DEC. 27 
'gUaimtg for t|t gating. 
KITTY’S CHRISTMAS TREE. 
ALICE P. ADAMS. 
Kitty had been very bmy for several weeks, for 
yon see there was to be a Christmas tree at her 
home, and all the uncles and aunts and cousins 
were Invited; so every minute of her time was oc 
cuptod In making presents. 
She was so fearrul that all would not be finished 
In time that she took her work to school, and 
crocheted under the desk while she was Qipparently 
learning her geography lesson. A number of girls 
did this, and Kitty never thought of cheating. 
It wa3 so»n stopped, however, for Mr. Kimball, 
noting the imperfect lessons, knew that something 
must be wrong, and was more watchful accord¬ 
ingly. 
One day Grace Henley made r a mistake In her 
tidy, and she had to unravel part of It; her thread 
knotted, and, forgetting where she was, she held 
ltup InpUla sight while she tried to disentangle 
It. Mr, Kimball's eye was on her before long, at¬ 
tracted by the bright scarlet, and the girls coughed 
and tried in vain to warn her; for all her thoughts 
were centred on that obstinate snarl. 
But she heard the stern voice that said, " I wish 
to call the attention of the school to that industri¬ 
ous young lady silting In the fifth row, next the 
middle aisle.” 
llow she starled and pushed her work Into the 
further corner of her desk, while the girls sympa¬ 
thized and the unfeeling boys laugbed! 
But that Wiis not the end. “ Miss Grace, you may 
bring that gay arrangement here to the desk, f 
want to examine It more closely, as the brief 
glimpse 1 had did not satisfy my curiosity." 
Very slowly Grace obeyed, with crimson face and 
downcast head, and Mr. Kimball, taking the tidy 
from her unwilling hand, gravely inspected Its 
scarlet and white Intricacies; then, laying It upon 
the desk, and motioning for her to resume her seat, 
he delivered a long lecture about the sense of honor 
which should prevail In schools, but, seemed entire¬ 
ly lacking to his, aud concluded by saying that If 
he saw any more fancy-work during school hours, 
he would take care of It, aud the owner would 
never see it again. 
This alarmed Miss Kitty, and thereafter she con¬ 
fined her work at school to recess, and the Inter¬ 
mission hour. But she was so Industrious at home 
that the last present, was finished the day before 
Christmas. 
For papa she made a case of card-board, bound 
wltb blue ribbon, for squares of court-plaster. On 
one side, embroidered In blue silk, were the words: 
“If knife or pin, 
“ Or aught offend,” 
and on the other, 
“ go, little case, 
“ Assistance lend.” 
She made for mamma a beautiful case for her 
scissors, of quilted cardinal satin, trimmed with 
tiny cardinal bows. For little nick she crocheted 
a pair of reins, and with aunt Mary’s help she con. 
structed a most wonderful rabbit from Canton 
flannel (woolly side out) for the baby. 
The relatives were all served alike tor fear they 
would think she was partial. Each of the three 
auuts was destined to receive a receptacle tor burnt 
matches, each or the three uncles a shaving-case, 
and each of the cousins an embroidered silk book¬ 
mark. 
Kitty's papa aud mamma lutended to have the 
tree on Christmas Eve, until they learned that the 
Sunday-school entertainment urns to be held on 
that night, so they gave their invitations tor 
Christmas evening. 
“Dear me I" sighed Kitty, on the morning of the 
eventful day. “ All my things are ready, and I 
don’t know what to do. it don't seem as If I could 
possibly watt, till night.” 
“ You might string some pop-corn while papa 
and Uncle Nat are gone tor the tree,” suggested . 
mamma, who was trimming the parlors. "And 
you could string some cranberries too, If you have 
time. The red and white festoons would look very 
pretty among the presents when the candles are 
lighted.” 
So Kitty commenced to string pop-corn and cran¬ 
berries, but before she had hall enough done they 
came with the tree, such a beautiful tree! Its 
top swept the celling of the back parlor, and how 
symmetrical were Its green branches. Kitty was 
sure that It was the nicest tree In town. 
And now commenced the work of arranging tne 
gifts; most delightful work Kitty thought It 
would bo, but she was soon banished from the 
room with the assurance that she would help Just 
as much If she would go on making the ropes ot 
cranberries and pop-corn, so she confided part 
ot her girts to mamma and the rest to Aunt Mary, 
and took up her position on a convenient sofa, 
where she could catch occasional glimpses of the 
splendor when the door opened ami the favored 
one passed In and out. It seemed as If the door¬ 
bell raug every tew minutes, and mamma kept 
hurrying back and forth with very mysterious 
looking parcels half hidden under her apron, 
once she forgot to latch the door, and left such 
an enticing little crack that Kitty could not re¬ 
sist the temptation to peep. So sue dropped tier 
needle and crept softly to the door when Uncle 
Nat unexpectedly coming In and seeing her pur¬ 
pose, gave her a push that made the door ily open, 
and sent her plump against mamma who was be¬ 
stowing a bewitching little work basket among 
the green boughs. 
“Oh ! idiUn tsoc! Idldn’tseeanything, hardly!" 
criea Kitty shutting her eyes as the workers about 
the tree exclaimed tudlgnautly. “it was all 
Uncle Nat. He pushed me In ” 
“Pushed you off the sofa?" queried mamma 
with her eyebrows raised unbelievingly. 
“ Well—not exactly that—” murmured Kitty, 
“ I wasn’t on the sofa.” 
“Ha, ha, miss! that’s what comes of peeking /» 
THE BiEAl HEW-VOB^EB. 
^feviT- 
A merry, merry Christmas 
To crown the closing year! 
Peace and good will to mortals, 
And words of sacred cheer. 
What though the wind at evening 
Blow harsh o’er laud aud sea. 
If eatter hands and Joyful hearts 
I.itdit up the Christmas tree. 
In the midst of your pleasures, 
your (rifts aud your treasures, 
Remember the one which our Father hath giveu, 
The purest and 1'airoBt 
The richest and rarest, 
The gift of a blessed Redeemer from Heaven. 
laughed Uncle Nat. as the excited lady again-took 
up her string or pop-corn. 
The door was scrupulously closed after that, 
and when It was nearly dark mamma came out 
and told Kitty to run up stairs and get dressed for 
the evening. She arrayed herself In her best 
wine-colored cashmere, which was magnificently 
bedecked wltb light blue bow8 tor the occasion, 
settled the pretty gold chain that was her last 
birthday present, and with her best handker¬ 
chief, freshly perfumed, In her hand she went 
down stairs, her cheeks flushed with anticipation. 
“Dear me!” she cried Impatiently after a ftw 
minutes’waiting In the parlor; “ 1 wish they would 
hurry. Seems as if I can't watt another minute. 
But she had to wait, several before there came 
a loud peal from the bell, when she flow to the 
door crying, “ Merry Christmas I” to the smiling 
people who came trooping In, 
Before long the sprightly company had assem¬ 
bled—the last comers being two young Sophomores 
who affected an Indifference to Christmas trees, 
and “ only came to please cousin Kitty,” aud all 
eyes were directed expectantly toward the closed 
folding doors. 
They were Dot kept In suspense long, for the 
doors were soon thrown back and disclosed the 
tree In all Its splendor, with papa, dressed as Santa 
Claus, bowing beside it. He made a little speech, 
and then all rushed In to look at the tree before 
the presents were taken off. 
Well, It was a pretty sight. The tree was set, 
to all appearance, In a bank of moss, which was 
Interspersed with lovely greenhouse plants des¬ 
tined to make several homes cheerful during the 
long winter. The festoons of red and white were 
supplemented by long chains of variously-colored 
paper; gaily decorated egg-shells hung from every 
tluy bough; little waxen canaries swuug In scarlet 
rings; horns or plenty tilled to overflowing would 
shortly reward those who had waited long for this 
night; and the wax tapers shone brightly on the 
presents that bent the green bougns, and tne 
larger ones that lay on the table at the side. 
Yes, It was certainly a wonderful tree, and I 
could not beglu to tell halt the girts that Santa 
Claus aud Kitty and two or three or the cousins 
distributed among the merry company. But as 1 
disclosed Kitty's secrets, it Is but Just that! should 
tell how her friends remembered her. 
Among the first articles taken from the tree was 
that dear little work-basket, lined with dainty 
blue silk, and fitted up with thimble, scissors, 
needles, silk, cotton, and other essentials. This 
was mamma's present to her daughter. 
Papa's girt was a writing desk well stocked with 
tinted and gilt-edged paper, and lucked away In a 
compartment of its own was a little pearl-handled 
gold pen, which made her eyes sparkle. 
Beautifully illustrated copies or Hawthorne’s 
“ Tanglewood Tales" and “ Wonder Book,” a bot¬ 
tle Of sweet Briar, a silver filagree pin for her,hair, 
a hox of handkerchiefs embroidered with a hand¬ 
some K, and an onyx riug on whlcb was engraved 
a little forgeume-not, were among ilie other pres¬ 
ents given her. 
Do you wonder that she exclaimed as she kissed 
mamma good-night, “ I’ve had a perfectly elegant 
time! I don’t believe there WUltl be a nicer tree 
than ours, do you, mamma 7" 
-» » » 
Dear Uncle Mark :— The cold winter is at hand 
yet It Is my season, the time 1 love best. J f I, like 
Joshua, could make the sun stand still, It would 
be wtuter all the time. All my vegetables are 
housed for winter, and my poor flowers have all 
been mowed down by Jack Frost. I want all the 
cousins to mention what virtue they admire most; 
for my part it is contained in the following: 
If wisdom's way jv, wisely seek. 
Five tUlia-s observe With oare; 
Of wbcmi you spank, to whom you speak, 
How, when and where. 
1 have only seen one who attained this virtue or 
discrimination to perfection, and since l met that 
person, I have striven hard to bo as wise, but 1 
can assure you, 1 have not reached perfection yet; 
so give me a recipe for It, whoever has one. Good¬ 
bye, Uncle Mark. I remain your loving 
Temistguemangue. Lizzie a. Picha. 
i) a no us. 
BRIEFLETS. 
The poultry should he fed meat three or 
four times a week with their other food when, 
the ground being frozen, there are neither 
worms nor insects for them to pick up about 
the premises. . . It makes little difference 
how well poultry are cared for. They may 
have everything they need. But if too many 
are confined in one house and run, they can¬ 
not be made to thrive and give a paying num¬ 
ber of eggs. . , The Ed. of the American 
Rural Home says that if all farmers would 
partial,ly substitute good beef, muttou, fish, 
ehiekeus, and turkeys, for pork, In their diet, 
they would be healthier, stronger, and happier 
for the substitution. . . The Philadelphia 
Record says that a good careful man placed 
in charge of a badly-managed herd of cows 
increased the llow of milk to an extent suffi¬ 
cient to pay his wages, . . Weather Signs.— 
When you see a doctor and nurse take charge 
of the house, look out for squalls.—Wheeling 
Leader. , , The man who pays cash is a 
person of no account. Credit lost. . . The 
Rural World is entitled, to much credit for its 
persistent, systematic encouragerueut of the 
Sorgo industry. Credit to whom credit is 
due. . . A new Pullman car is to be called 
the Gen. Grant. It would be a better name 
for the '‘smoker.”—Boston Comm. Bulletin. 
. . The monotony of life is luneh enhanced 
by having no change. . . A partial failure 
of the wheat aud raisin crops in Oorooineeyah t 
Persia, has produced a severe famine. Only 
about one-tenth part the usual amount of food 
has been raised; the government is doing 
nothing, and the people are atarviug. . . , 
ilog-guessings are beginning to be reported. 
' . Opium is now being produced fli the Son¬ 
oma Vally, Cal. It's better than the Oriental 
article, and though the cost of production is 
greater, this is counterbalanced by the absence 
of import duty. . On Tuesday, the 16th, 
motions were agreed to in the House for 
establishing Public Land Offices in the Terri¬ 
tories of Montana and Dacotah. . . The 
Hudson River is full of floating ice. and navi¬ 
gation on it is about to close for the season. 
. . Pleuro-pneumouia has broken out among 
the cattle of James Merrill, of Haverhill, N. 
U. Gov. Head called a meeting of the Council 
on Friday last, and appointed a committee to 
take steps at once to arrest the spread of the 
plague. Farmers thereabouts are much ex¬ 
cited. . . Eight thousaud “Union” pork, 
packers are on strike in Chicago because non¬ 
union men were allowed to work. Several of 
the paekeries arc idle, and more working very 
short-handed. Some say the pork-packer’s 
strike is merely a trick of the packers to lower 
the price of hogs, by causing the market to be 
over-stocked. All the hogs in the yards are 
being quickly picked up at low prices. , . . 
The depression in the bog market in Chicago 
is sure temporarily to reduce prices elsewhere, 
but—bold on to your hogs, friends, hold on to 
your hogs. The supply is less this year than 
last, the demand greater, and hogs are pretty 
sure to rule high before winter is over. . . 
The Wisconsin Dairymen's Association will 
hold their annual meeting at Eilchoru, January 
14 and 15, 1880. . . Most of the French 
bouquets are made of one kind of flowers only. 
WHAT OTHERS SAY. 
Spreading Manure.— We are gl*d to see a 
corroboration of what has been said under our 
History of a Poor Farm, by so good au authority 
as Profoseor 8 W. Johnson. He says in the 
Conn. Farmer, in answer to an inquiry : Man¬ 
ure from the yard or stable rarely contains 
such an amount of volatile fertilizing matter 
as should deter from spreading it broadcast on 
the surface when most convenient.. Unless 
manure is very rich, as from grain-fed ani¬ 
mals, and is in an active state of fermentation, 
hot and smoking, and exhales a distinct smell 
of hartshorn, there euu be no loss from expo¬ 
sure, aud in any ease, the loss will be less by 
spreading out thinly, than by dropping it in 
small heaps, because spreading means eooliug 
and the stop of fermentation. The soil, if not 
sand, is au energetic ahsorbtM- of ammonia, 
and will not allow much to escape. But man¬ 
ure, when properly handled, need not suffer 
any waste from evaporation. A moderate and 
regulated heating of fresh manure results in 
the formation of humic acid, which secures 
the ammonia from loss by evaporation. This 
moderate heating it should have before haul¬ 
ing out, or in cold weather before it heats at 
all. The advantages of spreading manure 
from the wagon as it is drawn out, are a sav¬ 
ing of labor aud au oven distribution of 
the soluble salts (ammonia, potash, phosphate, 
&c.), iu the soil by raiu. If the mauure is 
heaped on the field and gets a heavy raiu be¬ 
fore spreading, the grouud under the heaps re¬ 
ceives an undue share of the best part of the 
manure. Independently, however, of loss by 
evaporation, there may be circumstances when 
it is best to get the manure into the ground 
before it has had a chauce to become dry, for 
it distributes much better when moist aud 
swollen with water, than when “chippy” or 
“snuffy” in texture, and is ready at once to 
act as manure, whereas dry manure must re¬ 
cover moisture before it can be of auy use. 
Pasturing Wheat. —“8cverttl with whom I 
have talked." says a writer in the Detroit Free 
Press, “ are of the opiniou that it is rather bene¬ 
ficial than otherwise to pasture wheat in the 
fall. A notable Instance of apparent benefit 
from fall and winter feeding of the top, was 
with Mr, Payne Axford, of Orion, who pas¬ 
tured a piece of thirty acres duriug the fall 
and winter two years ago. turning on his 
stock whenever the ground was firm aud fro¬ 
zen, taking them off when the ground was soft 
during the fall and early part of winter. This 
field, he says, yielded thirty-nine bushels to 
the acre, and was probably the beat yield iu 
the neighborhood. One piece of twenty acres 
had equally ae fine an appearance through the 
season, but was not pastured, and yielded only 
thirty-one bushels to the acre. Mr. A. is a full 
believer in pasturing wheat, aud is now, al¬ 
though the ground is very wet and soft, keep¬ 
ing bis stock on his wheat field every day. It 
seemB to me a barbarous practice, neverthe¬ 
less, and although I have a field of heavy 
growth, 1 think I will take the chances of its 
natural top.” _ 
Cake of Poultry.— The American Poultry 
Yard says : We must shortly close up thedoors 
and windows of our fowl-houses, to guard the 
occupants against the sharp air by day, and 
the chillier atmosphere at night. But let us be 
sufficiently careful to perform this operation 
sensibly, and not so stifle the birds that the 
emanations from their bodies will infect the 
internal atmosphere of the premises, and thus 
poison or sicken the stock. Ventilate the 
premises thoroughly every day and every 
night in the year. No matter how hot, how 
cold, how dry, the fresh air of heaven must be 
afforded your fowls, either by allowing them 
freedom out-of-doors altogether, or by supply- 
tug their quarters with this necessity to their 
comfort aud thrift. 
Origin of Early Rose. etc. —The Early 
Rose was raised by Mr. Albert Bresee, of Hub- 
hardtou, Vt. In what year it hegau Us career, 
Mr. Priugle says, in the Yermont Record and 
Farmer, he is unable to say, but it was first put 
in commerce iu 1868. Its origin, he under¬ 
stands, was iu this wise: Mr. Bresee had been 
raising seedling potatoes for ruauy years with¬ 
out getting anything superior to the parent 
sorts. One fall his hired inau, while digging a 
few rows of the Garnet Chili, which had never 
been known to have seed-halls, found oh the 
stalks a little ball, scarcely larger tbau a pea. 
From this Mr. Bresee raised all his named 
sorts, Early Rose, Bresee’s Prolific, Peerless 
aud King of the Earlies. 
How not to do it.— The true story is told of 
a well-to-do New Hampshire farmer who last 
spring gave his ttfteeu-ycar-old sou a mother¬ 
less lamb; Johnnie brought it up carefully, 
and the past fall the father sold it with others 
and put the money in his own pocket, an act 
which The Manchester Mirror indignantly 
characterizes as “The rucauest robbery that 
could be perpetrated.” It will not be strange 
If that youth speedily develops au Irresistible } 
longing for town life, or the Western country, ) 
and the old man will murmur because he is | 
left alone in his age I—N. Y. Tribune. I 
