4885 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
387 
s not averse to washing them himself, which 
is easily compassed in any hotel bed room in 
which he may lodge for the night. Celluloid 
collar and cuffs apply equally to the conven¬ 
ience of women. When we left Philadelphia 
last June, I accepted a friend’s suggestion as 
to celluloid, rather dubiously, but the trial I 
made of the articles made me a thorough con¬ 
vert to their use. For a gentleman’s head 
wear in the cars, a skull-cap of black or dark 
silk is most comfortable, although many 
choose a very soft gray felt which can be stuf¬ 
fed In the coat pocket aloug with a large, soft 
silk neckerchief to have “handy” wheu need¬ 
ed, and this a lady requires as well. 
For a lady’s traveling dress, a good quality 
of dress flannel or cloth will be found to be 
very serviceable. Ask the merchant when you 
buy it, to “sponge” the fabric for you, if he 
will; have the gown well cut and fitted, and 
then made up very simpiy. Cloth in shades 
of brown or dark gray, such as will not suffer 
from dust or water, is preferable. As women 
usually wear the bonnet in the cars, one that 
presses on the forehead becomes very tire¬ 
some. A hat that shades the eyes, has the 
brim short in the back, and does not press on 
the forehead, is the one to be chosen. A wrap 
for the shoulders and a shawl or warm pelisse 
are necessary. A closely-woven linen duster 
is needed by every traveler, and slippers are 
a Bource of comfort. 
A roomy lunch basket of light, broad 
splints, with a cover open¬ 
ing from each end, will 
prove, if discreetly manag¬ 
ed, a source of great con¬ 
venience and economy. It 
should be replenished in 
some wise every day. A 
stock of fruit, jellies and 
a glass of relishes can be 
put in at home, with knife, 
fork, spoon and paper nap¬ 
kins, to be thrown away 
when soiled. Buy bread, 
boiled eggs, fruit, etc., at 
the restaurants, as you 
have opportunity, and in- 
V\ dulge yourself with at 
r 1 least one “square meal” 
\\ ’ per day, which costs 
^ usually at the railroad 
BL ' stations, 75 cents. By a 
Kk ’ little well-directed in- 
\ quiry, information can be 
1 obtained in advance as to 
; the best place to dine, so 
that no time may be lost 
in indecision. It is not 
® always safe to rely upon 
- Iff ' the printed schedules as to 
train time, which fact we 
learned to our sorrow on 
two occasions during our 
trip to this coast. 
Personally, I never trav- 
^^ ' n a drawing-room car 
- ~ if I can help it, for the 
v-reason that when I go 
from home I like to see 
the people of the country 
--- ~ through which I pass, and 
hear them talk. If I 9it 
in a drawing-room car, I 
meet the same class of 
people that I see every 
day when at home. But 
if one has seen but little of the world, and en¬ 
joys seeing fnshiou and style, and “vulgar 
show,” as well as gentleness aud refinement, he 
will undoubtedly find palace-car life a source 
of entertainment As to luggage, the least pos¬ 
sible, particularly haud-luggage. Do not be 
deluded into making room for trifles, for they 
aggregate to positive bulb. You want, of 
course, toilet articles, aud a few well-selected 
buttons, thread, cotton, needles, aud a pair of 
scissors. If you are likely to wane a patch 
for a coat or gown, baste the piece somewhere 
inside the garment, where it will ride safely 
until required. Small quantities of such reme¬ 
dies as Pond’s Extract, eosmoline, Jamaica gin¬ 
ger, and court-plaster are often found useful 
iu case of accident or illness, and I never jour¬ 
ney for without puttiug a strip of worn linen— 
ashred of a pocket handkerchief—in my haud- 
bag for possible cuts aud bruises. A bottle of 
cologne or rose water is refreshing, but in¬ 
creases the weight and bulk of a bag very 
perceptibly. A capital receptacle for our 
wraps, rubbers, gossamer cloaks (which we 
did not ouce use), and for everything else that 
the bag would not hold, was a gray waterproof 
envelope. A yard and a-half of double-width 
ed by our esteemed contemporaries. It is our 
belief that the three parties interested—the 
advertiser, the R. N.-Y,, and those who an¬ 
swer the advertisement—will be benefited if 
our friends will mention the Rural in their 
correspondence... 
A lady at Lyons, N. Y., is said by the N. 
Y. Tribune to have had grapes this Spring 
“as fresh and juicy” as when gathered last 
Fall. They were wintered in “a stoue churn, 
buried IS inches under ground;” but we have 
tried the same experiment several times and 
never yet succeeded in gettiug them through 
iu eatable condition..... 
According to experiments made last year 
at the Colorado Ag. College, 20 per cent, of 
weevil-eaten peas germinated, though the 
growth was feeble, while 93 per cent, of sound 
peas grew. The number of each planted was 
200 . 
plants are in matted rows, will greatly increase 
both the yield and the size of the berries. 
While this is contrary to general opinion, it is 
worth trying anyway...... 
Thb Tribune thinks that while the housing 
of stock iu warm, well ventilated barns will 
save a large percentage of fodder, it is contra¬ 
ry to “Nature,” which compels stock to travel 
in search of their food, thus giving them con¬ 
tact with “Mother Earth under an open sky.” 
Yes, brother, but Nature never intended our 
domestic animals to come in contact with 
zero weather while roaming over snow 
banks three feet deep in search of food. She 
never intended them to live in this climate any 
way, nor do we thiuk much of this tip toe ex¬ 
ercise... 
The Washtenaw Mich. Horticultural Society 
in which we have many friends have had 
much annoyance by the stealing of their fruit 
by the children of people who ought to teach 
them better things. One member while the 
subject was under considerat ion .suggested that 
lessons of honesty be taught in the schools and 
churches. It is a wonder that in a town hav¬ 
ing the tnauy advantages of Ann Arbor, a 
better sentiment does not prevail. 
Waldo F. Brown, in the Tribune, thinks 
farmers should place a much higher estimate 
on corn fodder, but he thinks, that which is 
sown just thick enough so as to produce a few 
small ears, is much more valuable than that 
ion in the South is that it will not stand the 
tread of animals. That it “comes early in 
the Spring” is certainly a mistake... 
Mr. F. P. Sharpe talks about the Rural’s 
method of potato culture in a way that robs 
us of all glory and makes us very sad indeed. 
He says that “all the valuable features of the 
Rural editor’s vaunted new plan of growing 
potatoes, are well known here (N. B.) to our 
best farmers, and have long been practised by 
them, but they would laugh at 6ome of the 
notional details of his system, which have 
nothing whatever to do with the success of his 
trials. A buud&ntsur face manuring,abundance 
of potash and other potato food intimately 
mixed with the soil and within easy reach of the 
growing potatoes, a fine mellow soil are all 
the elements of any value in this system. All 
the rest are Quixotic and absurd, if we except 
th jrough surface cultivation. * * * Tbe R. 
N.-Y. ha9 devoted, I had almost said, thou¬ 
sands of pages, in urging a system ridiculous 
in its minutiae.” He speaks in the Homestead. 
Abundance of American Trees.— Nature, 
writes a contributor to the Husbandman, has 
lavishly provided this country with an un¬ 
commonly large number of tbe most valuable 
species of trees. There are not more than 
thirty-five species and distinct varieties of 
native trees in France, which attain a hlghtof 
over 80 feet: not more than 65 in Germany; 
but there are over 150 (u the upper part of the 
Mississippi Valley aloDe. 
All Europe possesses not a 
single native walnut tree. 
(The so called English wal- , 
nut is of Asiatic origin). 
We have nine varieties of X__ 
hickory and two of wal- // ,_- 
nut proper. You may ^ 
search all the world over > 
in vain to find a sort of 
timber which, in general 
usefulness, can rival our 
hickory tree. Our wal¬ 
nut and oak varieties alone 
outnumber all the var\£ 
ties of trees native to 
France and Spain. 
TRANSCONTINENTAL LETTERS,XXXI 
MARY WAGER-EI8HKR. 
I think it may not be amiss, at this season, 
to devote a letter to the art of traveling, be¬ 
fore I describe any more of my own jaunts. 
That the majority of people who travel, wish 
PITHS AND REMIND 
ERS. 
JAPAN PLUM. (From Nature.) Fig. 204. 
to see and to eDjoy the most possible for their 
outlay of money, goes without saying, and as 
traveling is an expensive as well as a fatiguing 
kind of entertainment, it is desirable to reduce 
both the expense and fatigue as far as may be 
consonant with health and comfort. For a 
short journey no special preparation is requir¬ 
ed, but for ouo that is to cover several weeks 
or mouths, there is much to be gained by in¬ 
telligent preparation, In knowing what to car¬ 
ry, what uotto carry, and how best to carry 
what is required. 
To begin with the “lord of creation:” he can 
present a thoroughly respectable and gentle¬ 
manly appearance by discarding white shirts 
and linen collars aud cuffs. For top shirts, 
choose soft, gray flannel with neck band and 
wrist bauds of the same fabric. These shirts, 
very nicely made and of good quality, cost 
from $3.50 to $3 each. For collars aud cuffs 
nothiug is so good as celluloid. They are in 
no way related to the paper collar family, are 
comparatively expensive to begin with, but 
the first cost is the only cost, and one collar 
will last from two to four months. As there 
is no expense or trouble for laundering, It is 
worth while for women who faint under the 
burden of "doing up” linen, to consider the 
economy of celluloid, which is eutirely unob¬ 
jectionable from any standpoint Of course, 
with a flannel shirt the fashionable cravat 
which covers the shirt front must be worn. 
A pair of white silk pocket handkerchiefs will 
suffice for a loug journey, if the user thereof 
sown much thicker or thinner; tn rows about 
two feet apart he thinks the proper distance.. 
The Peen-to Peach, which we described 
and illustrated last year, ripens in Florida 
in the early part of May; and if the very 
best specimens are selected, carefully wrapped 
and put up in small “fancy” packages, they 
will bring a good price in Northern markets, 
says the Florida Dispatch.... 
The Prairie Farmer says it is difficult to 
imagine a sufficient reason why the homes 
and out-buildings of thousands of farmers in 
the Great West should not be provided with 
shelter-belts, which, besides the added com¬ 
fort, would soon pay for the f rouDie of setting, 
by the food and fuel their presence saves..... 
Ouu good friend the Farm Journal says 
that a piece of pork left sticking out of the 
brine, or swimming around on top of the brine, 
will soon rust and taint the whole lot. Keep 
the piece you are using from, and other pieces 
that may be loosened, under the brine by 
weighting with a flat stone. 
If Johuson Grass will thrive on the great 
plains of tbe West it will be worth millions 
of dollars to the stockmen of those regions, 
but the New York Sun fears that it will not 
prove hardy enough to withstand the cold of 
Winter. . 
The Rural New-Yorker’s advertising pat 
ronage was uever so large as this year. And 
we try to present a trustworthy class of ad¬ 
vertisements, rejecting many that are accept- 
