4887 
Thrifty Academy.” After a few questions 
about the examination they turned to their 
books. They studied faithfully for the rest of 
the week, during the one hour of the morning 
set apart for their lessons. 
Taken as a whole, the experiment of having 
a school hour during vacation had been a 
success. Some days the boys had been very 
unwilling to come to their lessons, and Robbie 
had shed a good many tears over his arithme¬ 
tic lessons, but. before the school hour closed 
his cheerfulness usually returned and he was 
content to linger after being dismissed if 
some question about his studies came up at 
the last moment. 
The habit of making our promiscuous farm 
help their associates had been broken up for 
the time at least, and they were better fitted 
to enter their classes in town so I could not 
feel that their time or mine had been wasted. 
Friday morning invitations to the examina¬ 
tion were given to father, mother, Nell, Ger¬ 
tie. and Jennie. I had some writing to do for 
father, so left the boys to make what prep¬ 
arations they chose for the exercises. We 
had put the hour for them at ten instead of 
nine, and I wrote busily uutil they called me. 
Imagiue my pleasure when I found they 
had embowered the sitting room in flowers: 
mantel stauds and shelves were almost hidden 
under foliage and blossoms. The chairs were 
ranged in two rows at one side of the room, 
and on the other side stood a chair for me, be¬ 
side a stand holding their books and its share 
of the flowers. 
Just as we were beginuing our programme, 
(in fact 1 was making the opening address), 
a knock at the door announced the coming of 
Uncle John with a party of relatives who had 
driven from a neighboring town to see us. 
We invited them in, and explained what we 
were doing; as they came to see us often we 
felt it would not be a discourtesy to go on 
with the examination, but Robbie had his own 
opinion of this addition to our audience 
When they were all seated he had disap¬ 
peared, and Jeuuie’s search for him ended 
when she peered under the bed iu mother’s 
room. There he was iu the farthest eoruer, 
and nothing we could say would induce him 
to quit his refuge. 
Freddie, however, went on with his part of 
the exercises; he did not want to fail to do his 
part now after getting everything ready. 
There was an occasional tremor iu his voice, 
and his eyes were very bright, but be went 
through the examination with scarcely a mis¬ 
take, auil took the praise showered upon him 
as his well-earned right. 
When the exercises were all over, Robbie 
came out of his hiding place and hovered 
around with an uncomfortable sense of pub¬ 
lic opinion being unfavorably directed toward 
him, and evidently dreading that he would he 
laughed at. Freddie was too well pleased 
with his own success to feel annoyed with 
Robbie, but he could not refrain from whis¬ 
pering “’Braid-cat!” in his ear as he ran past 
him to join the company iu the flower-garden. 
The three weeks of vacation went very fast 
and the lost days of August became so cool 
that we found a lire iu our open tire-place 
very comfortable mornings and eveniugs. 
The last evening of summer found us gath¬ 
ered around it popping corn and Aunt Helen, 
the twins and Aunt Esther’s little girls found 
us with a panful of the fragrant, well-popped 
kernels, when they came to arrange about the 
start to school the next week. They meant to 
stay only a few minutes, but it was an hour 
before they said good night, ami we had en¬ 
joyed not only the pop-corn, but our favorite 
amusements “double meanings” and “char¬ 
ades.” 
We owed a great deal of our pleasure to our 
elders, they sympathized so fully in our 
sports and rarely refused to join in them. 
When school opened we all felt that summer 
was ended, although the weather was still 
beautiful and the leaves on the trees un¬ 
changed. Nellie, Gertie, Jeuuie and I began 
a course of reading iu English history and we 
talked of our plans for the winter ami let the 
ended summer slip into the past. 
THE KXU. 
FACTS AND FANCIES. 
I HAVE a fashion of keeping both eyes opeu 
during my pilgrimage through this “ wale,” 
ami seldom go to the house of any friend that 
1 do not get some new idea, which l always 
proceed to give to the world through the col¬ 
umns of the Rural. 
The Japanese fan craze has not quite died 
Out, although one requires to use a little dis¬ 
crimination and artistic skill iu their use 
and disposal to make them effective. A pret¬ 
ty ornament is made from three tall sticks 
about four feet long. They should be of 
knotted wood, such as any boy may cut in 
bis travels through the forest, or of Chinese 
bamboo, which costs only a trifle in the large 
Chinese and Japanese stores. Form a tripod 
THE RUMS. MEW-YORKER 
and fasten together about one foot from the 
top. At the top of each place a Japanese fan 
to form a background for one or more photo¬ 
graphs. 
Plain pine furniture may be made to look 
very quaint and pretty. Get the unstained 
articles of as old-fashioned a design as possi¬ 
ble. Make a polish of two ounces of beeswax 
cut fine, one ounce of spirits of turpentine and 
one dram of powdered resin. Melt at a gentle 
heat and add two drams of Indian red to give 
it a mahogany color? For tables and chairs 
brass claw feet may be furnished for a trifle 
and fastened on by a carpenter, thus giving 
them quite au air of elegance. Candor com¬ 
pels me to say that the chairs are not soft , but 
two or three of them of different styles look 
very well in a room, aud help out iu the way 
of furniture, and none of the ordinary light, 
chairs are particularly luxurious. 
A good oil for polishing red furniture is 
made by boiling a pint of linseed oil with as 
much alkanet root as it will cover, in a glazed 
pipkin, until it becomes of a fine red oolor. 
Cool and bottle for use. A. G. 
KITCHEN TALKS. 
ANNIE L. .TACK. 
“Yes kitchen talks are getting like angels’ 
visits,” said Aunt Mabby the other day to me. 
The old lady is getting rather lame aud looks 
older tbau when she wrote my articles for the 
Rural several years ago. But she is as good 
a housekeeper as ever, and I find her book of 
methods very useful at times. Among a list 
of items that took my attention I read these 
hints, “ Corned beef and ham should be put in 
boiling water”—“fresh meat in cold.”—Then 
again—“Anything mixed with water needs a 
hotter oven than milk tnixiug.” Iu one place 
it says a tablespoonful of corn starch is equal 
to one egg, and is a saviug in cake making 
when eggs are scarce.” She gives as a cri¬ 
terion for coffee making—“ One table spoon¬ 
ful for each person aul one for the pot,” 
that reminded me of a camping party who 
were anxious to know if they had been right 
m using one L aspoonful each, and wondered 
why the coffee was weak. And intent on 
these household duties in her quiet lonely life, 
Aunt Mabby lives out her little day. 
"Amt never tend-rer hiiml than hers unkulta the 
SOMETHING FOR “A WORKER ON THE 
FARM" TO DIGEST. 
So “A Worker on the Farm” does not see 
why anybody should not have just as good a 
dinner as Bessie Brown writes about Well, 
I am a worker on the farm too, and I do see 
why they cannot. Of course', where there is 
plenty of money ami the housekeeper is able 
to keep plenty of help, such a dinner may be 
possible, but as for the ordinary farmer’s fam¬ 
ily I think they will have to get along with a 
little less for a Fourth of July dinner. The 
aforesaid worker says she wonders what kind 
of a man Eunice Webster has. Well, he is a 
good Christian man aud would willingly hire 
help for the house (though he can ill afford it) 
if his wife were willing, but she knows she 
can do the work easily herself, if she doesn’t 
get up a Bessie Brown dinner every day or so. 
As for the “threeextra men folks!” I wonder 
if “AWorker , 'tbiuksEuniceWebster s husband 
can run a farm containing some 700 acres with¬ 
out a little help. And she must remember that 
thus is not a country flowing with milk and 
honey, but a country in which it takes hard 
work to make a livmg, and as the Webster* 
have commenced humbly at the foot of the 
the ladder, intending to work their way up in 
the world, they must needs live a little plainly 
at first. A Bessie Brown dinner costs some¬ 
thing, and though she speaks of getting it up 
as if it was no effort at all, it really requires 
considerable planning and considerable work, 
unless she is much smarter thau the average 
woman. A friend of Eunice webster. 
-»♦*- 
AN EXPLANATION FROM THAT A- 
BUSED SISTER. 
ItltattHfttttou# SUvcrti.sing, 
Very Wonderful 
Are the effects produced by the use of 
Ayer’s Sarsaparilla. Sores, Scabs, 
Glandular Swellings, Boils, Carbuncles, 
and all kinds of Humors disappear, as if 
by magic, by the use of this 
Standard Blood-Purifier. 
F. C. James, of Albany, Greene Co., 
Tenn., writes: “Ayer’s Sarsaparilla 
saved the life of my only child. When 
three years old. her head was covered 
with Scrofulous Sores. She became 
almost helpless. Skillful physicians did 
all they could to relieve her, but failed. 
At last I purchased a bottle of Ayer's 
Sarsaparilla, gave it to her according 
• to directions, and she immediately be¬ 
gan to improve. Encouraged by the 
result, I continued to give her this medi¬ 
cine until the cure was complete.” 
Ayer’s Sarsaparilla, 
Prepared by I>r. J. C. Ayer & Co., Lowell, Maes. 
Sola by all Druggists. Price $1; six bottles, $5. 
BROWN’S FBENCH DRESSING. 
The Original Beware ot Imitations. 
AWARDED HIGHEST PRIZE AND ONLY 
MEDAL, PARIS EXPOSITION, 1878 
Highest Award New Orleans Exposition. 
Whew! I am glad everybody hasu't so 
much temper as “The Worker on the Farm. ’ 
Allow me to explain matters a little and thus 
calm the irate Worker’s temper. If she had 
read the Rural calmly and reasoned in a 
sensible way, it would have saved some sput¬ 
tering on her part. I would kindly call the 
Worker's atteutiou to the fact that when vege¬ 
tables are in season in California they are 
rather green iu Northern New York. I would 
have her realize that although tomatoes, peas, 
cucumbers, new potatoes, etc., are ready for 
the table on the Fourth of July iu California, 
ic is an entirely different thiug here at that 
MILK. 
lRREN 
BOTTLES 
March 23d, 1880. 
Adapted for the Delivery 
of Milk In all titles 
and Towns. 
A LONG-NEEDED WANT 
AT IAST SUPPLIED. 
A. V. WHITEMAN, 
7* Murray St., NEW YORK. 
WORK 
FOR Al l,. $30 a week and expeu- 
ses paid. Valuable outfit and particulars 
free. P. 0. VICKERY. Augusta. Maine. 
brow of ailing"— 
for her herb tea, and simple prescriptions are 
accepted with faith by all the country round. 
Sometimes strangers who “knew not Joseph” 
will speak of her slightingly os “that little 
old maid," but we who understand and try to 
appreciate her look at them with pity. And 
I wish so much that our young people would 
banish this term of reproach from their 
vocabulary aud that every mother in the 
laud would teach her daughters not to expect 
or to depend on marriage simply to become a 
married instead of a maiden lath'. This false 
doctrine has resulted iu mauy unhappy lives, 
many unspoken sorrows that the world never 
hears of. All honor to the dear Aunt Mabbys 
who lead unselfish lives of devotion to others. 
Just now we are in the midst of pickle-mak¬ 
ing, and at the same time our apple harvest is 
going on. The head of the household has been 
to the pomological meeting in Boston, and ac¬ 
cepted its kind hospitality white listening to 
the united wisdom of the practical ruou inter¬ 
ested iu fruit culture. He has brought home 
new grapes to test, and I find one called Black 
Delaware very sweet and flavored to suit my 
taste that is rather epicurean among so many 
varieties. The autumn has set iu early, the 
trees are already crimson aud gold, and frost 
has touched the tenderest plants. Once more 
we gather round the kitchen fire. 
SOME NOTES ON “COUNTRY NOTES.” 
I fully agree with Anaximander that men 
are ou their “last legs” when women are too 
delicate eveu to make their beds or mend their 
clothes. There seems to be no pity for the 
men who have to work so hard for their living 
aud that of their families. 1 think if Mrs. 
Fisher only know the harm she is doing iu 
writing such articles she would uot write any 
more. There are already too many foolish 
housewives who think they have such a hard 
time of it., when they are the ones that have 
the least to do. And as for men sewing on 
their buttons, etc., after their hard day’s work 
is done, it is simply ridiculous. Woman was 
given for a help meet for man, but really I 
think iu mauy cases she must lie a nuisance. 
Hiring men iu place of girls might do for some 
kinds of work but not for all. I do think that 
poor little *‘laddie’* is to be pitied, and lam 
afraid that when he is grown be will be good 
for nothing but to air his bed and to sew ou 
his buttons. I should like to ask if the 
health of the American man as well us woman, 
has uot degenerated in the past 101) years? It' 
so, the outlook for house workers iu the 20th 
ceptury is uot encouraging. L. KIRBY. 
time. I also wonder it she thinks that pota¬ 
toes are old all the year round, and that all 
the fall butchering is converted into salt pork! 
One would have to pay rather dear for new 
potatoes here ou the Fourth of July. For my 
part I’d rather eat wbat we can afford, do all 
the work we can ourselves, aud have a home 
of our own in our old age, than to make a big 
display to tell other folks about, and end our 
days hi the poorhouse. Eunice webster. 
LUNCH DISHES. 
DEVILED BISCUITS. 
A few plaiu water biscuits can be turned 
into quite an elegant lunch dish. Butter on 
both sides and sprinkle with cayenne pepper; 
cover the upper side with melted cheese mixed 
with a little made mustard. Set iu a hot 
oveu, or grill on a gridiron for a minute or 
two. Anchovies or curry paste mixed with 
cheese instead of the mustard give au agree¬ 
able change. 
CURRIED KIDNEYS. 
Split tbe kidneys and remove the fat from 
the center. Make a paste of one teaspoon ful 
each of curry powder and flour aud a little 
salt and pepper mixed smooth with just as 
little water as will suffice to moisten it. 
Spread the kidneys with this, roll in crumbs 
and fry in as little butter or dripping as 
possible. Serve very hot on fried points of 
bread or on fluttered toast. 
A cheap little lunch cake easily aud quickly 
made is as follows: Beat three etrgs with two 
cups of sugar, add one cup of milk, three cups 
of flour, sifted with two teaspoonfuls of bak¬ 
ing powder and bake in four layers. Put 
icing between the layers, made from one of 
the whites of the eggs which you have re¬ 
served. Eat hot with chocolate. 
An exchange says: “Beef dripping makes 
very good ’fluttered toast' when butter is 
high.”" Don't believe it. If you can’t have 
butter ou your toast, eat it dry, or pour hot 
seasoned milk over it. s. c. 
We think table-clothes aud napkins look 
better when hemmed by hand. 
A busy woman will find au easy chair or a 
lounge in the kitchen an economizer of 
strength. 
Advertising Solicitor wanted. Agricultural 
paper. Good opening. Exit* rlenec and reference re¬ 
quired. Address A. H. MANVI1.LE, Jacksonville. F a. 
UHM 17 ATFDY. Book-keeping, Business 
n two Pi Forms.TYnmauship. Arlthmetic.Sbor 
hand, etc., thoroughly taught by MAIL, circulars f 
BRYANT & hTRATTOS’S, Buffalo. N. 
free. 
V . 
OF CHECKERS, G*n,« TTfl* Penny Mom* 
Oktnt of Pot a el 0 m-*. 1 Tt># Ur**t TrioW 
Pn.-- Vntif*. • , i ,*• H-ok l-*l» fV W T siting Carla. A1 
iui * i-Cflut r- »m y CAPITAL CARO CO., Ulombtu«(X 
THF QRANQFR FAMILY FRl IT aud VEGETABLE 
EVAPORATOR S. 
S3..10. ¥«,«*» and $10.00. 
Send fwcto*ul8r Eastern Manc- 
fact’g cc>. 253 S. Fifth St., Pbila. 
CQ 7C STEAM COOKER 
V'J-.Ll FREE ! 
Wewitnt .inactive *ud intelligent man 
or woman to represent ns in each town. 
To those who are willing to work wo 
Cooker and 
nn re pot Terms, 
A, CO M Rochester, Jj. Y. 
THE LIGHTNING HITCH 
i Is an invention l\v which ahorse 
Jean he hitched and unhitch’ it 
to and from a carriage almost. 
INSTANTLY. Easily and 
Cheaply Adjusted to amis 
_, or doing away with long 
traces, breech straps, fastening and unfastening of 
buckles; pulls man whitfletrar simple uticuys 
fiti. Com fertahletc- the horse. Tkomamt* ••*•. Sells on 
si.iht Agents wanted everywhere. Send lor circular. 
Address The LIGHTNING UlTt'H CO., fork. Fa. 
GOLr MEDAL, PARIS, 1878. 
BAKER’S 
Warranted absolutely pure 
Cocoa, from which Use excess ot 
Oil has been, removed. It has l‘"'te 
times the strength ot Cocoa mixed 
with Starch. Arrowroot or Sugar, 
and Is therefore tar more eoonoml 
ca costing less than one cent a 
cwj It ts delicious, nourishing, 
strengthening, easily digested, and 
admirably adapted for invalids an 
well as for persons In health. 
Sold bjr Grocers eve ry tnr he re. 
f. BAKER & CO., Dorchester, Bass. 
nwitv-ui 
Steel Shears, 75c.; Button lidle Scissors, 
YES THIS WILL PLEASE YOU 
Blades are finest razor steel, 
hand-forged, fUe-tested, aud 
replaced free If soft or flawy 
It Is made for the hunter, far 
tru-r, or mechanic- Price 7 Ac 
— 5 lor $3, with 
stag, ebony .or white 
hand les. our ‘1-blade 
JaeSKulfc.iiOe., t'ru 
ulngKulfe,SOe.; Bud¬ 
ding, 35c: Grafting. 
Tc ; Boys’ st rone t 
blade, 25c.; Girls', 
35c.; Ladies' 2-blade 
Pearl, 50e.; Geuts’ :s 
blade, tl. 8 -inch 
Hits. List free. MAHER & GHOSH, 1th St,, Toledo, Ohio, 
