THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
FEB. 45 
-Itftoa of % alrrlt. 
Monday, Feb. 10, 1879. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
According to this mornings telegrams, the En¬ 
glish government 1ms not yet taken action pro¬ 
hibiting the importation ol American live cattle. 
The city council of Liverpool, however, has for¬ 
bidden the landing of them at that port, after the 
28th of this month, unless In the meanwhile pro¬ 
vision be made ror their slaughter on the quay. 
Many meat contractors there say that they are 
ready to build abattoirs suitable for the pur¬ 
pose, but hitherto no step has been taken In the 
matter owing to the uncertainty that stIU pre¬ 
vails with regard to the decision of the l J rlvy 
Council, several shipments of eattle have been 
landed since that containing diseased animals, 
but although every beast was closely examined, 
no trace of disease was found on any of them. 
Shippers here are making preparations to rorward 
their last lots of live eattle so as to arrive in the 
Mersey before the ast.h ; 200 head were shipped on 
Saturday and 60 more will go next Thursday, 
after which date, exportation will be suspended 
from this port until some decisive action shall be 
taken at the other side. Meanwhile the Canadian 
government has forbidden the importation of 
cattle from this country lor three months from 
February 6th, Prof. Law, of Cornell University 
who has been commissioned by the Governor of 
this State, to lnvesi lgatc the nature of the disease 
afTectlng some cattle In one or the suburbs of the 
neighboring city of Brooklyn, says that several of 
the cows there are suffering from Inflammation ol 
the lungs, a consequence ol pleuro-pueiunonla. 
Across the Atlantic the native stock and agricul¬ 
tural Interests, are alarmed at the prospect 
of a ruinous competition with our cheaper cattle. 
Last year our exports of all kind of live stock to 
Great Britain are stated to have been worth up¬ 
wards of seven million dollars, and It is said that 
the contracts already made for this year would 
necessitate much heavier shipments. The landing 
at Liverpool, nearly three weeks ago, of a single 
lot of steers suffering from pleuro-pneumonia, 
afforded the frightened farmers an excellent pre¬ 
text for Insisting on the exclusion lrom the country 
of all cattle from the United states, lest their own 
herds should become Infected. The report from 
our Canadian neighbors came opportunely to sup¬ 
port tills demand, while at the same time it was 
calculated to benefit our ineuds across the border; 
for these maintain that their own stock are en¬ 
tirely free rrom all contagious diseases, and there¬ 
fore that their trade should not be. interfered with. 
If these representations, however, shall really 
succeed In securing an order against the Impor¬ 
tation of live cattle from this country, the prohibi¬ 
tion can only be temporary. For the last half 
century there have been numerous local outbreaks 
of pleuro-pneumonia in some of the Atlantic states, 
and to-day the disease 18 not so unusually wide¬ 
spread as to afford valid grounds for exceptional 
restrictions on our trade. Cattle for export come 
almost ent irely from the Western Slates, and there 
the malady Is unknown. In the few localities 
where it has appeared, It Is restricted almost ex¬ 
clusively to cows used for dairy purposes. The 
ailing animals never come in contact with beasts 
intended tor shipment. Moreover, the attention to 
the malady, aroused by the present excitement, 
must result in the speedy abatement of the evil. 
During the severe outbreak of It at Boston In 1857, 
the Legislature empowered commissioners to de¬ 
stroy all Infected animals and pay for them out of 
the State Treasury, and the measure extirpated 
the disorder so effectually that It lias never reap¬ 
peared there since. 
After a bitter and protracted struggle between 
Senator Conkliug on one side and the -whole pow¬ 
er of the Administration on the other, about the 
appointment of revenue officers at this port, the 
Administration triumphed, mainly, ’tls said, 
through the personal efforts of sec. Sherman. 
Nearly all the Kepubllcans, including all leaders, 
voted with Conkliug, and so did a few antl-'f arn- 
many Democrats, but the Tammany Demo¬ 
crats aided by a handful of Kepubllcans, 
carried the day, by a vote of 83 to 25, so that 
Merrit & Co., succeed Arthur & Co., as dispensers 
of the Federal loaves and fishes fn this city. The. 
Potter Committee is taklug some curious testi¬ 
mony about those cipher dipatches In tiffs city, 
but as in recounting political news, It is Impossi¬ 
ble to please every reader and tell the truth, the 
gist of It Is here omitted. Edmund's resolutions 
affirming the lifteenth amendments to the con¬ 
stitution, has passed in the senate, all the Repub¬ 
licans and a few Democrats voting tor It, and the 
rest of the Democrats voting against It on the 
ground that It was Intended merely to make 
pollcal capital. 
Tennessee seeming resolved to repudiate her hon¬ 
est debts, creditors representing five million dol¬ 
lars’ worth of her bonds, propose to sue her. As 
they cannot do tiffs Individually, they are about, 
to donate $ 100,000 of these bonds to a charitable In¬ 
stitution In some Southern state and get that 
State to sue Tennessee for their value. Such a 
method of collecting debts from repudiating states 
has been strongly advocated in this city of late; 
but it Is a trifle doubtful whether It Is practica¬ 
ble. The Eastern or Republican part of the state 
Insists on payment and Is in favor of splitting the 
state m twain and paying Its half of the debt. 
Georgia s credit Is so good that she has been able 
to sell the whole of her 4 per cent bonds 60 days 
after they were authorized. One of the Richmond 
papers objects to stocking the Virginia rivers with 
flsh on the ground that it would encourage Idle¬ 
ness among the people, who, being thus furnished 
with free food, would neglect agriculture.” 
It is said that Senator Edmunds would accept 
Judge Hunters seat on the Supreme Bench. 
Edwards Plerrepont would also like a place 
on the same seat. The Southern moonshiners 
are stiff turbulent here and there. Their latest 
murder was that of U. S. Deputy Marshal Dotson, 
at Sinking creek, Va. These gentry have a rough 
way of resenting any government Interference 
with their secret pursuits. J. Madison Wells, wh 11- 
hom of the Returning Board, and later appointed 
by Hayes to a snug berth as Surveyor of the Port 
at New Orleans, has been Indicted by the grand 
jury for peculation in office. Another persecuted 
saint, i The Orescent city grand Jury also found 
Indictments against, twenty-flvo bulldozers In three 
of the parishes In which Republicans charged vio¬ 
lence during that presidential election which seems 
to have decided nothing. There aro reports that 
between one and two hundred accused of violating 
the election laws, have already been arrested, and 
most of them released on ball. But so little credit 
seems due to the oaths of folks from that quarter, 
that rumors are apt to be a trifle untrustworthy. 
Ex-Gov. llartfranft started a couple of years ago 
for the White House, at. one time got 2s votes more 
than Hayes at the Cincinnati convention, and Is 
likely to “ fetch up " as postmaster at Philadelphia, 
a position just offered him. Archbishop Powell, of 
Cincinnati, tried banking, but, bke many other es¬ 
timable clergymen, he failed to keep a close grip on 
either his own or other folks' money, and the sum 
of his Indebtedness to the poor who trusted to his 
financial ability is upwards of a million dollars. Sit¬ 
ting Bull is across the border, hogging for food and 
pardon; no, he Isn't, and never will be. A dozen 
reliable papers give Die public the option oi bcllev- 
1 ug el ther clause ol the sentence. Elizabeth, N, J., 
Is like a well-dressed dandy without a cent In his 
pocket. The town spent a pile of money on flue 
streets, buildings and improvements of all kinds, 
and now Is bankrupt. The value of property has 
gone down with a rusn; a multitude of houses 
have been abandoned for taxes, and to meet Inter¬ 
est and taxes, the town has to raise $ 600,000 a 
year on a, valuation of $ 12 , 000 , 000 —but It says It 
can’t. 
FOREIGN. 
Europe seems In terror at the spread of the 
plague which Is reported to have all the charac¬ 
teristics of the terrible Black Death of the Middle 
Ages. As stated here last week it kills ninety- 
five out of every hundred of those it attacks, 
carrying off its victims in from four to ten hours, 
in the town of VetUanka In the government of 
Astrachan, where It, made Its first appearance, It 
slew at once 40u persons out of the 1.700 residents 
of the place, and the rest fled, leaving the dead 
unburied. At Prishlbe It swept off 520 out of 830 
inhabitants In two weeks, and even in sparsly 
settled localities it spreads with alarming rapidity. 
It has been known to advance westw ard 30 miles 
in two days. It Is said to have already reached 
the Crimea, and now- Italy and all .southern Eu¬ 
rope are as much terrorized as Germany and Aus¬ 
tria-Hungary. Russia Is lnvltlDg medical aid from 
all her neighbors, burning Infected villages and 
taking every possible precaution to arrest the 
Invasion of a foe more deadly than Turk or English. 
A cordon of troops, a thousand miles long, has 
already been established and Meffikoff has been 
Invested with absolute power in the suffering 
region. 
At last the Turko- Russian war Is over! A defi¬ 
nite treaty betw een the Sultan and the Czar was 
signed last Saturday. Yesterday the Russians 
began to evacuate Turkish territory, and the last 
of them Is to cross the frontier within 35 days. 
Montenegro having got Fodgorltzo, lias withdrawn 
her troops from Ottoman soil. Greece is still dis¬ 
contented with her bit of Turkey, and probably 
the Great Bowers will have to decide whether she 
Is to be made happy with another "serving.” 
England has Just closed the bargain with the Sul¬ 
tan for Cyprus. He’ll retain a private estate he 
has there and pocket $5,ouo,000 for the rent of the 
Island. Shere All Is either dead or hurled In the 
wilds of Astatic Russia on a bootless tramp to 8t. 
Petersburg. Yakook Khan can’t control even the 
city of Cabul; a part of it Is said to be In Insurrec¬ 
tion. The British are resting In winter quarters 
as quietly as the turbulent and predatory natives 
will let them. Stanley offers once more to enter 
the “ Dark continent” at the head of a Belgian ex¬ 
ploring expedition. Lord Dufferln has been ap¬ 
pointed ambassador to Russia. 
It is acknowledge by all that the resignation of 
McMahon from the Presidency ol lhe French Re¬ 
public and the election of Grevy to succeed him, 
have contributed greatly toward the permanence 
of that form of government. The Marshal's term 
would have ended In 1880, when there would cer¬ 
tainly have been a struggle for the mastery be¬ 
tween the Imperialists, Monarchists and Republi¬ 
cans. Now as Gevy stands at the helm for 
seven years, that critical struggle will be 
avoided, and If the French people deserve 
the blessings of a republic, It will be firmly 
established at the close of his Presidency. 
Waddlngton, the EngUsh-Frenchmaa, late Minister 
of Foreign Affairs, takes Defaare's place at the 
head of the cabinet as President ot the Council. 
Several other good changes have also been made In 
the Cabinet. Allis peaceable and hopeful for the 
future. With few prominent exceptions, all the 
communists are to bo fully pardoned. The Church 
and State are to be separated, as In this country 
Grevy declares the Republic wants peace at home 
and abroad, now- and in future. England halls the 
prospect of a permanent, Republic, as cordially as 
II she were herself a Republic as much In name as 
she is in reality. Herman, 
The breakfast on the occasion of the Prince of 
Wales’s visit to the city of London to unveil the stat¬ 
ue of the prince consort cost £ 2 , 000 . The thanksgiv¬ 
ing for the recovery of the Prince of Wales. Bid,two. 
That, too, was the amount spent in the reception of 
the czar of Russia, 'l he shah of Persia's reception 
cost £15, 000 . The sultan’s cost B30,ooo. The dow¬ 
ers alone at the reception ot the Prince of Wales, 
on his return from India, cost B 2 ,ooe. The ban¬ 
quet in honor of the czar, B2,676. t he upholstery 
bill was nearly £7,000 more. The cost ol the menu 
cards at the dinner was £93; B170 was expended 
on bands, B26 tor wands, £22 for gloves, b 282 in 
gratuities and £7 upon corkscrews. The flowers 
at the shali's reception cost £527 and the gloves at 
the czar’s £57. There Is now a big bill to pay for 
the installation of Lords Beaconsfield and Salisbury 
as freemen of tbe city.— Cor. Newark Advertiser. 
Ilomrstir Gfroitorng. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MAPLE. 
PEN THOUGHTS FROM EVERY-DAY 
HOUSE. 
ANNIE L. JACK. 
Old Wall Paper and its Suggestions. 
‘‘This room must be repapered.” It was the 
critic in household art who gave the mandate 
in such decisive tones, and only one voice was 
heard in protest. 
“Spare it yet another year.” 
“ And then,” asks Household Art, “ how long 
will if. have been upon the. walls ?” 
“ Only tweuty years.” 
They stand appalled—twenty years ! What 
a change in the world’s history that paper has 
outlived. 
“ Why it was a paper in slavery days,” says 
the youug historian, “ and on that wall before 
Abraham Lincoln was ever President.” 
Could it be possible! Yet it was not faded- 
some fly specks could be seen on close observa¬ 
tion ; but the soft, gray, neutral ground, the 
whitc-and-scarlet of the large flowers with their 
satiny appearance were fresh and pretty, and 
we could not bear the idea of tearing it off to 
be supplanted by a gay, fresh pattern that 
would change the aspect of the parlor, that, 
would cause the furniture to look out-of-place, 
and the pleasant memories that clustered 
around the dear, cosy room to be pleasures of 
thepast. “For how could werecall them, "I said, 
*' if the walls were changed, that had been the 
same for tweuty years ?" 
And while talking of these things it, occurred 
to me that in the course of that time many 
people who visited me have passed the remark, 
“ How well yon keep this room,” with an air 
as if they knew that it was not used except on 
state occasions. I seldom take the trouble to 
disabuse them of that opinion, but may here 
say that I do not believe in keeping a room for 
company, into which the family dare uot. ven¬ 
ture ; nor do I believe that faded furniture 
covers, dingy carpets, and rough, dim wood 
are signs of use, but rather of abuse. I know 
full well things mil. wear out, but often the 
carelessness of those in charge of the rooms is 
a cause of tbe quick fading from its original 
freshness, that is sometimes seen in newly fur¬ 
nished houses. In the room where this articie 
had its first suggestion, the carpets and furni¬ 
ture were the same as when the owner entered 
her home a bride, with no experience, and 
nothing but what country folk are apt to call 
“ book larnin.” But she knew enough to keep 
a separate broom for her parlor carpet; to keep 
down the shades in strong sunshine, though 
uot to darken the rooms; and to pick up any 
litter on the floor, instead of sweeping it too 
often, which wears away the nap of a carpet 
and raises duet over the furniture. Wood 
fires in a tight box stove, as used in country 
places, prevent a great deal of dirt that is in¬ 
evitable with the soot of coal; but the dirt from 
the latter is often increased by carelessness in 
removing the ashes, especially by doing so 
while the furniture is uncovered, for then the 
dust settles in every crevice and groove. 
Men and boys are a great deal more blama- 
ble than they will allow for the necessity of 
shut-up parlors; for if they would always re¬ 
member their slippers, and not attempt feats 
of spitting, mother and sister would be al¬ 
ways glad to have them stretched upon the 
parlor sofa In leisure hours. In this little 
twenty-year furnished room we think with 
pleasure now of the happy hours the children 
have spent there ; of the corners where they 
have been found curled up reading some won¬ 
ders of book lore ; of the Suuday talks wehave 
had there; the treasures that have been 
brought there for safe-keeping, and the many 
Christinas mornings when, in the center of the 
floor—the carpet being protected by sheets— 
there has been found a tree, blazing with can¬ 
dles and glorious with gifts, the wonder and 
delight of the children at home and of their 
Utile neighbors. How they enjoyed sitting 
under the branches for weeks afterwards be¬ 
fore we could find it in our hearts to remove 
it. sharing its fruits with many. And I know 
well that all through life, they will go back to 
that little parlor, whenever the piney fra¬ 
grance of a fir tree meets their senses. 
No, leave the paper on. Household Art 
must go elsewhere for innovations; times are 
too hard for refurnishing, and we will not 
patch the old parlor’s appearance. 
-- 
RAG CARPETS-ONCE MORE. 
While reading in the Rural of Nov. 16th, 
some remarks concerning rag carpets, as I 
have had a good deal of experience in that 
line—having been a weaver for about 15 years 
—I thought perhaps I could say a few words 
that might be of interest to the lady readers. 
In the first place, I would suggest that you 
cut the old garments up instead of ripping 
them, which takes too much time, and what 
you would save but of the seams does not 
amount to much. Next, have the pieces washed 
clean, which is much easier than to wash the 
garments whole. Some people prefer to color 
rags before cutting, but I am uot particular as 
to that; I rather think that I like the way of 
coloring them after cutting best, for then one 
does not color the waste rags. Select your 
best pieces, and cut or tear them in strips, and 
if of cotton, let the strips be one-half an inch in 
width. Do not cat around the corners, but 
tear them off. Of course, it makes more sew¬ 
ing, but always remember that “ it pays to do 
only what it pays to do well," If rags are cut 
around the corners, they will soon wear off in 
those places, leaving the rest of the rags good. 
So you can see that it is not good economy, 
though it takes less time. Always have your 
rags as near half an inch in width as possible. 
Woolen rags must be cut narrower than cotton. 
Wind your rags firmly in balls as nearly a 
pound in weight as you can guess, allowing a 
pound and a quarter for each yard, which will 
be enough to fill a yard with the proper amount 
of warp, if you wish to prepare your own 
w T arp. get cotton yarn No. 10; make it three- 
threaded, which will give you 30 knots, and of 
each pound you will have one skein left, which 
in three pounds will make 30 knot6 extra. 
Take good care to double your yarn even, and 
twist it well. Slack-twi6ted warp is almost 
worthless. Allow 6$ knots of w r arp for each 
yard- This is more than usually allowed, but 
try it, for it takes less rags, and if well beaten 
up, the carpet will last neatly twice as long as 
if less warp was used. If you buy your warp 
ready prepared, always get that which is hard- 
twisted, fine and even. Never send vour warp 
to the weaver without first reeling It and put¬ 
ting the desired quantity in each skein. Reel 
your rags you wish to color in skeins of two 
knots each, as they arc lighter to handle and 
will color better. Be very careful to wash out 
every particle of the dye, as it will iujure the 
rags if they be not well rinsed. Wind again 
into balls and they are ready to be Bent to the 
weaver. 
All calicoes and delaines that are of a good 
color, weave in without dyeing. Cutch makes 
a good color and beech bark or maple set with 
copperas, is durable and cheap. If you have 
a few odds and ends of all colors, sew them 
together in balls and make what we call a 
“hip-skip” stripe. Never put in a carpet 
rags that are worn so badly as to be tender, as 
it is waste; for they soon wear out and then 
the carpet is worthless. To sew rags properly, 
lap the two pieces three-quarters of an inch, 
and double the rag bo that it is but half the 
width, and backstitch through it. as far as it is 
lapped. This mode of doing it is much better 
than sewing one or two stitches in the middle, 
and leaving both ends flying. 
Mrs. J. A. Gregory. 
New Y'ork. 
-»♦» - 
A CUP OF TEA. 
" The cup that cheers, hut not inebriates.” 
Who has not smiled at the way in which our 
foremothers made their first tea ? 
“Pooh!” says a little miss of ten, “it’s 
nothing to make tea. All you've got to do is 
to put in a teaspoonful of tea for the drawing, 
and one for every person to drink of it; pour 
on a little hot water and let it boil till the 
strength is out; then fill tip with water.” 
Perhaps eight persons out of every ten who 
make tea at all, make it after this fashion; but 
it is a very poor one, for all that, and tea so 
made is, to say the least, not what it might be. 
In the first place, tea should be steeped, 
not boiled; and then if one wishes to know 
just how good a cup of tea can be, she should 
never allow the addition of even the smallest 
qnaqtity of water after the tea is steeped, as it 
will he sure to render it insipid. Let the re¬ 
quired quantity be poured on at once, or, still 
better, put the water in the pot first, and add 
the tea to it. Tea is often spoiled, both as to 
color and taste, by oversteeping. Japan and 
black teas require a longer time than do the 
green sorts—say five minutes for Japan, eight 
or ten for black, while for green three min¬ 
utes will Buflice. 
A good way to prepare tea for picnics and 
and the like, is to fill glass fruit jars with cold 
water, and to every quart pnt half a cup of 
dry tea, and just before using, drop a lump of 
ice into each jar. Adeline E. Story. 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
Apple Tarts. 
Make the crust with one cup of lard; the 
white of one egg beaten to a froth ; one tea- 
spoonful of white sugar; one-fourth cup of 
cold water ; flour sufficient to roll out. Make 
a rich sirup of white sugar, boiling in It some 
fresh lemon peel, then put in tart apples that 
have been sliced rather thick. When tender 
take from the fire to cool, and then fill the tart; 
cover with another crust and bake lightly. 
Prison Oako. 
One cup of butter; three cups of white sugar; 
five cups of flour; two cups of sweet milk ; one 
teaspoonful of soda and two of cream-of-tartar; 
whites of eight eggs, This is for the white 
part. 
