A FINE HEIFER. 
The animal shown at Fig. 10 is said, by the 
London Live Stock Journal, to be one of the 
best living representatives of the Hereford 
breed, being almost perfect in every point. 
She is two years old and is owned by Mr. H. 
W. Taylor. England. She has been remark¬ 
ably successful in tin- show r yard, having taken 
many first prizes, notably one at Monmouth, 
w here she won the champion prize as the best 
cow or heifer on exhibition. 
3vpDust’l Soddies. 
CONVENTION OF THE ILLINOIS STATE 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
(rural special report.) 
The Illinois State Horticultural Society held 
its thirtieth annual meeting on Dec. Sth, 
!)th and 10th, and in point of interest, attend¬ 
ance and display, it was ouo of the most im¬ 
portant of the association’s gatherings. The 
following varieties of vegetables were recom¬ 
mended by the association for Illinois farmers: 
spinach, lettuce, radish, onions, beefs, peas, 
beans, cabbage, parsnips, turnips, Irish and 
sweet potatoes, squash, cucumbers, melons, 
sweet corn. asparagus and rhubarb. 
Dr. IL Shroeder, of Bloomington, introduced 
and’ recommended" the planting of; willow. 
can’be’ easily'takeuFout '"and cleaned. The 
whole arrangement can be set up on posts, as 
shown in|the illustration,! or^fastened to gthe 
walls. 
The Post Office Department has received in¬ 
formation of a supposed swindle by New York 
law sharks operating through a local attorney 
in West Virginia upon a considerable number 
of people who are boil's of an Englishman 
named Drake. The operators are represent ing 
to these heirs, some seven hundred in all, as 
reported, that there is a vast estate in England 
in the name of then - progenitor, Drake, wait¬ 
ing distribution, and that certain litigation is 
necessary before the distribution can lie ac¬ 
complished. The litigation, of course, is some¬ 
what costly, and the heirs must, foot the bill, 
but this it Is held out to them. Is but a mere tri¬ 
fle when compared with the vast benefit to 
accrue to them upon the successful issue of the 
suit, which issue is a eertainty. The last as¬ 
sessment issued for this purpose was for $10 
each for adults of the present generation, and 
for children or sub-hen's in proportion to their 
rights under the law of descent. The local 
attorney, through whom the enterprise is be¬ 
ing operated, lives in Ritchie County, and he 
has succeeded in working up the Drake rela 
presenee'of mind and 'good ' judgment, "would 
in most cases put out a fire as quickly and as 
effectually with water, or whatever might be 
at hand suitable for the purpose,as with a hand 
grenade . Emil Bassett, alias Theodore 
Lenk. alias Pemberton, Ayer & C’o., of 29and 
SI Chatam Street, this city, is a swindler. 
Marsh & Basset Watch Company is another 
alias of the fellow, who also operates under the 
name of the Norman Electric Lamp Company. 
... The Moore’s New Process of butter making 
is a humbug . - • • Again we say no one 
should buy land in Florida until he has in- 
specterl it in person, or got a trustworthy 
friend to do so. There are a great many 
swindling concerns offering land for sale there: 
some of them we have exposed already, and 
wo are investigating others! But it is slow 
work.The American Bureau of Geneo- 
logical Inquiry of New Haveu, Conn.. Is a 
humbug.We do not advise anybody to 
deal with any concern that offers goods at half 
price for SO days or any other period. One | 
concern Is widely advertising an “organetta” 
for $2.25 for 30 days, after which purchasers 
must pay $5! Humbug! 
f or Women. 
CONDUCTED BY MISS BAY CLARK. 
AN UNSATISFACTORY VISIT. 
MAY MAPLE. 
I was just putting the vegetables into the 
kettles for dinn er, when I espied some little 
been accustomed to long walks. But one 
morning I started out for a visit, with her. 
I reached my destination about eleven o’clock, 
feeling a good deal tired and not a little 
hungry.” 
“Mrs. S-seemed overjoyed to see me, 
and we sat and chatted without interruption 
for. perhaps half an hour, and then the duties 
of hostess seemed to rush in upon her mind 
like a great tidal wave. So she excused "her¬ 
self, and began preparations for dinner as I 
supposed. Vegetables and meat were soon 
prepared, the tea kettle filled, and all were set 
on the back part of the stove, to await further 
proceedings. Then a pie was manufactured; 
also two kinds of cake, cookies and biscuit. The 
stove oven was small, admitting but two small 
tins at a time. When her baking, boiling and 
frying were all done, it was nearly three 
o'clock: in addition to all these, three or four 
kinds of sauce were placed upon the table; 
each kind being brought from the cellar, 
which w«.s reached by means of a ladder, and 
through a heavy trap door that was opened 
and closed for each successive article. At last 
everything was smoking upon the table, and 
I flattered myself that my empty stomach 
would soon be comforted, and Mrs. S- 
would be obliged to sit down for a few min¬ 
utes at least. She was about to place the 
chairs, when she declared she could not stom¬ 
ach to eat while her fhx>r was in such a plight. 
So she swept and washed the floor, and changed 
her dress, before having the meal served. As 
it was Autumn when I made my visit vou 
can imagine what a pleasant time I had re¬ 
turning home through the woods after dark. 
He showed that the 
product of an acre 
would be from four 
to eight tons, which 
would sell for $25 to 
$30 per ton. 
In view of the fail¬ 
ures of the past 10 
years,the association 
decided that the best 
10 varieties of apple 
trees, out of a total 
of 1,000 trees, areas 
follows: Red Astrac- 
han, 25; Rtanard, 10; 
Maiden's Blush, 10; 
Ramsdeirs Sweet, 
10; Jonathan, *20; 
Rome Beauty, 20; 
Wineeap, 10; Miuk- 
ler, 20: Ben Davis, 
475; Willow Twig, 
400. It was decided 
to be u nprofitable to 
raise more than two 
crops of strawberries 
from one planting. 
The fruit display of 
the association was 
the finest, ever made, 
there being over 300 
varieties of apples. 
It was the general 
opinion that the ex¬ 
hibit far surpassed 
“I was bitterly 
fisappointed; I want- 
ri to have a good 
visit with her intel¬ 
lectually. For she 
was well read and 
possessed splendi 
conversational pow¬ 
ers. which she used 
to good advantage 
when away from 
home. But that day 
her whole mind was 
engaged in exhibit¬ 
ing her ability as 
cook and housekee] - 
er 
“That, was a visit 
that crave no oleas- 
ure to mvself as 
guest, and I am sure 
the tired, overwork¬ 
ed hostess would 
much rather I nad 
remained at home.’’! 
What nonsense"! 
and yet who has 
not passed through 
the same experience? 
And who has not 
relished the simp’e 
fare of bread and 
butter with a cup of 
tea or coffee, and 
perhaps a sip of 
those of New Or- IIEREFORD VANITY 7th. (Re-engravecl from the London Live Stock Journal.) Fig. 10. sauce, withja chatty 
leans'and the Dlinois friend, and at the 
State Fail'. * -41 
Thejnext annual meet.ing'of’the ’association 
will be‘held at Jacksonville, “subscriber.” 
HEN ROOST. 
We show, at Fig. 5, a design for a handy 
hen roost, for which we have to thank our 
friend, Lynn D. Wood, of Eldon, N. Y. This 
^_IV 
Fig. 5. 
roost is very simple and can be constructed at, 
little or no exjxmse. For cleanliness, which is 
of the utmost importance in poultry keeping, 
and for handiness in clearing uwa.v the drop¬ 
pings, it will behai'd to heat. The end boards 
are sawed out in the shape represented at the 
bottom of the figure. The roosts’ are round, 
with the ends hewed to fit into the notches. 
The boards at the lower end are nailed fast to 
the side-pifcces; bqt the bottom boards are 
simply placed on cleats so that they can be re¬ 
moved at will and cleaned. The roosts, too, 
tiouship into a state of infatuation over the 
early prospects of great wealth. It is thought 
the ease will come under the statute prescrib¬ 
ing a penalty for using the United States 
maiLs for fraudulent purposes. The Drake 
kindred are said to live principally in Ritchie, 
Kanawha, Clay, lloan and Calhoun Counties. 
A Southern paper has reached this office 
which contains t he advertisement of an uncom¬ 
monly gifted physician. It is stated that 
“From a strictly scientific knowledge of the 
structure of man, He tells the Disease at a 
Glance, Without asking any Questions, Look¬ 
ing at the Tongue of Feeling the Pulse.” It is 
further stated—iu order that the climax should 
not be left without a nice, becoming cap—that 
“No examination is necessary—no information 
from the Patient—no previous knowledge of 
the Case. Every ache, pain and disagreeable 
feeling pointed out and described fully, clearly 
explicitly and better than the patients can 
themselves.” It is unnecessary to say that this 
! is the sort of a doctor for whom the world has 
anxiously boon waiting. He ought to have a 
| great career before him—if he dosen’t die pre- 
■ maturely of modesty- Of course he is a fraud. 
| Have nothing to do with such charlatans, who 
are quite numerous in country places. 
To Several Inquirers; We have received 
favorable reports of B. V. Head, Vienna, Ya. 
I . The Bohemian Oats swindle has been 
frequently exposed in this place during the 
last five or six years.The chemical com¬ 
pound in most, if not in all, of the hand gren¬ 
ade extinguishers is but little, if any, better 
than a strong solution of salt and water. Their 
efficacy for extinguishing fires depends entirely 
upon the coolness and accuracy of the person 
using them, and*a person possessing the same 
folks, one, two, three, passing the window. 
One was a little toddler, carried in the arms 
of an elder brother, so I knew their mamma was 
not far away, and most likely their papa had 
gone to the barn; and so it proved. 
They all received a cordial welcome, for 
they were old time friends. “But how about 
the dinner?” I hear some nervous Martha in¬ 
quire. “An addition of five make such a 
difference in one’s previous calculations. One 
always wants to treat their honored guests to 
the best the house affords, and that may be 
nothing rich or rare. 
Very true. But at our house “the best” 
docs not mean a great display of tempting 
dishes. Our guests share with us of our “daily 
rations,” except on state occasions. And so, 
in the present case, there w as merely an ad¬ 
dition in quantity of what we were about to 
cook before the arrival of our friends. And 
while the vegetables and meat were cooking 
we visited. For very soon we had the little 
folks settl 'd with a box of toys (which we keep 
for the especial benefit of the children who 
visit us), and L-had come into the kitchen 
saying she came for a visit and she hoped 1 
would not put myself to any unnecessary 
trouble on their account. 
When I told her that I prized her society too 
highly to spend the whole of the day iu getting 
up a royal feast for stomachs alnue, she 
laughed and said that reminded her of an in¬ 
cident in her life that she too well remembered. 
“And it happened,” said she, “when we were 
pioneers in'this northern region. 
“You remember.” she continued, “where 
Mi's. S— used to live when they first moved 
into the countv. It must have been about 
four miles from our place, and I had never 
same time been re¬ 
freshed. entertained and instructed. 
Why spend the whole time of your visitor’s 
stay in getting up a great feast, when you 
have good reason for believing thev have 'an 
abundance, at home, of the good things of 
earth? 
Farmers can live, and should set an every¬ 
day table good enough for anv chance friend 
who may come, uo matter what his calling 
may be. and when a farmer’s wife must spend 
a whole day to get up a meal for a single 
gnest, on an ordinary occasion, it oertainlv 
looks as though good living was for company 
and not for the family. 
THREE NEW YEAR’S DAYS. 
ANNIE L. JACK. 
“I’ll never come back till Pm rich enough 
to buy out Squire Watson.” Thespeaker was 
a lad of IS, and he bad his hand on the latch 
of the kitchen door, while saying good-bve to 
his mother and vouneer sister. A fierce 
hatred of farm life had possessed him for 
years, and he was at last ahout. to be emanci¬ 
pated, for Dickson Lawton A Co. had sent 
word from the far off eitv to select them a 
clerk, and the Sunday-school superintendent, 
to whom the letter came, gave George Bush- 
nell the first chance, and he could not give up 
the long coveted opportunity. So a neighbor 
bad engaged to work the farm on shares, and 
everything was arranged for bis going, only 
it did seem too bad that he had to say good¬ 
bye on New Year's Dav, in order to reach his 
destination in time for work the day after, 
ami Mrs. Bushnell’s face paled, aud her heart 
sank at the thought of the long, winter'even- 
ings on the lonely farm without George’ 
