tKb RURAL 
APRIL 8 
and fertilizer-distributing machine. The in¬ 
ventor claims to have reached the acme of 
perfection by reducing his implements to the 
simplest possible mechanism, and doing away 
with the many springs and valves which cause 
so much auoyanee when out of order. The 
implements are cheap and serviceable. Send 
for the circular. 
Catalogue of the Eagle Pencil Com¬ 
pany. office 73 Franklin Street, New York.— 
An elegant pamphlet of 65 pages. We have 
all used the Eagle pencil. The fact that its 
use increases from year to year is a sure sigu 
of its great merit. Since 18(50 it has steadily 
won its way into favor. Testimonials as to 
the excellence of this pencil are printed from 
many of our best educators. 
Percheron Horses. —A circular from M. 
W. Dunham, of Wayne. Illinois, states that 
although his sales this season have been nu¬ 
merous and satisfactory, he has still ou 
baud at his Oaklawn Farm, 00 imported, ac¬ 
climated, tried and guaranteed Percberon 
stallions weighing from 1,600 to 2,000 pounds, 
and old enough for service. 
Stephen Hoyt’s Sons, New Cauaan, Conn. 
—An illustrated catalogue (80 pages) of 
apples, jiears, plums, cherries, grapes (foreign 
aud native), small fruits of all kinds; trees, 
shrubs, etc., for ornament: hedge, plants, 
roses, clematis, etc., etc. A valuable feature 
of this catalogue is that it gives the season 
when the fruits are in use. This is a good, 
old trusty firm. Catalogue free. 
G ame Fowls. —Pamphlet from E. T. Baily. 
Mount Kisco, N. Y., well arranged, condensed 
and practical. Sound advice as to the treat¬ 
ment of the more common poultry diseases is 
given. All who are interested in these belli¬ 
gerent specimens of the- feathered race will 
find much to interest them in this pamphlet. 
River-Side Poultry Yards. -Circular 
from R. Vanderboveu, Rahway, N. .1. Good 
fowls from prize stock. The specialties are 
Bronze turkeys, Rouen and Pekin ducks, 
Langshans and Leghorns. We also notice 
pictures of White-Crested Black Polish, Black 
Javas and Wyandottes. 
Hoyey & Co., lfi South Market St., Bos- 
tou, Mass.—Au illustrated catalogue of seeds. 
Among a long list of novelties we see the 
Monarch Rhubarb, which, last year, gave at 
the Rural Grounds the largest stems w F e have 
ever seen. It is said to be of superior quality. 
A new potato, raised by Mr. Brezee. the in. 
troducer of the Early Rose, is announced. It 
is said to he about as early as Early Rose, of 
fine quality and very productive. Catalogue 
free. 
-» ♦ ♦ 
» 
THE NAIL HIT ON THE HEAD. 
While the genuine butter-makers have just 
cause to claim the protection of the Govern¬ 
ment from fraudulent imitations, it seems to 
me that the unwitting and innocent consumers 
have infinitely greater claim and cause for 
the same protection, and if they would com¬ 
bine their efforts and demand their reasonable 
rights through the proper mediums, and, if 
necessary, lay siege to the iniquitious abom¬ 
ination of “oleo” with all its allies, it eao be 
overthrown. E. C. P. 
Rosemond, Ill. 
fov Women. 
CONDUCTED BY MISS RAY CLARK. 
ETAGERE. 
A modern parlor without some article in it 
from the new schools of art is not to be thought 
of as finished. We do not advocate lining the 
walls with plush banners, placques, Christmas 
cards and such like, although a few of 
your friends to make a display of them all at 
the same time. Something new is alw'ays 
eagerly looked for, and we present our lady 
readers with what may be decidedly new to 
many, while at least it has the advantage in 
being of real service after it is made, which 
but few fancy articles can boast. This is an 
etag^re for parlor or drawing room, and is in 
the form of a ladder, which is made of pine 
or w hite wood and covered with plush. It is 
an exceedingly nice piece of work to do this 
well, yet it can be perfectly done, and we 
suggest that there be no haste while doing it. 
A handsome shade of green plush is the pretti¬ 
est, unless this col or will not correspond with 
the other articles of furniture in the room; 
then, of course, select that color which will 
be best suited to them. Use the best white 
glue, and do not make it too thin, or it will 
moisten the plush too much. The top of the 
brackets look well if thickly studded with 
gilt or brass nails, or they may be covered 
with the plush also. A brass rod fastens 
the uprights at the top, where is tied two large 
bows of satin ribbon—yellow if green plush 
is used. A handsome art fringe is needed to 
finish the edges of the brackets, which can be 
put on with gilt nails. 
A SURE WAY TO SUCCESS. 
Prudence of the rl«ht stamp seeks the attainment of 
worldly objects by worthy and suitable means. 
Old Maxim. 
This old saying does not condemn the seek¬ 
ing after the good things of this world, but 
only to the use of unlawful or unworthy 
means in the attainment of them. The person 
who loves to stand in high esteem with those 
who know him, who seeks to elevate himself 
by decrying others of whom he is envious, for 
fear such a one may lie in advance of himself 
in popularity, is using despicable means of 
elevating himself. 
An office seeker, who to win a desired posi¬ 
tion tries to gain favor with those with whom 
the decisiou rests, by flattery or intrigue, dis¬ 
plays no genuine prudence at all, but shows 
unmistakably his own unfitness to be trusted. 
Starting in life, the mau who might truly be 
called prudent will not begin the foundation 
of a fortune by endeavoring to obtain an un¬ 
due advantage over those with whom he deals, 
but will lay deep aud strong the foundation of 
a character for uprightness, which will be 
wortb more to him in the future than all his 
dishonest gains. 
Success, to a well balanced mind, means 
not the mere possession of abundant wealth, 
but the knowledge that no stain of unworthi¬ 
ness rests on the means by which they were 
won. 
Motive determines the quality of an act, and 
a good man will endeavor always to act ac¬ 
cording to the rules of right, and will decline 
to profit by a promising op]>ortuuity, if to do 
so would be selfish or dishonest. 
A conscientious lawyer will not throw the 
whole force of his talents on the side of a 
cause which he knows to be morally wrong; 
nor will au upright physician work on the 
fears or ignorance of a rich patient, with a 
view to making a large bill for attendance. 
Men muy try to excuse such conduct by 
pleading lint everyone does each things 
can. or that money is what people will work 
for, lint it shows a low state of moral feeling 
in men when they do so. 
A lawyer need not accept a client wiiom he 
sees is in the wrong, if he knows that another 
will be readily found who will accept the case. 
No man’s prosperity depends ou wrong doing, 
even if the world looks complacently on such 
conduct. So, men should seek worthy ends 
by worthy means. solitude sweetened. 
WORK AT SOCIAL GATHERINGS. 
The amount of work accomplished by the 
ladies of our sewing circle has been consider¬ 
able. 
At the time of our organization, the women 
were nearly all strangers to each other. 
They had come from almost every State in 
the Union, attracted by our healthful climate 
aud our social aud educational advantages, 
aud also by the fact that our young city hail 
been established with a temperance foundation 
that was as firm as that of older temperance 
cities in the COU ntry. So along with our first 
sewing came the task of getting acquainted 
with each other and a delightful task it was; 
for one might travel fur and not be able to 
find another organization of women so earnest 
in purpose, so charitable and true as this sew¬ 
ing circle contained. Everything moved 
along with ease and harmony. 
There being a scarcity of needy people in 
our thriving town and also a scarcity of 
domestic help, our work at once took the form 
of helping the different members out with 
their family sewing. The first year we tried 
sewing in the circle at 10 cents per hour each; 
but this proved unsatisfactory, and we changed 
the price of sewiug to a given sum for each 
garment or piece. Sometimes a quantity of 
sheets and pillow-slips would be sent, in to 
be made; again we had numberless garments 
for families of small children. 
Numerous quilts and comforters were made 
for parties sending them in. We became 
quite proud of our reputation for quilting 
nice shell patterns, and for tacking comfort¬ 
ers. Then we had chosen a woman for our 
president, who knew how to make all such 
things. Two sewing machines—second hand 
ones—were bought to help us along with the 
large amounts of sewing that we wore called 
upon to do. These afternoons proved a great 
boon to the tired, worn-out mothers, giving 
them an opportunity for social life and that 
interchange of thought so dear to the heart of 
womankind. Work was planned at home so 
that the meetings could be attended. These 
meetings taking the place, in many instances, 
of social calls, for one afternoon at the sewing 
circle often proved as good as 20 calls, and the 
work seemed much cosier amid the air of 
sociability than when done at home alone; 
and then "the discussion us to ways and means 
were very suggestive and helpful. For in¬ 
stance, the question “Was it better to sew the 
seams of the sheets over and over, or stitch 
them up on tho machine?” Some ladies had a 
way of always tearing off the selvage 
when it was to be hemmed, thus leaving it. so 
elastic that there was no danger of the work 
drawing. Other discussions than sewing 
often engaged us. One afternoon, co-opera¬ 
tive housekeeping in a town like ours was 
made to look quite feasible. The money .re¬ 
ceived for this work proved unite a factor iu 
defraying the expenses of the society. The 
supper hour, with hot tea aud coffee prepared 
in the kitchen, was always thoroughly enjoyed; 
nud when the baskets and packages of food 
were opened and the long tables set. The hus¬ 
bands came in at tea time to help oat this pic¬ 
nic supper. And now having kept up our 
organization for several years, we all fed that 
although tiu? help to our household sewing is 
quite considerable, t he chief good that these 
sewing circles accomplish is the promotion of 
social intercourse and that helpfulness, one to 
another, which such iuteroounse permits. 
MRS. o. H. 
Domestic Cconoffii} 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MAPLE. 
HOUSEKEEPING IN CALIFORNIA.—III. 
MARY WAGER-FISHER. 
“Clang” went the door-bell half a dozen 
times a day—the postman; a man with pota¬ 
toes, apples, vegetables: a Chinaman with 
ready-made underw ear; an artist with samples 
of his work to show a woman wanting to 
know r if we wanted luce curtains “done upa 
man to mend umbrellas and chairs—and so on, 
through a multitude of inquiring people try¬ 
ing to get “business.” Although we were in 
the land of “a thousand fruits aud flowers.” 
the liest fruit of all is still lacking to Cali¬ 
fornia—apples. One can buy imported apples 
at from one to two dollars the box—an enorm¬ 
ous price—or he can buy very poor California 
apples for from 85 cents to a dollar. The first 
apple man to ring the door-bell had what he 
called Rhode Island Greenings—raised in Cal¬ 
ifornia. He said they had oeen hand-picked, 
were sound and good, and would keep two 
months. They wore very small, but had a 
“Greening”look, and I took a box; but I never 
pared those miserable little apples without a 
feeling of pity for the stunted things, while 
there arose before my mind’s eye visions of the 
loaded apple orchards in Oregon—thousands of 
bushels goiug to absolute waste for lack of a 
market, besides all the cider and “evaporated 
jelly" annually made. Moreover, the "Green¬ 
ings” rotted rapidly aud had often to be picked 
over, just such apples as an Eastern farmer 
would think hardly worth feeding to his pigs, 
aud costing here $1 the box! And still Califor¬ 
nians claim that as good apples can be raised in 
the State in the mountain nooks as can be pro¬ 
duced anywhere else. But the great apple 
grower has not yet arrived, although the first 
premium at the New Orleans Exhibition was 
given for apples raised in Santa Barbara 
County. Judging from tho native apples one 
sees in the San Francisco and Oakland mar¬ 
kets, one wonders how it ever so happened! 
We paid 85 cents for a sack of potatoes. 
Sweet potatoes cost 10 cents the pound. (? !) 
Coal was brought and delivered in sacks 
like potatoes. The best evaporated peaches 
cost 25 cents the pound, but ordinary 
dried peaches could he had from 15 cents up; 
prunes of excellent quality for 10 cents; nec¬ 
tarines and apricots from 15 to 20 centos; but I 
never found fruit of good quality, either 
natural or dried, cheap. Dealers say that 
growers of fruit do uot get much for it, and 
that the prices go up in the hands of middle¬ 
men. Probably iu the millennium,the “middle¬ 
men” will be no more, and the producer will 
deal direct !y with the consumer, or at least 
with no more than the green-grocer between 
to share in the profits. 
an exquisite thanksgiving dinner. 
As Thanksgiving Day neared, the luddie re¬ 
marked w ith assurance, that we must have a 
turkey, of course! Anaximander said turkey 
w r as nut half as good us chicken, while I de¬ 
clared turkey would be very poor if I had to 
roast it! It very unexpectedly happened how¬ 
ever, that some friends to whom we had 
brought an introductory letter, invited us on 
the previous day, to dine with them, very in. 
formally, ou Thanksgiving, saying that they 
would be quite alone—and they were but two 
people, no longer young, but of large wealth 
and living in affluence. Of course, auy one 
who has had much sociul experience knows 
that even an ‘•informal” dinner requires nice 
attention paid to the toilet, and when any one 
is in doubt as to just how much or how little 
dress may be demanded, it. is safer to strike a 
happy medium, if one cau. I have often 
taought of the experience of a French lady of 
rank, who described her “feelings” upon 
going to a friend’s house to an “informal” re¬ 
ception in a walking costume, to see, upon en¬ 
tering the room, every lady in evening dress. 
“I can assure you,” she cried, “that I walked 
out at once and ordered tuy coachman to drive 
me home, where I quickly changed my frock! 
It is positively frightful to speud an evening 
burdened with the thought of being unsuitably 
attired—particularly when you arc not one of 
those superior women who can always rise 
above their circumstances.” Many French 
gentlemen always “dress” for dinner at home, 
putting ou the inevitable white tie and swal¬ 
low-tail coat. But tho latter is not much worn 
as yet in California society; for at a large re¬ 
ception which I attended very soon after we 
reached Oakland, for which TOO invitations 
had been extended—400 accepted—only the 
gentleman in whose honor the affair was given, 
wore a swallow-tailed coat, aud he was just 
from Boston! 
Our friend’s carriage came for us at half¬ 
past five, and after being ushered into the 
drawing room, we chatted for a quarter-of-an- 
hour, when at two strokes on a silvery bell, 
the hostess, who was in a gown of black vel¬ 
vet, arose and we went out to dinner. Not 
since we left the East bad we sat down in so 
imposing a dining-room and at such a dainty 
table. I had previously cautioned the laddie 
as to his behavior, as is necessary 865 days 
in the year, since he is one of the irrepressibles 
who are continually breaking out in a new 
spot. Only a short time liefore we had ac¬ 
cepted au invitation to “tea” at the house of 
comparative strangers, and the laddie, ob¬ 
serving the bright look of the silver, held up 
a fork, and in his clear tone, said: “Mamma, 
do you think this is solid silver? It looks 
like it, but really 1 dou't think it is—do you, 
Mamma?” True, there w T as no danger of his 
ever repeating that offence, the likelihood 
was that the next violation of “good manners” 
would lie of an altogether different and uuex 
peeted character. But the little fellow behaved 
most beautifully, not even making a spot on tho 
exquisite napery, which had been laundried 
ideally, in a way that the best laundererl ever 
had, never even approached. How such iron¬ 
ing was compassed I do not know—I can only 
say that for this establishment of two people, 
there was a laundry quite removed from the 
dwelling and probably a lautiury “artist” em¬ 
ployed in it. In the middle of the table was 
a large, but low vase of rare flowers, with 
smaller vases in colored glass at each side of 
it. At each plate there were double sets of 
knives and forks, u lovely little china plate 
with a piece of bread on it. and three glasses 
up-turned—for water, sherry, and claret. The 
host said that, it was only since he had be¬ 
come so far advanced iu years, that, he hail 
taken wine with his dinner, and he found that 
he required it. The claret was a California 
product, and he preferred it to the Imported 
article. We had soup, thou turkey with cran¬ 
berry jelly, sweet and white potatoes, and 
mixed pickles were passed from the side¬ 
board, all side dishes beiug similarly served 
aud not left ou the table. After this course 
was removed a platter of salad, brilliant with 
nasturtium blossoms, was placed liefore the 
hostess for her to serve, aud a platter of 
sliced, cold, boiled ham was placed liefore the 
host to accompany the salad, which was of 
tender, crisp lettuce, celery, ’and ripe, fresh 
tomatoes, with some delicious dressing; and 
bread was passed, if anyone desired it. The 
dessert followed the salad course, aud first we 
had a pie that wus all something very like 
meringue—very delicious and dainty. Then 
came fresh scrawlierries and “Jersey” cream 
und cuke; next grapes and other fruit;then 
nuts, some of which liad been meated. Cheese 
had lieen passed after the salad. At last we 
had black coffee. When the dessert plates 
w'ere brought there was a finger bowl set in 
**ti.$reUauco«j» gUlvertiiaittfl. 
Whan Baby wm sick, we gara her Castoria, 
When she was a Child, she cried for Castoria, 
When she became Miss, she dung to Castoria, 
Whan lha had O?dldrwu, aha gars them Castoria, 
