308 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
« 
f or t\)e 1) outt0. 
STUDYING NATURE’S SECRETS. 
IVY GREEN. 
HERE is no pleasure we enjoy 
with greater zest than that of 
collecting uew plants. When¬ 
ever we can spare the time 
from our farm-work, we pro¬ 
vide ourselves with lunch, bo¬ 
tanical cases and books for 
pressing, and take long drives 
around the country and 
through the woods. Plants, birds and insects 
all receive a share of attention. These Tittle 
excursions are enjoyed by old and young, and 
have done much toward creating in us a love 
for rural life. 
They have been so frequent that our home 
resources are about exhausted, as far as new 
flowers are concerned, so it was with bright 
anticipations that we started last August for 
a trip to Nebraska. We were ticketed to 
Fairbury via Kansas City. As we approached 
the Kansas line the flowers along the track- 
side increased in variety and abundance. 
The compositse, with its wealth of golden 
bloom, was everywhere conspicuous. A lovely 
blue salvia also blossomed iu the greatest pro¬ 
fusion, intermingled with other plants of 
more or less beauty. The first plant that we 
analyzed was Solauum rostratum. Wood 
says it is a native of Kansas; we first noticed 
it in Atchison, and found it as far north as 
Belvidere, Neb. It is locally known as the 
California Thistle. The stem and burr-like 
calyx are around with strong, sharp spines, 
and the leaves are quite prickly. It is fouud 
along the draws, and soou makes its appear¬ 
ance around dwelhugs and wherever the 
ground is broken. This plant, w'ith the sun¬ 
flower and burr-grass appear to be the weeds 
most troublesome to the Nebraska farmer. 
The Malvastrum cocciueum (Buffalo moss) is 
a low growing perennial with five parted 
leaves and showy flowers, reminding one of 
the Crimson Portulaca. We saw it in bloom 
as late as the middle of October. If it would 
flower as freely iu our Eastern gardens as in 
its native habitat, it would doubtless prove a 
desirable addition to our list of hardy peron- 
r*in lrr. 
Along the draws we saw Sn<w on the 
Mountain growing in great plenty. It seems 
to prefer low places. Another foliage plant, 
a variety of the Artemisia, with light gray 
puhescent leaves, is found in the same places, 
as well as on the uplands. There is one 
variety of Dodder, probably a form of Cuscu- 
ta compaeta. found in the low places, usually 
ou the Sunflower. The Golden Aster, Cbry- 
popsis villosa, is met with occasionally on dry, 
gravelly knolls, and half hidden in the grass 
one sees the tiny flowers of Linum sulcatum, 
and the bright blue coral las of the Geutiaua 
puberula, 
lu September, the prairie is everywhere 
dotted with the white plumose heads of the 
Kubnia eupatorioides, among other plants 
in fruit we noticed the Prairie Clover, 
Petalostemou violaeeuui, Gerardia auriculata, 
Gpuntia Kafinosqaii, Yucca and the Schran- 
kia uucinata. Toe Stems, petioles and pods 
of the last named plants are thickly covered 
with hooked prickles; the axillary peduncles 
bear round heads of pink purple flowers, with 
golden anthers, and are said to be exceeding¬ 
ly pretty. 
The country is scantily timbered. Thera is 
usually a narrow belt on either side of the 
streams and a few trees mark the course of 
the winding draws, among which are the Ash, 
Box Elder, Elm, Honey Locust, and Willow. 
Plums in three varieties also grow along the 
draws. The trees are dwarf; some of them 
vigorous and healthy, others completely cov¬ 
ered w ith the black knot. We spent one love¬ 
ly afternoon iu September botanizing along 
the Blue This stream like Tennyson’*, brook, 
“ Winds about, and in and out. 11 The sides of 
some of the bluffs are covered with trees and 
climbing vines to their very tops; others with 
grass and low growing plants, while here and 
there masses of a very white limestone rock 
crop out. The dry bed of a little run going 
down to thB river, was covered with stones 
containing the remains of hundreds of mol- 
lusks, following it to its source, we found a 
narrow room in the side of the bluff with walls 
of solid rock; the floor composed of many 
strata, iu which the trickling waters had 
woru an oval basin. A beautiful variety of 
Gaura grew ou its brink, the flowers snowy 
white in a compact spike. Several plants of 
the Houstoma augustifolia were found along 
the edge of the stoue quairles. We think it 
a charming little flower, the white star-shaped 
corolla is densely bearded making it look like 
velvet. 
The second week iu November, we spent 
with friends on Salt Creek near Lincolu. It 
was late for flowers, but we found a few blue 
violets and wild strawberries in blossom on 
sunny slopes. We dug around the trees iu 
search of bulb*, but witbou t success. Our en¬ 
thusiasm called forth good natured banter 
from a cousin, who thought it was a capital 
idea having his trees cultivated. 
Thanksgiving week found us at home in 
Illinois with many pleasaut memories of our 
trip, which we felt had been profitable as well 
as enjoyable. 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Dear Uncle Mark:— Please add my name 
to the Y. H. C. I am past 14, am small for 
one of my age, but I milk four cows, feed four 
calves, and put up school dinner for four, and 
walk oue-and-one-quarter miles to school. I 
study grammar, arithmetic, geography, read¬ 
ing, spelliug and writing. I don’t have 
much idle time. We raised beautiful toma¬ 
toes from the seed you so kindly sent. Many 
thanks. We raise Hartwell celery ever since 
you sent out the seed. Last year mother set 
out some that had lived all Winter in the bed 
with some horse-stable litter thrown on it in 
the Fall, and she had a teacupful of elegant 
seed. We grew White Plume celery also, but 
like the Hartwell the best. I have a little 
brother five years old. He has gone to school 
about 10 day9 and is readiug in the first read¬ 
er. We all think him very smart; he is the 
baby, that is why we think him smart. I have 
four sisters married, and I am the oldest girl 
at home now, so must help take the burden 
and care off my mother, whose hair is begin¬ 
ning to silver a little, but we pick every white 
hair out when we comb her hair; we can't 
bear to see them. Oh! I have written such a 
long letter now that it will likely find that 
old waste basket. Yours truly, 
Beaver Co., Penn, bertha jb mcmahon. 
[You have concluded that the waste basket 
long ago made a meal of your letter I suppose, 
but I keep my waste basket very hungry.— 
UNCLE mark.] 
Dear Uncle Mark:—I t has been so long 
since I wrote 1 am afraid my name will be 
taken off the list, but I wish to remain a 
member of the Y. H. C. 
I am 15 years of age, and go over a mile to 
school and take five studies, so I have but 
little time for music, which I try to learn by 
practicing evenings. 
I had some nice flowers from the Garden 
Treasures, but the drought hurt them. By 
watering I kept some of them alive—some 
very pretty zinnias and asters. We have 15 
kinds of gerauiums and several other kinds of 
plants; have not been without fljwers this 
Winter. 
The Blush Potato was nice, but very rough; 
can you tell what causes it? The tomatoes 
were good, but between the chickens and the 
drought we got but few. 
We have a bird who, when we let him out 
in the room, will alight upon our heads and 
nestle down in our bands and eat out of them. 
1 will close with good wishes for all. 
Your niece, Martha e. hill. 
Kafamazoo, Co., Micb. 
[Were the potatoes knobby aDd rough, or 
were the skins rough? You see I cannot tell 
the cause tmless 1 kuov this. Rough skius 
are ofteu caused by wire-worms.— UNCLE 
MARK.] 
Dear Uncle Mark and Rural Cousins: 
—I hope you will admit me to the Y. H. C. 
My papa tabes the Rural. I guess he always 
has for there are piles of Rurals in the store 
room, tied up in bunches like large book9, 
1 like to get the Rural and read the Cous¬ 
in’s letters away back in the seventies when 
I was too little to read. 1 will be nine years 
old on tbe 1st of next October, and my brother 
Willie will be six on the 20th ol the same 
mouth. We have a little sister Edith one year 
old. 
We live so far from school that mamma and 
papa have to teach us at home. I study spell¬ 
ing, readiug, writing, mental arithmetic, and 
geography. Willie reads, writes, spells and 
couuts. 1 will study botany next Bummer. 
On our last birthday papa gave Willie and I 
each a book, mine is the Bwiss Family Robin¬ 
son and Willie’s a work on Natural History. 
Willie has learned almost all the names of the 
animals,their habits and ways of getting their 
food. 
Papa gave us each a Bhort-horu heifer, we 
will sell their calves and get money for our 
very own. 
We each have a garden of our own, 1 could 
not write for the beau discussion for 1 don’t 
know much about them. I wonder if you 
have any more nieces who don’t know beans? 
i might write something about washing dishes 
uud learning how to cook if you thiuk it would 
be interesting. 1 like to swing in the back 
porch and slide down the hill on our tobog¬ 
gans back of the house, better than doing 
housework, but somebody has to help mamma. 
We have two toboggans aud a nice slide about 
00 yards long. Cue toboggau is heavy aud 
we call it the Lickety Swizzle because it goes 
fast and straight; the other we call Woggely 
Bird because it waggles around and is hard to 
steer; at the foot of the hill is a haw tree that 
we call the Ghinko tree becau. e it is so hard 
to keep Woggely Bird out of the Ghinko tree. 
I will close. Your niect, 
Missoula Co., Mon. Ty. Carrie e parlam, 
[This is a good letter Carrie, aud we will be 
glad to hear from you again You will ba^e 
a chauce to learn something about beans it 
you plant those we will send you this week. 
Willie has done well to learn so much of nat¬ 
ural history. l)o you study with him?— Un¬ 
cle Mark ] 
Dear Uncle Mark and Rural Cousins: 
—I have been a silent member of tbe Club, 
but will take a more active part this year. 
The seeds you sent me did very nicely; there 
were some very pretty flowers among them, 
I knew some of them. We had some of the 
prettiest dahlias I ever saw; some were as 
large as saucers and just as double as they 
could be. We also had a few gladioli and a 
few geraniums. Did any of the Cousins ever 
try to raise any of the above from seed? I 
expect to try r it next Summer. I have some 
tulips that I have had eight years uext 
Spring; they have never bloomed. What is 
the matter with them? What can I do to 
make them bloom ? I have seven lilies of the 
valley: I think they are the most beautiful 
little flowers that bloom. I have some seed¬ 
ling potatoes that 1 raised from seed last year. 
They are all shapes, sizes and colors. I found 
three strawberry plants in our field last 
Spring; the berries are as large as guinea 
eggs. They were long and pointed, of a 
bright red and very smooth. Uncle Mark, do 
you know what they are? 
Will Aunt Em tell us through the Y. H. C. 
how her daughter crocheted that Vandyke 
lace she spoke about in the Rural of Janu¬ 
ary 29? Fearing my letter is growing tire¬ 
some, I will close. Your niece. 
£Ui$rclUnrou.$ ^Uvcrtteittjp 
rvv WARNERS 
TippecanoE 
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[copyrighted,] 
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED. 
H. H. WARNER & CO, Rochester, N. Y. 
FOR 
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WITHOUT AN EQUAL. 
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II. II. WARNER & CO., Rochester, N. Y . 
MRS. R. C. BATTELLE, Waterloo, N. Y , suffered 
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FOR 
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YELLOW MYRTLE. 
[The strawberry is similar to Cumberland 
Triumph; but it may be a chance seedling 
aud prove to be a new berry of value. Give 
the plants good care; if you can spare oDe, 
we will try it at the Rnral Farm, ivy Green 
is interested in seedlings, how many others 
are among the Cousins? Take up your tulip 
bulbs, separate and plant them singly in good 
soil; they are probably to much crowded to 
bloom —UNCLE MARK.] 
Dear Uncle Mark:—! would like to be- 
noroo ft rnomho** of ♦ &io Horticultural 
Club and be one of the Cousins. 1 am very 
fond of flowers, but do not know much about 
them, as I have been living iu the city until 
last September. Five years ago Pa took up a 
bush farm in Muskoka and left my two sisters 
and me with friends until he could get a house 
up and some clearing done, I had not seen 
my mother or youngest brother all that time 
and was very glad to get homo and see them. 
I never lived on a farm before, but I like it 
very much so far. 
When I came borne there was a lot of 
flowers in bloom and all were very pretty, 
but I did not know many of them. Ma told 
me she had got most of the seeds from the 
Rural collection, aud wanted me to save the 
seeds, but I did not know the names of the 
flowers or which stalk had the best flowers on. 
OF POOD. 
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-MAKES- 
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But I intend to study them more so that I 
will be able to take care of them next S nn- 
mer. I intend to have a small vegetable gar¬ 
den next Summer aud I will let you know 
how I succeed. Now, Dear Uncle Mark, 
I must close, or you will be out of patience 
with me. Your niece, annie l. cole. 
Ontario. _ 
Dear Uncle Mark: This is the first time 
I have written to you. We have taken the 
Rural New-Yorker for two or three years 
and like it very much. I am 11 years old, 
and go to school 1 study algebra, bookkeep¬ 
ing, rhetoric aud physiology. Our teacher 
gives us object lessous. In the Fall he gave us 
botany. He would name aud show us two or 
three flowers every day, Then we would have 
to gather wliat we could find of them. I kuow 
now about 70 flowers and shrubs. Now he 
gives us object lessons in astronomy, which [ 
also like very much. He gave us tne mythol¬ 
ogy of some of the constellations. I have to 
walk about 2,V miles to school; it is a good 
sized one with lour teachers 1 was wonder¬ 
ing what Que$H Victoria’s last name was,and 
as 1 have not been able to And it in any his¬ 
tory 1 thought 1 would ask you. 1 am inter¬ 
ested in the letters from the Cousins and in 
the Y. H Club. Respectfully your nephew, 
Union Co , N. J. J. Wallace h. 
[Queen Victoria's name before her marriage 
was Guelph; her husband’s name was Wettin. 1 
—uncle mark.] I 
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