The rural new-yoih’ k. 
jUl tin 
“SOMEBODY'S MOTHER.” 
The woman was old aud ragged aud gray. 
And bent with the chill of the winter's day; 
The streets were white with a recent snow, 
And the womau’s feet with age were Blow. 
Down the street, with laughter aud shout, 
Glad in the freedom of " school let out," 
Came happy boys like a flock of sheep. 
Hailing the snow, piled white and deep. 
Past the woman, so old and gray, 
Hastened the ehildren on their wuy. 
None offered a helping hand to her, 
So w T eak, ho timid, afraid to stir, 
Lest the carriage wheels or the horses’ feet 
Should trample her down in the slippery street. 
At last came out Of the merry troop. 
The gayest boy of all the group; 
He paused beside her, and whispered low, 
‘‘ I’ll help you across it you wish to go !*' 
Her aged hand on his strong, young arm 
She placed, and so, without hurt or harm, 
He guided her trembling feet along. 
Proud that bis own were firm aud strong; 
Then back again to his friends he went. 
His young heart happy aud well content. 
“ She’s 1 Somebody's Mother,’ hoys, you know', 
Fox' all she is aged, and poor, and slow. 
And some one, some time may lend a hand 
To help my mother—you uuderstaud— 
If ever sha’s poor, aud old, and gray. 
And her own dear boy is far away!” 
“ Somebody’s Mother” bowed low her head 
In her home that night, and the prayer she said 
Was " God be kind to that noble hoy. 
Who is Somebody’s Son, and pride, and Joy.” 
-- 
THE FRUIT GROWER’S FAMILY, 
William’s Amateur Nursery. 
REV. HENRY g. CI.UBB. 
When William was only fourteen, he prevailed 
upon his father to mark off from the fruit farm 
some 20 square rods of ground for a little nursery 
on which he could raise fruit and ornamental trees. 
The ground was nearly level and rather too light 
for the purpose. The first thing was to get It well 
plowed and the sod well covered. This was done 
lu the fall. It was two rods wide aud ten rods 
long. When the spring came, William dug the 
ground, loosening the subsoil with a digging fork, 
lie then procured trom a neighboring swamp a 
large number of young American Arbor-YiUe. He 
was very careful to keep the rooks moist and to 
prevent their exposure to tne sun and -wind. He 
selected those about a toot high aud planted them 
a foot apart all rouud his nursery, leaving a gate 
at each end. 
The other Arbor- vital plants he also assorted 
according to size. Those about six Inches high, he 
planted in rows to root aud strengthen. The rows 
were 18 inches apart and the plants a foot apart In 
the rows. Oi these he formed a bed two rads long 
by one rod in width. The larger plants, those from 
two to four feet high, he pmntedln a bed by them¬ 
selves, giving them more room* They all grew, 
with very few exceptions. 
He also procured young Hemlocks from the forest 
aud assorted thenr In a similar manner, taking 
care to shade them from the sun, as the season 
advanced, lie did this by forming a rough shed 
with pine crotches and cross pieces, laying pine 
bows on top. Three rods were thus occupied. 
lie had saved up peach pits the season previous¬ 
ly and sowed them In rows occupying four rods 
more with them. The apple seeds he had saved 
during the previous season, he also sowed, occu¬ 
pying a similar space, lie obtained from a distant 
nursery in Wisconsin, aso Norway Spruces, six 
Inches high, and 250 Balsam Firs. With these he 
planted the balance of bis ground, six rods. 
In the latter end of August of the same year, 
the Peach trees having acquired a fair growth, 
William tried his hand at budding. He had seen 
that operation performed at the nurseries and 
studied the subject well. He procured buds from 
the Hale's Early, Early Crawford, old Mixon and 
Late Crawford, of his father’s orchard, and after 
repeated experiments succeeded In placing the 
bud3 lu the stock near the root, to his satisfaction. 
He only budded those slocks that showed evidence 
of superior thrift and vigor. 
In the fall he dug up the young Apple seedlings 
and packed them away nicely in sand In the cellar. 
During the winter, when his school lessons were 
learned, he would devote an hour or so to grafting 
choice varieties on the Apple-roots, dividing each 
root and making as many stocks as Its growth 
would permit. He packed away his young grafted 
trees carefully labelled according to name, and In 
the spring he planted them in rows setting a stake 
to each row, to show the number, and making a 
ret;ord In a book, of the variety Indicated by each 
number. As he had not l oom In his nursery for 
all this young stock, his father permitted him to 
plant out several long rows near by betw een his 
nursery and the orchard. 
Duriug the ensuing summer, William was very 
attentive to his young trees, kept them clear of 
weeds and hoed them so as to prevent their suffer¬ 
ing from drought. The result was ills trees made 
a good growth. Some of the buds on the Peach 
trees failed, but those that lived grew finely, and 
he trimmed off all the seedling wood above the 
bud, and by a little attention to the small shoots, 
secured a nice growth of straight, steins. The 
Apple grafts, although slowly, made steady pro¬ 
gress, and by the end ol the second year William 
found himself the owner of several thousand 
Peach and Apple trees one year from the bud. 
To encourage his Industry, William’s father 
purchased two thousand Peach treeB of him, and 
paid him $100. They were planted out, for min g a 
new Peach orchard, on a piece of table-land com¬ 
manding a view of Lake Michigan, at an elevation 
of about loo feet above the level of the lake. 
William continued raising Peach trees from seed 
every second year alter this, and became qidte ex¬ 
pert In budding. 
The Apple trees remained In the nursery rows 
three summers, and when we visited the place, 
presented a very handsome appearance. Some of 
the Wagner Apple trees were bearing fruit hi the 
nursery rows. 
The Norway spruce and Balsam Fir trees had 
made very handsome .growth in tne rows. They 
needed but little attentlou, except keeping them 
clear of weeds and cultivating In dry weather. A 
little healing in bad produced a very thick growth, 
and persons ornamenting their grounds came to 
look over the rows of William's evergreens and 
mark such os they desired for t ransplanting the 
next season. 
The Hemlocks had made a slow growth, and 
since the flrst year had been subjected to light 
pruning at, the tip end of the limbs, so as to get 
them into shape, but they had not yet made suffi¬ 
cient growth to make them desirable for trans¬ 
planting. 
The Arbor-Vita® did better. The largest ones 
had been carefully sheared and kept free from 
dead foliage, and were greatly admired for their 
fresh, green color and vigorous growth, as well as 
for their compact, solid appearance. Some or the 
larger ones had been trimmed Into fantastic 
shapes, and had become “double” and some 
“treble-deckers,” as they were called by visitors. 
Those Arbor- vita' vital were quite large when 
brought from the swamp were treated to such ju¬ 
dicious shearing as their peculiar shapes rendered 
necessary, one of the trees was about Hie litght 
of a lady, and by careful trimming It had assumed 
the form of the prevailing fashion—a tall, elegant 
figure, with high hat and feathers, a reasonably 
good bust, with the “pull-back” behind and a 
graceful flowing train. The outline of a fashiona¬ 
ble lady was remarkable aud striking, and on fes¬ 
tive occasions, when ills sisters were having a 
birthday party, aud were showing their pets and 
flowers, William would adroitly fix a mask on Ills 
tree-lady, perfecting the resemblance so as to 
cause much merriment among the young guests. 
The Arbor-Vine hedge around William’s little 
nursery had, in four years, grown to quite a re¬ 
spectable screen. Frequent shearings had pre¬ 
vented its becoming over three feet high, but ns 
solid, compact and beautiful appearance was re¬ 
marked by all, and really, with the flue shrubs 
arid trees wltliiu the enclosure, made a very at¬ 
tractive feature of the homestead. 
Now, all the cash expenditure for this nursery 
did not exceed live or six aoliars; the rest was all 
accomplished by William's own labor and tlie use 
of the farm implements, and occasionally a horse 
belonging to the farm. The labor was performed 
at leisure intervals Horn other duties at school 
aud on the fai m, aud lu time that would ordinarily 
have been wasted lu Idleness. The stock resulting 
might, without close figuring, bo estimated as fol¬ 
lows 
2,iKK) Peach trees, sold.$100 00 
a,00(i Apple trees, for sale.y 300 00 
200 Norway Spruce.^ 40 00 
200 Balsanx Fir. 40 00 
200 Arbor Vitic, large. 40 00 
400 “ “ and Hemlock, small. 20 00 
8540 00 
Besides tills, there was a second stock of young 
Peach trees ready for sale In the fall or spring, 
which, when sftld, would realize $L00 more. 
Here was William, at the age of Is, the owner of 
this amount of personal property. The appear¬ 
ance of the nursery had so improved the farm that, 
had it been offered for sale, it would have realized 
several hundred dollars more than It would before 
William commenced his nursery. 
But the pecuniary advantage to W illiam and his 
father was a small consideration compared with 
the moral advantage gained. During these four 
years William’s attentlou had been so taken up 
with his nursery that, he had no time to spend in 
the village with "the boys.” At the very time 
when wild habits are too usually formed, he had 
been occupied In studying the nature of liiapet 
trees aDd plants and In perfecting himself In the 
arts of bUddlhg, grafting, pruning, shearing and 
the like, so as to produce the best results. Ho 
had, in tact, acquired knowledge and experience 
worth much more to him than all his nursery 
stock, aud bad become an important and Intelli¬ 
gent. Help to Ids father oil the farm. 
Now, with Amy’s Botanical Garden on the lslaud 
on one side, aud William’s Evergreen and Fruit 
tree nursery on the other, the flue oroflard lu the 
rear and the young Peach orchard ou the hill, the 
Fruit Grower’s home was greatly Improved and at¬ 
tracted attention from every passer by. The 
whole family learned to love the home because it 
was a very beautiful and delightful oue, aud It had 
a great influence in promoting, by example, the 
Improvement of all the fruit farms In the neigh¬ 
borhood. 
THE HORTICULTURAL CLUB. 
Lt may interest the cousins at this time to read 
a short review of the history of the above-named 
club, and tvhat It has accomplished In tne way of 
making horticulturists. The proposal that the 
cousins should unite to form a horticultural soci¬ 
ety, or club, was flrst made In the latter part of 
March of this year. With the wide-awake alacrity 
that distinguishes tbe Rural Cousins, quite a num¬ 
ber responded immediately, and, providing them¬ 
selves with gardens, seeds and plants, they 
straightway began gardening in good earnest^ 
Since then, I have daily received applications for 
membership, till at present, when the organiza¬ 
tion is not yet hatl-a-year old, there are upwards 
of 600 names on my list ol members. These young 
gardeners are not confined to one State or Bectlon of 
the country, but are scattered all over the United 
States and Canada, wherever the Bubal Is read. 
The object in forming this club was to create in 
its members a love for a useful Industry, to fur¬ 
nish them recreation, pleasure and profit. How 
well the object has been accomplished, can best be 
Judged of by reading the letters and reports of the 
members from week to week. Nearly all of them 
have gardens, in which they cultivate all kinds of 
vegetables and flowers, and some pay more atten¬ 
tion to the cultivation or house plants. 
There are two Inducements for the young to Join 
the club, namely, profit and plea.su re. Asa source 
of profit, gardening has proved a paying business, 
especially to thq boys who live hear towns, many 
of whom raise onions, peas, beans, radishes, celery 
and other vegetables that meet with a ready sale, 
in this way they not only turn many a dollar, but 
acquire habits of Industry that will he of Infinitely 
more worth to them than the money. 
As a source of pleasure, none can realize what 
gardening is, but those who have the horticultural 
fever, to all others It appears at best but an ec¬ 
centricity. It cultivates a taste for the beauti¬ 
ful; lt elevates the mind and promotes purity of 
thought by diverting the attention from baser 
topics. It Is an indefinable satisfaction that one ex¬ 
periences when he beholds the plants lie ha* been 
so faithfully tending and finds they respond to his 
efforts by a thrifty, luxuriant, growth, as It they 
were grateful for his care. It Is this profit, this 
pleasure, this recreation and this formation of in¬ 
dustrial habits that the Horticultural Club Is de¬ 
signed to promote among the many young readers 
of the Rural. To still further encourage the en¬ 
terprise, I have several times sent the members 
seeds of such plants as they can easily cultivate, 
either as prizes or gifts, and I Intend to continue 
to do so rrom time to time. The Club Is prosper¬ 
ous, and let all those cousins who would nice to 
reap the benefits it may confer make lt still more 
so by joining. Uncle Mark. 
CULTURE OF THE TUBEROSE. 
Dear Uncle Mark I am not a child, hut a 
reader of your very excellent paper the Rural 
New-Yorker, and as such L have learned a great 
many very valuable things through the Horti¬ 
cultural Club concerning plants, flowers etc. We 
have success with all kinds ol house plants, and 
flowers excepting tuberoses. I have had them 
four years and they have never bloomed since 
l got tne first bulb. I would like to have, some 
light as how to keep them over winter, and how 
to plant in the spring In order to have them 
bloom. 1 am almost discouraged hi trying to 
care lor them. By giving the desired Informa¬ 
tion you will greatly oblige A Reader. 
Columbiana Co., o. 
1 print the above letter in this department be¬ 
cause the answer may prove especially interesting 
to my young- relatives. 
The Tuberose belongs to t he Amaryllis family, 
and Us botanical name Is FolUaithen ticberosa. It 
lias been cultivated in Europe nearly 300 years, 
having been brought, Into France In 15**4. Botan¬ 
ists arc not agreed as to which country Is 
its native home, some maintaining that lt 
first came from Mexico, and others that lt orig¬ 
inated In East India. However this may he, lt Is 
a tropical plaut and requires a long warm season 
in order to flower out-of-doors. The bulb Is pear- 
shaped and not very large; a good sized bulb 
measures about, two and a quarter inches from 
base to apex, and one and a half Inch In diame¬ 
ter. It throws up a flowerslalk two to four reel 
high bearing on the top some twenty or more 
pure white aud very fragrant flowers. A variety 
bears double flowers, lu the Northern states the 
bulbs should be planted In boxes or pots and 
started In a greenhouse or warm window in the 
beginning of April. Near the end of June when 
all danger of cold weather Is past the plants may 
be thumped out of the pots and planted, with a 
ball of earth adhering, in rich soil out-of-doors. 
During the summer nothing further is required 
than to keep the bed ole.au and tie the flower- 
stalks to stokes when they become so high that 
there is danger of their breaking. They will be¬ 
gin to bloom In .September and continue until 
killed by frost. To prolong the flowering they 
can be carefully lifted, planted In pots and re¬ 
moved to the house. For winter flowering bulbs 
may be planted lu August In boxes or on a bed In 
the greenhouse. Such bulbs must have been 
kept over Horn ike previous summer. It will not 
do to attempt to make young bulbs flower in the 
winter after they have been growing all summer. 
The greatest trouble amateurs meet with is per¬ 
haps hi wintering the bulbs. They must be kept 
dry and lu ft place where the temperature never 
falls below 50 degrees. Below this the embryo 
tlowerstolk In the bulb will be destroyed and the 
grower disappointed hi the expectation of get¬ 
ting flowers; if they can be kept at a uni¬ 
form temperature of between oo and 70 degrees 
all winter, then all the better. 
Another source of disappointment to those who 
are not acquainted with the plant Is that it 
flowers but once. All bulbs that have once shown 
flowers are valueless and may he thrown away. 
The stock is kept up by the young bulbs that ap¬ 
peal - by the side of the old ones. These are re¬ 
moved In the fall or better lu the spring after hav¬ 
ing been wintered as above stated, and planted 
In rows in the garden for one or two seasons, ac¬ 
cording to size, till they become large enough to 
flower, it thus requires a little Skill and care¬ 
ful treatment to grow the tuberose successfully, 
but the flower Is so handsome, pure, modest, and 
deliciously fragrant that lt richly repays the 
trouble. Uncle Mark. 
Dear Uncle Mark:—A s 1 have been so long 
writing, I thought 1 would write now. And If lt Is 
not. too late, l wish Uncle Mark would put my 
name od the club list. I am very fond of flowers, 
and 1 have plenty of room for gardening, as 1 live 
in the country. We have lived In the country al¬ 
most two years; 1 do not like to live lu the coun¬ 
try so very much. Please publish this, uncle. 
Respectfully yours, 
Crawfordsville, Ind. Maple Leaves. 
% 4hu.ila. 
HIDDEN SEAS. 
1 . I ask an easy question, 
2 . ’Twas Askar shoye; 
3. In music Illcha excels, 
4 . ’Tls Baskatn T Chatka. 
5 . I Leux in Eva’s yard, 
6 . On e river Tiber l asked her hand. 
SV Answer In two weeks. Little One. 
•-—- 
DIAGONAL PUZZLE. 
i. A consonant; a. Two consonants; 3. A river 
of Australia; 4. Part, ot a fence; 5. Rustic; 6. A 
city of New York; 7. Mts. of Ireland; Primals and 
diagonals form birds. 
S &~Answer In two weeks. L. O 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-Aug. 23. 
Half V.'oun Square:— 
RALPH 
Avon 
Lot 
Answer to Prize Puzzle.— Manslaughter. 
THE GOLDEN SIDE. 
There is many a rose in the road of life. 
If we would only BtOp to take it; 
And many a tone from the belter land, 
if the tpiernlons heart would make It; 
To the gunny soul that is full of hope, 
And whose beautiful trust ne’er faileth. 
The grass is green aud the flowers are bright, 
Though the winter storm prevaileth. 
Better to hope, though the clouds hang low, 
And to keep the eyre still lifted; 
For the sweet blue sky will still peep through, 
When ominous clouds ace lifted; 
There was never a night without a day, 
Oran evening without a morning: 
And the darkest hour, as the proverb goes, 
Is the hour before the dawning. 
There is many a gem in the path of life, 
Which we pass in our idle pleaHure, 
That, is richer far than the jeweled crown. 
Or the miser's hoarded treasure; 
It may' be the love of a little child. 
Or a mother’s prayer to Heaven, 
. Or only a beggar’s grateful thanks 
For a cup of water gi ecu. 
Better to weave in the web of life 
A bright and golden filling. 
And to do God's will with u ready heart, 
And hands that arc ready and Willing, 
Than to snap tho delicate, minute threads 
Of our curious lives asunder, 
Aud then blame Heaven for the tangled ends, 
And sit and grieve and wonder. 
-- 
SECULAR DANGERS OF THE CLERGY. 
The dangers begin before tbe clergy are clergy¬ 
men. They begin at the moment when the young 
man Is questioning himself whether he shall be a 
Clergyman Or not. They' start up among the mo¬ 
tives which replenish the ranks of the ministry. 
Homo writers have brought lt as a serious ob¬ 
jection to public efforts for tills replenishments 
that many men In orders are but partly paid, or 
that, not being settled In parishes, they are left to 
poverty ; In other wrnrdB. they objeet that to In¬ 
crease the ministry increases competition for 
whatever money the people are ready to pay for 
chureU services, to the pecuniary inconvenience of 
those who are already ordatned. There Is matter 
for much Bpeeeh less meditation both in tiffs view 
of the subject itself, and In the tepid mist or mild 
assent which seems to rise and diffuse itself when 
It is propounded. As a suggestion In political 
economy, or as a precaution of personal thrift, the 
point appears to he well taken and quite beyond 
dispute. In the whole animal world the Instinct 
of self-preservation Is sure not only to survive, but 
to assert Itself, and the tragic struggle for exist¬ 
ence goes on, if without, much magnanimity, at 
least with common consent. The material king¬ 
dom can hardly be expected to conquer its own 
laws, or to ascend by natural levitation into su¬ 
pernatural air. 
When men repeat such maxims as these , “ Min¬ 
isters, after alt, are men, with flesh and blood, like 
the rest; ” •* We must all live ;” “ Faith aud hope 
will not buy bread and butter;” “It is all very 
well to talk about doing good, but, here Is a family 
that must lie fed and clothed “ one salary will 
not go rouud among three clergymen”—-wlml is to 
be said 7 One does not care to buckle on spurs 
and run a till;against a physical necessity. In the 
range of bodily wants, a plea of starvation Is the 
end of controversy. But, we are all agreed that 
there is another sphere -a region where the spirit 
Ol man lives, breathes, grows, and puts forth its 
power; where a universe of unseen realities stands 
in order aud grandeur ; where disinterested sym¬ 
pathies, unselfish motives, holy heroism, divine 
compassions, magnanimity, sacrifice, and the pas¬ 
sion for saving other souls play and rule. The 
room Is largo, but there Is no place there lor the 
competition® or calculations ol' demand aud sup¬ 
ply. Rules of political economy and personal 
thrift do not apply there. There Is never any em¬ 
barrassment Horn surplusage, never a glut In the 
market, l u that domain belongs the ministry of 
Christ, who Is its King. This ministry is Its spe¬ 
cial product.— Tho Ohurvhtrmn. 
-f-M—- 
Contention among Christians is a fire-ship sent 
in by Satan to break their unity and order.— Gur- 
nall. 
