. It is my hope 
that I may live to see the time when, in uni¬ 
versities where a choice of courses of study is 
freely offered, the agricultural course will 
rank among the first in popularity, especially 
with farmers and their sons- -is this a wild 
dream? 
Champaign, Ill. 
far Xbaiura, 
CONDUCTED BY M1SC HAY CLARK, 
DOMESTIC HAPPINESS vs. DOMESTIC 
UNHAPPINESS. 
Taking up the thread of my thoughts, pre¬ 
sented last week, I would continue and say: 
It may be, it is true, th^ club life or the 
average associations of young men unlit them 
for the duties and cares of tbe family, but is 
it not equally true that women are as incom¬ 
petent, although it may be in other aud widely 
different directions? Unfortunately, the iu- 
competency in either case does not, as a rule, 
become less, but rather increases as the years 
go by, which are supposed to briug wisdom, 
so that instead of middle-aged, unmarried peo¬ 
ple being better equipped for domestic life, in 
most cases they are only confirmed in their 
incompetency. Some one lias said it requires 
as many brains to manage a family as it does 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. SEPT 2 
to officer a ship. If this he so, ought not the 
training to be as perfect in the one case as in 
the other? 
Perhaps young people should not make 
matrimony their sole, or even their chief ob¬ 
ject in life, but they should either qualify 
themselves for a domestic or a public life. No 
man cau excel in more than oue or two occu¬ 
pations, and in this respect, at lesst, woman 
is not superior to mau. If a young lady has 
musical talent, let her cultivate it and become 
a prima donna, if possible, or if she is of a 
literary turn of mind, she may become an ac¬ 
ceptable writer, but if she is possessed of 
good, common sense, a strong constitution, 
let her qualify herself for the highest sphere 
open to womankind, and tbe highest life 
known to this earth—that of wife and mother. 
The sooner youug ladies learn that they can 
not step from the piano, George Eliot’s works, 
or crazy patchwork into the position of the 
mistress of a household, aud iuto successful 
domestic life, the better. There is no reason 
why one sex should map out their life in their 
youth and follow it to success, and the other 
be the creature of a whim, or of fortune; their 
destiDy dependent upon an acquaintance of a 
ball room, a church sociable, or a picnic. Tbe 
life controlled by chance may be successful, 
but such is not the law of our existence. Mod¬ 
erate success, to say nothiug of excellence, in 
any sphere in life depends upon continuous,un¬ 
remitting application, and in no calling is this 
axiom oftener demonstrated than in house 
keeping. There is no broader sphere of use¬ 
fulness, no higher plane of duty, with great¬ 
er prospect of ultimate reward aud happiness, 
than that of housekeeping. The world needs 
strong, healthy, intelligent mothers, infinitely 
more than it does proficiency in music, 
art, or literature. Men in tbe East, as well 
as in the West need wives—partners — who 
will share the responsibilities and duties of 
life. 
Celibacy is, in most cases, tbe result of cow¬ 
ardice or ignorance (there are exceptional 
cases, such as physical disability, etc,, which 
are altogether commendable); and an unfor¬ 
tunate marriage is usually a local calamity 
because it deters others from entering upon 
wbat for them might be a life of prosperity 
aud happiness. Learn tbe art of housekeeping, 
get married, convince your friends that mar¬ 
ried life and domestic misery are not synony¬ 
mous terms. Aud if you do this—and almost 
any fairly good looking, ordinarily intelligent 
person can do it—you will do much to make 
the world huppier and better. 
J. H. G. 
GIVE YOUR HOMES A CHEERFUL AT¬ 
MOSPHERE. 
In jotting down a few thoughts concerning 
household decorations, I wish it to be under¬ 
stood that I do not write for the rich, but for 
those whose means do not extend beyond the 
necessaries of life. 
To such I would say do not be deterred from 
striving to beautify your homes because 
you are not able to buy ornaments, or because 
your houses may be plain, rough, small, in¬ 
convenient, etc. 
If one has a large, convenient house with 
everything perfect pertaining thereto, and 
plenty of money besides, there is no need to 
waste a moment’s thought as to how it may 
be rendered beautiful with handsome furni¬ 
ture and artistic adornments. There are 
people who will do all that for you in return 
for some of your spare cash. 
But, in that case, you would lose all the 
credit; as well as the pleasure. Let me tell 
you what 1 consider to be a fact. A house 
may he made beautiful with money, but 
to make a home beautiful, requires some¬ 
thing that money cannot buy. Also, that 
true art is to a certain extent independent of 
money. A motto on the wall,done in worsted 
on perforated cardboard is not of itself a 
dispenser of happiness. A house may be 
crammed with bric-a-brac—with pictures aud 
painted placques aud all the other parapherna¬ 
lia of high art—and yet be cheerless and dreary 
as a prison. The happifying influence of 
these things depends on the spirit in which 
they are placed around us. 
This spirit is one of contentment, of willing¬ 
ness to do the very best we can with the 
means we have or can get by a little manage¬ 
ment. it is tbe spirit which strives to hide all 
defects and tiring to light all beauties, whether 
of persons or things. 
One great charm even a very poor home 
may boast—and lacking this any thing else 
will fail of a good effect—I refer to perfect 
cleanliness. Add to this order, and then you 
are ready for your artistic touches. The 
handsomest picture looks but poorly on a 
dusty, dirty wall; yea, a corner bracket full 
of articles of “bigotry and virtue” is an abomi¬ 
nation under a canopy of cobwebs. Some 
writers of both sexes are in the habit of de¬ 
crying tbe perpetual scrubbing aud cleaning 
of those whom they term over-zealous house¬ 
wives. Such writers have no practical know¬ 
ledge of their subject. We whose business it 
is to keep the homes bright, know that to do 
so we must practice eternal vigilance; and 
that a continual harassing of the enemy, dirt, 
is better far than au occasional skirmish. 
Assuming, then, that the house is neat and 
clean, we will suggest a few ornaments that 
cost little or nothing except the thought and 
labor involved. 
Window lambrequins maybe made of any 
desired shade of flannel. Cut them in scallops, 
pink the edges Over white shades or curtaius 
they look well. If you wish them to cost 
still less you may use cotton flannel; aDd the 
effect will be equally good. Shelves are easily 
made of pine boards, covered with material 
to suit the other draperies: and suspended by 
a heavy twisted cord with balls or tassels, 
may acceptably fill a hare corner; on these 
shelves may be a pair of vases, odd bits of 
china, a few pretty shells, or whatever your 
taste may suggest. Very deceiving vases 
may be made of cracked lamp chimneys. 
Paste inside with white of egg, a bright Fpray 
of leaves or flowers; aud back of this, paste 
white tissue paper. Fill the whole inside with 
tissue paper, or with fine, white cotton bat¬ 
ting. 
Pictures are always in favor and need not 
be expensive, though I confess L have a 
horror of very many flashy ebromos. I often 
see au humble wood-cut that I like better. 
However, if you have anything in this line 
that specially appeals to your own heart, give 
it a place. For fear of prolixity I will sug¬ 
gest but one thing more. Flowers, in my 
opinion, are the most beautiful ornameuts any 
home can hare; but there should be only as 
many as can be well cared for. Poor, stinted, 
stubby plauts, spindling vines, covered with 
dust and flyspecks as with a garment, belong 
to the beautiful neither m Nature nor art. 
One thrifty pansy turning its smiling face to 
greet you from its bed of dainty green leaves 
is worth adozeu different varieties neglected. 
'Twere better such bad been “born to blush 
unseen and waste their sweetness on the desert 
air.” HELEN HOWARD. 
SLEEPING WITH THE AGED. 
It is a great mistake of a mother to place 
one of the children to sleep with an aged per¬ 
son, no matter how crowded the home nest. 
A straw pallet on the floor even is far pref¬ 
erable. In almost every case the vitality of 
the child is ini parted to the aged person, but 
at a fearful cost to the little one. I remem¬ 
ber a little bouud boy who was obliged to 
sleep with the aged grandfather of the house, 
and who grew up most puuy, and thin, and 
miserable, an old mau in his boyhood. His 
sister lived with my mother, and she often 
begged the family to let poor Robbie sleep on 
a buffalo robe on the floor rather than in that 
“good bed” with tbe grandfather. But her 
remonstrance was regarded as only a foolish 
notion, aud poor Bob grew up a thin, hollow- 
chested youth, while his brother, reared under 
different circumstances, was a stal wart, robust 
mau. The family whore Robbie lived would 
have thought it a great unkiudness to give 
him a hard bed on the floor; but it would 
have been a blessing, indeed, in those growing 
years. 
Here is a point where a mother should be 
firm, no matter how strongly an aged grand¬ 
parent may urge the point, as I have known 
them to do. Kindly and pla'uly state that 
you do not think it is for the child's good, and 
that must be the first consideration with you. 
No mother has a right to rob her child of the 
birthright of sound health aud vigor lor the 
whims or pleasure of any oue. There are 
children of such sound vigor that even this 
custom idoes not undermine the.constitution, 
« 
but they are only exceptions, and prove no¬ 
thing. 
As far as it can he done give the children 
separate beds, even if two are in the same 
room. It is far better for health, and more 
conducive to sound, refreshing sleep. By all 
means let me urge the mother to have the 
baby sleep apart from herself, even if close 
beside the bed in a little crib of its own. If 
there is no crib high enough, it is easy to ex¬ 
temporize one by a row of chairs next the 
wall, covered by a snug little bed of any sort, 
aud well supplied with warm blankets for 
Winter. Always within reach of mother’s 
arm to cover it, or sooth and comfort it when 
it wakes at night, mother and baby may both 
rest happily and awake in the morning re¬ 
freshed and strengthened. But where baby 
sleeps on the mother’s arm it is a fearful tax 
on both parties. Try sleeping yourself with 
a rolling pin under your head, and see if you 
do not change your practice. olive. 
- ♦♦♦ — 
Mjss Emily Faitukull informs tbe world 
that members of the most distinguished fami¬ 
lies of England are now engaged in tbe Stock 
Excbauge and in other lines of trade; that 
“coal carts bearing the names of titled own¬ 
ers deliver their wares at area gates,” aud 
that a distinguished aud fashionable gentle¬ 
woman has carried on aud managed person¬ 
ally an extensive dairy in Loudon. 
■-- 
Mr. and Mrs. Jesse R. Grant and Mrs. 
Sartoris departed last week for Europe. Mrs. 
Grant has been staying during the last few 
days with her son, Mr. U. S. Grant, at Purdy’s 
Station. 
FRAGMENTS. 
“The secret of happiness—stop thinking 
about yourself.”—“A good way to dispel dark¬ 
ness from about you is to make light of your 
troubles.”—“Tbe more a woman’s waist is 
shaped like au hour-glass the quicker will the 
sands of her life run out.”—“Fowl culture is 
receiving attention in Paris. ’I have ahenery.’ 
said a tilled lady to her cousin. 'Dear me,’ 
replied the cousin, 'I thought his name was 
Charles —“Live within your means, if you 
would have mtans within which to live.”—“To 
persevere in one’s duty, and to be silent is the 
best answer to calumny.”—“It is a great mis¬ 
take in female education to keep a young 
Jady’s time and attention devoted to only 
fashionable literature of the day. If you would 
qualify her for conversation you must give 
her something to talk about—give her educa¬ 
tion with the actual world, the outer world, 
and its transpiring events. Urge her to read 
newspapers, and become familiar with the 
Pisn'Uaucou.ci gUmti.sing, 
Some grocers are 
so short-sighted as to 
decline to keep the 
“Ivory Soap,” claim¬ 
ing it does not pay 
as much profit as in¬ 
ferior qualities do, so 
if your regular grocer 
refuses to get it for 
you, there are un¬ 
doubtedly others who 
recognize t he fact that 
the increased volume 
of business done by 
reason of keeping 
the best articles more 
than compensates for 
the smaller profit, and 
will take pleasure in 
getting it for you. 
Free of charge. A full size cake of Ivory Soap 
will be sent to any one who can not get il of their 
grocer, l( six two-eon t stamps, to pay postage, are 
sent to Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati. Please 
uieuUoc his paper. 
