pairing for % $omtg. 
TRAINING FOR FARMERS. 
M.OAKEY. 
“ Well, my boy, what kiud of a fanner are you 
going' to be,’’ I once asked of an intelligent look¬ 
ing lad WUo lived ou a farm. M I don’t know, sir.” 
be replied. Mince then, many similar cases Lave 
forced me to tbe conclusion, that the majority of 
boys brougUt up upon the farm are allowed by their 
fathers and permit themselves to grow up to mart- 
hood without forming any definite plan, or making 
any special preparation, for the future. Such boys 
drift along, and up Into farmers, the same as they 
do Into manhood, possessing only the requisite 
namber of years, and it Is morally certaiu that the 
m xuhood and farmer—" hood ” without practical 
training- will be only of the average grade. 
Hoys, this ought, not to be so. You are expecting 
to eugage, by-aud-by, 10 the business oi laiming. 
Then why not make special effort to be fully pre¬ 
pared to take up that calling creditably and suc¬ 
cessfully. You should not be content w ith being 
only au average tanner, when you have abund¬ 
ant opportunity to make yourselves the head men 
lu your occupation. YOU have every advantage 
and-chance” In your favor, und your course of 
training will be Just as pleasant as It can be protit- 
able. Determine that you will be t he best larmer 
lu your neighborhood and master of your pro- 
iessiou lu all Its details and then set about pre¬ 
paring yourself for and learning your business 
perfectly with perseverance, and you wall meet 
wltn all the success yoo may desire. 
Perhaps you are not ready to decide what par¬ 
ticular branchot farmlngyou will follow, but that 
is of no present Importance and may safely be left. 
u> tlie future. You can, however early decide as to 
ihekludot a tanner you will make-that no one 
thull be superior to you aud that you will use every 
possible means to make such a decision the better. 
As steps tu that preparat ion I offer you In brief 
the following general suggestions knowing they 
will call to mind other special means which will 
vary according to the circumstances aud situa¬ 
tion of each reader. 
First, think. Do a great deal of 11 Bo constant 
with thought, Do not pet'iorm the slightest, act 
of farm tflg'rou Line without some usetui thoughts 
accompanying it. Do not be careless or Ill-nat ured 
in thought about it, lor that will spoil all, but 
study the operation in each detail however simple. 
Ascertain Its -• why” aud Its best - how,” and try 
to Improve, ou the method Learn the principle 
of the machinery you handle and study how It 
applies to the use you make of It,. Learn If some 
other machine does not apply the principle better, 
or learn why yours Is best. Think It all out . 
Second, study, study the soil, its nature, adapia- 
olllty and fertilization, etc. study the crops and 
their culture, the stock aud their treatment. com¬ 
pare your father’s method with OJiers. Learn in 
ivhat they differ and why the difference, suggest 
properly aud politely what, you Hunk would be 
improvements, and give your reasons lor your be¬ 
lief. Always remember here, however, that those 
older than yourself have experience to guide them 
and mauirer minds to judge of the merits or the 
systems they follow, so tr you make suggestions 
be sure to be respectful to your elders. 1 hen 
study books and do not think tills a terrible 
bore. In them you will II nd the digested wisdom 
and experience of ages, and almost always In an 
attractive form. St udy all those which treat on 
subjects relating to your occupation so far us you 
are able to purchase or borrow them, aud you 
would do well to copy all Items which impress you 
strongly, favorably or otherwise. Then study 
some agricultural paper. 1 don’t advise you to 
read It. but. co study it From It you will receive 
Intelligence from ail parts of the country, aud tlie 
experience of ot hers, which will give you a great 
deal to study. 1 would advise you also, to cut. out 
and paste In a scrap book, under proper heads, all 
Items you Und In suc-h papers that seem reliable 
and useful, or to which you may wish to refer. 
Third, work, not for your father alone—or course 
he will expect that—but work fur yourself. Get 
your father to give yuu a piece of land, a quarter, 
naif, or even a whole acre, bull begin small and 
increase afterwards. Now learn running practi¬ 
cally. Make that laud yield you a profit. Be am¬ 
bitious enough to pay rent to your father tor It 
after you get started, in order to put yourself to 
the highest test. 1 r you can start with sod land, 
do so, and put It, the first year uil In com, charging 
yourself with all the manure you think best to 
use. Give It the best of care, and study and work 
that crop MU It surpasses any acre your father 
has. Next year follow It with the usual rotation— 
perhaps one-half in roots aud the other in oats; 
next with oats and barley, and next barley and 
wheat and clover, returning again to corn. By 
this means you will be practicing farming In a 
way that will be of great benefit to you. Take the 
whole responsibility of the crop upon yourself, and 
don’t expect father to tell you when It needs cul¬ 
tivation. Learn that yourself, asking, perhaps, 
his advice. This acre will enable you to take a 
paper or two and purchase what books you desire 
for your further Improvement. Do not be afraid 
to use part, of your land for experimenting and 
carrying out your own ideas, or those you gather, 
never mind how odd they may seem to othei-s. 
Tell your- father that tanners are very negligent 
in omitting thus to train their boys. There Is no 
doubt, however, that he will be one of the thought¬ 
ful ones to give his son every advantage possible. 
Fourth, keep an account, of your operations— 
your expenses-everything that costs you money: 
rent for the land, and your time, too, valued at 
the current wages of your neighborhood, and 
balance It with the sum derived from the sale of 
produce. From this simple example you will have 
learnt the whole practice of farm accounts. 
Fifth. Sell your own products yourself. Here Is 
g matter that is often entirely overlooked by far- 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
mere, and T would lay special emphasis upon It. 
Learn to be a salesman. “ What kind of a sales¬ 
man are you going to be ?” is almost aa Important 
a question as the introductory one. Farming Is a 
business that Is two fold lntts nature, like allother 
businesses, i he merchant must learn to buy and 
then to sell. The same is true of the farmer, lie must. 
Invest and theu sell. The merchant will at least 
partially learn this, but It Is ol equal importance 
to the farmer, and should not be neglected. Now, 
selling rather’s products Is not sufficient, though 
better than nothing done. You must feel a per¬ 
sonal interest in the transaction, and by constant 
practice make yourself a fltvt-ciass salesman, so 
that wUen you come to depend for a living upon 
your own fanning you will understand how to 
handle the mark'1 1 most profitably. 
it you have a desire for stock farming, then let 
your operations and your study and work be with 
them and of them, applying the same suggestions. 
lu a great measure your future Is lu your own 
hands. “ What kind of a farmer are you going to 
be?" 
-♦ » ♦ 
MORE ABOUT THE GLADIOLUS. 
Dear Uncle Make You say the Gladiolus Is a 
leader plant. We have had the bulbs remain in 
the ground during winter when the thermometer 
sank to 10 degrees below zero aud yet grow the 
next season as well aa ever. I know, however, 
t hat only some varieties will thus stand the winter. 
You say also that "each hulb sends up a stem tiro 
jt'rt high.” Now, except several dwarf varieties 
like Ames, the stems (flowering stalks! will aver¬ 
age at least three feet high—at. least our* will. 
You say also thai each stem bears “ a spike of from 
six to twelve flowers." Ours will average twenty. 
Can it be that Uncle Mark Is wrong, or are our 
Gladioli different from those of other people ? In 
either case I hope you will publish my note. If I 
tun wrong. 1 waul to know It ; If you are wrong, 
you must own up. 1 am proud to be one of the 
good Dural's Horticultural Club, and thank you 
sincerely lor the bulb (or conn, as you cull lu 
which I received lu good order through the mall. 
Long may the club live, and long may you live to 
conduct the department and dispense among us 
i he seeds aud plants from tlie " Dural Grounds.” 
My mother says It Is a generous undertaking, but 
only in accordance with the entire management of 
the Rural New-Yorker. Y ours, In the bonds of 
the Y. H. C. ot the It. N. Y., Joe Steele. 
1 thank Joseph for ids criticisms. He is not en¬ 
tirely wrung in Ills statements, though they must he 
taken with some Intrude. He would certainly 
convey a wrong idea of the Gladiolus to those who 
are not acquainted with It, if he In a brief general 
description ut chls dower should say that the flower 
stalks average at least i hree feet in bight, and that 
each spike will bear- twenty flowers. I am loth to 
exaggerate things, so, although 1 have orieu seen 
Gladioli three feet high with a spike of twenty 
flowers or even more on strong specimens, l should 
mislead my young Blends U l stated this as being 
always the case. 1 surmise that Master Joseph is 
a good gardener, who selects the best conns, grows 
them lu a rich, light soil, aud gives them the best 
culture, so to this extent his may he “different 
from those of other people.” 
Gladiolus Gandavensls, the one commonly cul¬ 
tivated In the gardens, Is a hybrid or several spe¬ 
cies from the Cape of Good Hope, chiefly Of the 
species Psittacinus. At the Cape the mean tem¬ 
perature throughout the year Is UT degrees, that of 
the coldest month being 57 degrees and of the hot¬ 
test 79 degrees, so that hardy Gladioli do not spring 
from the Cape species; I have therefore reason to 
believe that the eorras our friend found to be so 
hardy have descended chiefly from the hardy Eu¬ 
ropean species. Uncle Mark. 
-♦♦♦- 
A FEW SHEUB3 AND WHAT TO DO 
WITH THEM. 
(t.) The Tartarian Honeysuckle. — Of all 
shrubs this Is the finest for a screen or an orna¬ 
mental hedge. It needs no pruning whatever. It 
has a wonderful profusion of flowers, which can be 
cut to any extent without damage. If a single 
plant dies down from any cause, It will send up 
vigorous shoots from the roots and hi It he breach 
within six months. It is not ferocious like hush 
thorn or hawthorn. It has no enemies whatever 
that destroy It, and tew that ever take from It a 
leaf. It Is a cleanly, bright-looking shrub, apart 
fj-oni the blossoms. Set the plants about two Of 
three feet apart, anrl the growth will surprise you. 
In two years you wni have a fine screen. Mulch 
with weeds or sawdust or chip manure. There are 
at least three varieties—white, red and pink. The 
white Is dull In blossom and poor th growth. The 
red Is handsome tn bloom and fair In growth. The 
pink is Incomparably the finest or all, for all pur¬ 
poses. Y ou cannot plant H too freely. 
L) A group ok Shrubs for B bio ut ness in 
Early Hubino and Late Autumn.—A group of 
this kind adds greatly to the pleasure of a country 
home. Plant about ten feet apart,, the Foreytlila 
vlrldlsslma; the Red-Barked Dogwood; the Ameri¬ 
can Euonymus; the Purple Filbert; theMahoula; 
and the Golden Yew axid Golden Arbor-Vitte, An 
additional charm will accrue from a few low-trlm- 
med Hemlocks scattered among the rest. The For- 
sytbla is covered with bright, yellow blossoms, 
very early In spring, while Its leaves lnlate au¬ 
tumn give us the rich purple, found nowhere else 
except iu the Ash The Dogwood Is superb lu 
crimson scarlet, both In April aud November. The 
Euonyiuus extends the glory of autumn through 
November. The Mabonla Is a glossy, rich ever¬ 
green, with bright red and yellow shades to the 
new wood. The Berberry and Filbert open the 
season early In May or the last, of April, with a 
very pleasing purple. E. P. Powell. 
SHE APPROVES OF THE HORTICUL¬ 
TURAL CLUB. 
Dear Uncle Mark I heartily approve of the 
Youth’s Horticultural Club, and sincerely believe It 
will prove a grand success. I inclose a letter from 
each of my two little girls, hoping you will par¬ 
don poor writing as their school privileges have not 
been as good as I could wish for. I have generally 
the best vegetable garden tn the neighborhood, 
and am also a great lover of flowers, l am thlnk- 
tngot having a small greenhouse erected this fall 
for the accommodation ot my tender plants, also | 
to start early cabbages and tomatoes. With best 
wishes, I am YIrs. L. I. Abbott. 
Clermont Co., O. 
LETTERS FROM BOYS AND GIRLS. 
Uncle Mark -.—Although I did uot, write for the 
prizes I should like to Join your Horticultural Club, 
aud send you a few garden uotes. About two 
years ago I had a great faney ror making a littte 
pocket-money by gardening, and papa prepared a 
piece of ground by plowing, rolling and harrowing, 
until It was quite fine. I chose, thyme, lavender 
and sage, as they would keep all winter If not sold. 
The sowing of seed Is the most particular work, be¬ 
cause the fate of your crop depends on 1L. if too 
deep they are likely to rot, If not deep enough, to 
dry off; aud It Is not always one can strike a 
“ happy medium.” The thyme and sage grew 
quickly, but the lavender was delicate all the sea¬ 
son, and only rewarded me with some very pleas¬ 
ant perfumed leaves. My thyme, after frequent 
back-achltig warfare, was ready to cut lu early 
September, it was tied in small bunches, hung 
head dow nward In the dark grauery to dry, and 
sold to the amount of $4.78, which was a very good 
return from one ounce of seed, besides supplying 
our own house, and some to give away. But it was 
the sage that caused me sorrow, and yet It grew 
and was harvested the same as the thyme A bout 
a.doilar’s worth had been sold, when one day, be¬ 
ing anxious to get some particular thlug, 1 asked 
mamma to buy It from me. She gave me all I 
asked, $i.5o, and no more alien Goa was given to 
It until a young man, w ho had found a small desert 
of Sahara on the top of his head, came to ask It we 
would sell him some sage as a sped lie for that 
trouble. With her usual generosity, mamma gave 
mm all he could carry home, and imagine my grief 
when the next day he brought her a bag full of 
butternuts, aud It, too. iu a poor nut year, when 
we had none In our own woods. Every lime these 
butternuts went round and l received my share, 
Instead ot being able to distribute them as my 
own, 1 thought of the many people there are in the 
world w T ho would like “ to eat their cuke and have 
it too." And to this day, whenever I see that 
youth whose hair is ret uni Dig with sage results. I 
reflect and moralize. Mary Jack. 
1)rarUncle true; This is the second letter I 
have written to tuc Rural. It seems as though 
the Rural eousin3 were asleep. Come cousins, 
you must wake up or we shall not have any tun. 
The Rural editors were so kind as to give us three 
columns, and I think we ought to occupy a part of 
this space at any rate. Kehc seeker must think he 
is going to over-awe us with his big talk, but be will 
find htmselt very much mistaken. There Is Slayer 
of Conceit; poor fellow, i suppose he has gone to 
sleep and forgotten all about the Dural and Its 
cousins; he started In as though he was going to 
scare us. I sincerely hope that Relic Seeker and 
Jumping Jack will not do as that conceit slayer 
did. 
It. has occurred to me that we might possibly In¬ 
duce 1dm to return to our circle If we renewed his 
subscription, i therefore move that we pass 
around a hat lor this charitable purpose. Be lib¬ 
eral cousins; he was a good fellow. Unt il we hear 
from him, 1 sign myself 
Slayer of conceit's Successor. 
Dear Unclk Mark I have received the prize 
which you sent me, and was very well pleased 
with It, and thank you for It. Mamma and I 
planted a little of each paper of the flower seeds. 
We have a piece of grouud that papa prepared 
in front ot the house nearly all filled up Willi flow¬ 
er shrubs, strawberries and grapes, and also a 
few evergreens. I am going to try and do my best 
with the seeds you sent me, and will let you know 
in the tail how I succeed. We have ret out on 
our prairie home this spring about 3000 cuttings of 
cottonwood and willow, besides planting about a 
thousand small maple and ash trees, as also some 
apple, pear, and cherry trees. 1 hope all the cous¬ 
ins who belong to our Club will do all they can to 
add to the beauty ot their homes. Lizzie Hay. 
Nemaha Go., Kansas. 
<I jje 
HIDDEN INSECTS. 
1. A thorn Ethel got In her fingers. 
2 . l cannot broach the topic. 
3. Get up! Is mire poison ? 
4. Vincent, I pedestrianlze. 
5. 1 have a penchant for fruit, 
6. The patent clasp I derided. 
7. 1 tell ye I,, low Jack etches well, 
s. Do you love a beet, Lewis? 
y. You are rich In children. 
10. Do not chafe, Rufus. 
11 . Tom, It eases me. 
12. Mother Is uot with us. 
13. 1 shall eater PUianno. 
-- 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-May 3. 
Hiijdls WKlulttr. and Measures. -1. Dram; 2. 
Ream; a. (Julri*; 1 . Mite; 6. Fathom ; 6. League; 7. Fereh; 
8. Druobiu ; a Penny weight. 
Hidden Gulfs.—1. S. Matias; 2. Nuevo; 3. Auabar- 
ra; 4. Yeuiseisk; o. Karst iu; 6. iluyona; 7. Tehuante¬ 
pec; 8. Goueluwua; a Maracaibo; 10. Panama; 11. 
Amatiipie; 12. PapiRwyo ; fit. Scalaneva; PI. Batalia; 
15. Maori; IB. Smyrna17. Adramytta; 18. Corn; 19. 
Varna; 2u. Drlno; 21. Cassandra. 
Miscellaneous Enigma.—T emperate In all things. 
Cboss-Word Enigma.—G ood Templars. 
THIS SIDE AND AND THAT. 
A GODLY BALLAST. 
The rich maxi aut in bis father’s seat— 
Purple an’ linen an* a’ thing lino! 
The pair man lay at his irate P the 3treet, 
Bairs an' tatters an’ weary pine. 
To the rich man’s table ilk dainty comes ; 
Mony a morsel gaed frae’t, or fell; 
The puir man iidu wml hae dined ou crumbs. 
But whether te got them I canna tell. 
Servants prood, saft fittlt an’ stock. 
Stan’ by the rich man’s curtained doors; 
Maisterlesg dogs ’at rin aboot 
Cam to the puir man and lickit his sores. 
The rich man deed, and they burled him gran’; 
In liueu line his body they wrap; 
But the angels talk up the beggar man. 
An’ laid him doon lu Abraham’s lap. 
The guidupo’ this side, the ill upo’ that— 
flic was Hie rich man’s woesome la’; 
But his blithers they eat, an’ they drink, an’ they chat. 
An’ caro.ua a strao for their father’s hat’. 
The trowih’s the trowth, think what ye will; 
Ah ! some they kouua what they wad be at; 
But the beggar man thought bo did no that ill, 
Wt’ the dogs o’ this side, tlie angels o' that. 
[ ileorae Macdonald. 
-- 
CHRISTIANIZING THE CHURCHES. 
Even those churches that may be fairly said to 
belong to Christ show In many of their doings a 
deplorable lack of respect for the fundamental 
principles of DIs religion. The social relation of 
many ot them can hardly be called Christ ian. Tbe 
pride and exclusiveness, the lack of friendly sym¬ 
pathy, the division of the body into distinct classes 
of rich and poor, cultivated and illiterate, between 
whom no real bond of brotherhood exists—all this 
is lu direct, disobedience to the organic law of the 
c'hrlstam church. And not only by these unseemly 
gradations of rank and caste, but also by the spirit 
that. Is manifested In the relations ot Christians 
when they are brought together In the churches, Is 
this law set at naught. There are a great many 
petty quarrels about smafl matters, and the Incon¬ 
sistency and shaniefuliiess of this state of tilings 
does not seem to be recognized by many chtuch 
members. Bach man wants Ids own way, and Is 
ready to fight if he cannot have It. in many 
churches there are chrome dissensions. Are there 
Christian churches? Look at that wrangling and 
raging church court now tn session in Brooklyn 1 
Is there anything’ In that city that more needs 
Christianizing than that Presbytery ? 
The financial methods by which these churches 
are often managed find noauthorizatiouln the New 
Testament. 1 he principle of competition upon 
which the commercial operations of society rest, 
aud which Is also brought l u to regulate the finan¬ 
cial affairs of most of our churches, Is not a Chris¬ 
ta In principle. And It can hardly be said that 
Christian principle has much to do with the secu¬ 
lar side of our church organizations. Bo long as the 
man who has the money gets the best seat In 
church, so long as the whole business of distribu¬ 
ting sittings proceeds upon a selfish basis, aud the 
aim of each is to get for himself the best accom¬ 
modations that the place affords at the lowest 
possible price rather Limn to seek the comfort anrl 
pleasure of the rest, so long as many practices of 
questionable honesty are resorted to lor the re¬ 
plenishment or the treasury of the church, there 
will be room for a question whether these Churches 
belong to Christ. Indeed there Is nothing that 
stands more in need ot clnlstlanlzing than the sec¬ 
ular affairs of a good many of our churches. 
it must also be said that there are certain por¬ 
tions of the Sunday services that can scarcely be 
tidied Christian, or even religious, in any sense. 
To assert that the music which is commonly heard 
in our churches la worship, or answers any of the 
purposes of worship, would he hazardous. It is 
sometimes good art, and sometimes It Is not; hut 
li is generally a performance ; It Is rarely au act of 
worship. A nd i Us a serious question w hether the 
Interests of pure religion throughout the land 
would not be promoted by abolishing music from 
all our churches, if it is uot to he abolished, the 
sooner It la Christianized the better .—Sunday a j 
ternoon, 
-♦_*_*- 
QUIET LIVES. 
Christ’s lowly, quiet workers unconsciously 
bless the world. They come out every morning 
from the presence or God and go to their business 
or their household work. A nd all day long as they 
toll they drop gentle words from Ihqlr lips, and 
scatter little seeds of kindness about them; and 
to-morrow iiowcrs from tlie garden of God spring 
up In the dusty streets of earth, and along t be 
hard paths of toll on which their red tread, Mon’ 
than once in the Snip lure the lives of God’s 
people in this world are compared in their influ¬ 
ence to the dew. There may be other points of 
analogy, but specially noteworthy Is the quiet 
manner in which the dew performs Its ministry. 
It rails silently aud Imperceptibly, it makes no 
noise. No one liears It. chopping. It chooses the 
darkness ot the night when men are sleeping, and 
when no man can witness Its beautiful work. It 
covers the leaves with clusters of pearls, it steals 
Into the bosom ot the no were and leaves a new 
cupful of sweetness there. It pours itself down 
among l he roots of the grasses and tender herbs 
and plants. And In the morning there Is fresh 
beauty everywhere, The Helds look greener, the 
gardens are mure fragrant, all life glows and 
sparkles with a new splendor. And Is there no 
lesson here as to the maimer In which we should 
seek to do good In this world? should We not 
strive to have our influence felt rather than to be 
such or heardy should we uot scatter blessings 
so silently and so secretly that no one shall know 
what hand dropped them / The whole spirit of 
the Gospel teaches this •• When thou doest thy 
alms, let not tliy hit hand know what thy right 
hand doeth, that thy alms may be in secret.” we 
are not to seek praise of men. We are not to do 
good deeds to receive rewards from men. We are. 
not to sound trumpets or announce our good deeds 
from the housetop,—Dr. Bushnell. 
