686 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
OCTOBER 12 
MAGAZINE REVIEWS. 
4 4 A PECULIAR PEOPLE ” in Harp- 
xl er’s for October is descriptive of 
the Dunkers or German Baptists living at 
Ephrata, about 15 miles from Lancaster, 
Pennsylvania. In many ways they resem¬ 
ble the Quakers or Friends. Their style of 
living, manners and customs are very prim¬ 
itive. Their dress is very quaint and old- 
fashioned; they offer no resistance to in¬ 
juries, and refuse to take oaths in courts of 
law. Their religious customs and cere¬ 
monies are equally curious. They aim to 
imitate the early Christians as far as possi¬ 
ble. The buildings are now nearly in ruins, 
and only a few stragglers are left of a once 
prosperous and happy community. A fav¬ 
orite theme with orators and authors now¬ 
adays is the possibilities and probabilities 
of the future as to wonderful inventions 
and discoveries, especially those connected 
with the electrical field. Edward Bellamy 
tells of a mythical railroad journey under¬ 
taken with some reluctance because of his 
inability to read on the cars. He was very 
agreeably surprised to find all the popular 
books and magazines phonograped and ac¬ 
cessible even with his eyes shut; they could be 
begun at any chapter or page and any part 
could be skipped. Before recovering from 
this agreeable surprise he was startled by 
hearing the name of his station announced 
in such clear, deliberate tones as no train¬ 
man had ever thought of using. Going to 
a hotel to spend the night he enjoyed a re¬ 
freshing sleep until awakened by the voice 
of what he judged to be a very charming 
young woman who said: “ My dear sir, 
you may possibly be interested in knowing 
that it now wants just a-quarter of three.” 
Upon lighting the gas, he failed to find 
anything excepting an innocent-looking 
clock which soon announced the hour of 
three in the same thrilling tones to which 
he had before listened. Sleep was no longer 
possible with such pleasant company. At 
breakfast his morning paper was rehearsed 
in his ear by a wonderful mechanism. His 
friend whom he came to visit took him to a 
clock factory where were clocks of all 
kinds of beliefs: then to a book-store filled 
with all kinds of phonographic books. He 
found himself surrounded with all sorts of 
new-fangled contrivances on every hand. 
The author has given us a very readable 
and ingenious story. “ Aunt Dorothy’s 
Funeral ” is a Virginia plantation story of 
ante helium days, but the title is some¬ 
what misleading, for instead of “ole missus” 
furnishing a subject for a funeral, she re¬ 
covered and had a thanksgiving service 
instead, with a sermon from the text she 
had selected for her funeral discourse. A 
betrothal was also announced at this time 
much to her satisfaction. “ The Fair of 
Nijnii-Novgorod ” is described by Theodore 
Child; “ Hierapolis and its White Terrace,” 
by Tristram Ellis; and “The Building of 
the Church of St. Denis ” by Charles Eliot 
Norton. There is an article on “Recent Pro¬ 
gress in Surgery;” a description of a “ Cor¬ 
ner of Scotlaud Worth Knowing;” a story, 
“Captain Brook’s Prejudice,” and much 
other interesting matter, with numerous 
illustrations and a few poems. Harper & 
Brothers, New York. 
T HE CENTURY MAGAZINE com¬ 
pletes its 19th year with the October 
issue. The number is a specially interest¬ 
ing one. Mr. Kennau’s article deals with 
the “East-Siberian Silver Mines,” and gives 
a clear idea of the wretched surround¬ 
ings of the convicts who are obliged 
to labor in these mines. He is of the opin¬ 
ion, however, that life here is preferable to 
solitary confinement in the ill-ventilated 
and filthy prison kameras. The Lincoln 
History deals with “Blair’s Mexican Pro¬ 
ject—The Hampton Roads Conference— 
The XHIth Amendment.” An article of 
special interest to artists is “Fra Filippo 
Lippi,” one of the Italian Old Masters, by 
W. J. Stillman, with an engraving and ex¬ 
planatory notes by T. Cole. “Moliere and 
Shakespeare” by C. Coquelin, with an 
engraving of Moliere as a frontispiece, 
is a comparison of these two great au¬ 
thors. “Base-Ball—For the Spectator,” 
gives a history of the “great American 
game,” with an explanation of the leading 
rules of the game which will enable one 
not versed in the art to have a fair under¬ 
standing of it. “Three Jewish Kings” is 
a richly illustrated article by Edward L. 
Wilson and will be of particular interest to 
those who are students of the International 
Sunday-School Lessons. A story which 
will be appreciated by newspaper workers 
is “The Longworth Mystery” by “The 
City Editor.” It is written by Young E. 
Allison, one of the new Southern writers. 
Maurice Thompson contributes “ Ben and 
Judas,” master and slave, a Southern 
dialect story, which is very readable, de¬ 
spite the unpopularity of dialect stories, 
and abounds in humorous situations. The 
third and last part of “ The Old Bas- 
com Place ” is given. “ Maria Mitchell’s 
Reminiscences of the Herschels” is of 
peculiar interest in view of the recent 
death of that talented woman, and 
famed astronomer. The article is illus¬ 
trated by fine portraits of Miss Mitchell 
and her observatory at Lynn, Massachu¬ 
setts. Anna C. Brackett also has an “Open 
Letter ” on Miss Mitchell. There are sever¬ 
al brief illustrated articles on manual 
training from different standpoints. “ War 
Diary of a Union Woman in the South,” 
edited by G. W. Cable, is a thrilling narra¬ 
tive of a Northern woman in Louisiana and 
adjacent States during those perilous 
times. There are several short poems, in¬ 
teresting “ Open Letters,” etc. The Cen¬ 
tury Co., New York. 
--»•'»- 
S T. NICHOLAS abounds in short stories 
from numerous writers on a variety of 
topics. “ Almost a Tragedy ” by Celia Thax- 
ter is a story of a cat and parrot which lived 
in a kitchen and were the best of friends. 
The parrot’s inquisitiveness led her to in¬ 
vestigate a huge pan of dough which had 
been set to rise, and which proved a verit¬ 
able quicksand into which the poor bird 
sank until nothing, but her head was visi¬ 
ble. The sagacious cat by summoning the 
servant saved her from an ignominious 
death. William Dudley Foulke tells about 
“ My Dog.” It had always been his ambi¬ 
tion to own a genuine St. Bernard, and 
at last when crossing the pass he purchased 
one from the Hospice. It proved a verit¬ 
able white elephant, both on his travels, 
and after reaching America. Finally after 
a world of trouble, the dog, which had been 
the dream of his life, - and which had cost 
him in hard cash in the neighborhood of 
$500, was sacrificed for a paltry $75, a 
goodly share of which was absorbed by a 
dealer in commissions, etc. Julian Ralph 
tells “Where Salmon are Plentiful,” 
and fortifies his fish story by an 
engraving made from an indisputable 
photograph of a salmon brook in British 
Columbia. The water is represented as 
literally alive with the finny tribe. Our 
party of boys who have been spending the 
summer vacation “Among the Florida 
Keys,” end it with this number, with a 
largely increased knowledge of Natural 
History. F. S. Dellenbaugh under what 
he calls “ The First Americans,” describes 
the Pueblos found in Arizona and New 
Mexico. What warrant he has for giving 
them this title he fails to tell us. “ The 
Making of a Great Steel Gun” describes the 
manufacture of a huge cannon from the 
making of the steel from iron, until the 
gun is finished ready for its deadly work. 
Dora Miller’s “Wonder Ball ’’contains 
suggestions of holiday times. There are 
charming bits of verse, numerous and in¬ 
teresting illustrations, and many other 
features which tend to make this an at¬ 
tractive number to the young folks. The 
Century Company, New York. 
BOOK REVIEWS. 
i ( Q PEAKING PIECES for Little Schol¬ 
ia ars and Older Pupils,” by Ellen 
O. Peck, is Lee & Shepard’s latest addition 
to this useful class of literature. It is di¬ 
vided into two parts, the first for the little 
people, the second for the older boys and 
girls; and consists of short selections for 
school entertainments, Easter and holiday 
occasions, anniversaries and the like, to¬ 
gether with dialogues and charades. 
Boards, five by seven inches; 177 pages; 
price 50 cents. 
A N ambitious new juvenile book having 
a Munchausen flavor is “ Little Baron 
Trump and His Wonderful Dog Bulger.” 
It portrays his birth in the very mushy 
land of the Melodious Sneezers; tells how 
when he was about two months old his 
mother, taken unawares by a lit of sneezing, 
dropped him into the soft mud, in which he 
disappeared, and from which the almost 
human Bulger rescued him; pictures the 
marvelous growth of his brain, and follows 
him and his dog through hair-breadth es¬ 
capes and thrilling adventures among 
the Wind-Eaters, the Slow-Movers, the 
Man-Hoppers, the Round-Bodies, etc. 
It does not profess to be a story with a 
moral, yet it instils reverence for parents 
and affection for dumb animals. Seven by 
nine inches; 287 pages, cloth, illustrated, 
$2. Lee & Shepard. 
- 
E VERY-DAY BUSINESS is a small 
book filled with valuable informa¬ 
tion about common business affairs which 
every one should know. Many farmers are 
deficient in a knowledge of the simplest 
rudiments of business, and trust too much 
to the honesty of lawyers and others. This 
is a very poor practice, and one that many 
times proves very expensive. This little 
volume gives plain directions about letter¬ 
writing ; bills, receipts and accounts; post- 
office business ; telegrams ; express busi¬ 
ness ; United States money ; different kinds 
of banks, bank paper, checks, notes, drafts, 
etc. ; mortgages, taxes, insurance, etc. Five 
by seven inches; 158 pages; boards, 35 
cents. Lee & Shepard, Boston. 
-♦»♦- 
B enjamin franklin is the title of 
the late s t addition to the American 
Statesmen series. The author is John T. 
Morse, Jr., and he has given us a very well- 
written and exhaustive biography of this 
illustrious American, who was at once a pa¬ 
triot, a philosopher and a statesman. Five 
by 7)4 inches; 428 pages; cloth, gilt top; 
$1.25. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston. 
“ Every Man is presumed to know the 
Law. Nine-tenths of all Litigation arises 
from Ignorance of Law .” 
RAILROAD FENCES IN CONNECTICUT. 
J. G., Platnville, Conn. —Who should 
erect the fences on both sides of the rail¬ 
road tracks and to whom do they belong? 
If an animal should break through, or 
through the defective state of the fence 
stray upon the line from adjoining land, 
and be killed, can the owner recover com¬ 
pensation ? 
Ans.—I n Connecticut every railroad com¬ 
pany is required to construct and maintain 
good and sufficient fences on both sides of 
its line, except at such places as in the 
opinion of the railroad commissioners, the 
erection and maintenance of the same shall 
be inexpedient or unnecessary, under pen¬ 
alty prescribed by the statute. Such fences 
must be erected by all companies within 12 
months after they have entered upon and 
taken possession of the lands through 
which the railroads pass. Such fences be¬ 
long to the railroad if on its own land. 
Some owners of land adjoining railroads, 
however, have received compensation for 
fencing along the line of their land, and 
where this has been the case, the obligation 
to fence is permanently binding upon them 
and upon all who may come into possession 
of the land. All such holders are required 
by law to build and maintain a lawful 
fence on said line or as near thereto as they 
conveniently can; and if they neglect to 
do so within 60 days after they have 
been notified to do so by the rail¬ 
road company, such railroad company may 
build the fences and recover the ex¬ 
pense thereof in an action for debt 
against the person neglecting to build or 
maintain such fence or fences. Where the 
duty of building the fences rests on a rail¬ 
road company, if cattle or any other domes¬ 
tic animals break through a fence on ac¬ 
count of its insufficient or defective charac¬ 
ter and are killed or injured on the track, 
the company is responsible for damages; 
but if they broke through or jumped over 
a sufficient fence in proper repair, the com¬ 
pany would not be responsible. When the 
duty of building the fences rests with the 
land-owner, of course, he cannot recover 
compensation for cattle or other animals 
that may have been trespassing on the rail¬ 
road through his own fault. 
Dr. T. B. MYERS, 
of David ri>y, Neb., writes: 
Dr. Seth A mole’s Cough Killer 
I* the best remedy for whoop- 
lug cough and meash-s I ever 
saw 
SOLD BY ALL DEALERS. 
1‘rlce. 25c., SOc. and gl 
per bottle. 
£tt&# unit 
Fruit & Ornamental Trees, 
Shrubs, Evergreens, 
Roses, Paeonies, 
Hardy Plants, 
Grapevines, Small Fruits, 
etc., including many Novelties. Catalogue# giving 
information indispensable to planters, sent to all ro- 
S ilar customers Free; toothers: No. 1. Fruits, 10c.; 
o. 2, Ornamental Trees, Ac., illustrated, l&c.; No. 8, 
Strawberries, No. 4, Wholesale, No. 6, Roses, Free. 
ELLWANCER & BARRY, 
MOUNT HOPE I ROCHESTER, 
NURSERIES, I New York. 
THE CREAM OF PEACHES. 
WONDERFUL: large, very late, ex¬ 
quisitely beautiful, delicious—the only 
large, late, handsome, yellow, freestone 
Peach. LOVETT'S WHITE is like¬ 
wise the only large, late, handsome 
white freestone. Both are sure and 
heavy bearers. The most profitable for 
market, invaluable for the home gar¬ 
den, unsurpassed for canning. Descrip¬ 
tive Circular free. Colored plates 6cts. 
Nearly every variety of hardy Fruit 
and Ornamental Tree or Plant, old or 
new, worthy of culture, at half the 
prices of most traveling agents and 
many nurseries. An immense stock of 
Peach and other Fruit Trees. Head¬ 
quarters for Gandy (latest), Monmouth 
(earliest), Strawberries, Erie and Early 
King Blackberries, Carlough Apple, 
Spaulding and Abundance Blums, Meech 
Quince, Nut-bearing Trees , &>c. 
Lovett’s Catalogue for Fall 1889, 
giving illustrations, plain practical in¬ 
structions for culture and management, 
with honest descriptions (telling defects 
- well as merits) and exceedingly low 
prices, free to applicants. 
Plants by mail a specialty. 
J. T. LOVETT CO., Little Silver, N. J\ 
LANDRETH’S LAWN GRASS SEED 
Is a mixture of the finest varieties of perennial grass 
seeds, producing a most b<*au'lful and pennant nt 
sod In a short time. The lawns and grass plots in 
and around Philadelphia afTord ample evidence of 
the superior quality of the Landreth's Lawn Grass 
Seed. 
All Varieties of Grass and Clover Seeds care¬ 
fully selected, thoroughly re-cleaned, 
and freed from all imperfections. 
LANDRETH’S LAWN FERTILIZER. 
A most excellent top-dressing for lawns and grass- 
plots, producing a rich and vigorous growth. Sold 
In packages from five pounds to the ton. 
D. LANDRETH & SONS, 
21 & 23 South Sixth Street Branch Store. Delaware 
Avenue and Arch Street. Philadelphia, Fa 
TflTTA Root drafts —Everything ! No larger 
Kl>k\ BtocklnU.S. Nobetter. Noeheaper. 
■ IILI.W Pike Co. Nubsehiks Louisiana, Mo. 
THE IDAHO PEAR. 
What Others Say About It : 
Compared with Kelffer It Is far superior In 
quality. AMERICAN GARDEN. 
Quality best. PATRICK BARRY. 
It is not so sweet as the Bartlett, but higher fla 
vored—more vinous. THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Trees now for the fust time offered for 
sale - 
Single Tree by mail, post paid, 
$2.50; Three lor $G.OO. 
Send for lllu°trated prospectus contaulng a finer 
list of testimonials than auy new fruit that has ever 
been Introuuced. > 
THE IDAHO PEAR Co. f 
LEW1HTON) IDAHO, 
We offer ’ 
the largesti 
and most ( 
complete 
general 
stock in 
the U. S„ of , 
