1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
55 1 
A Primitive Shower Bath. — Some¬ 
times, we take off our clothes, and roll¬ 
ing them in a poncho (the tents are not 
proof against such rain), we go outside 
where we can stand up or, at least, sit 
up straight for a bath. This, however, 
is rather a chilly operation, and we wish 
more than ever that the sun would come 
out. Finally, the rain does stop, but the 
sun does not come out, so we crawl into 
our damp clothes, while wet ourselves. 
I left my towel behind, as every one else 
did. 
Then we start to get out the wood 
which we put in our tents to keep dry, 
and which has floated around to the other 
side. After struggling for an hour, get¬ 
ting our eyes full of smoke and almost 
strangling, we get a small blaze, and 
finally a very good fire. On this we cook 
our supper, and after eating it, feel all 
the hungrier. 
We dry our poncho and clothes as well 
as we can, by the fire, and crawl into 
our tents. Some of the water has dried 
up by now, so I fall asleep and dream I 
have fallen into the river and am being 
dragged under an iceberg by a shark. 
Then I wake up, and find that 1 have 
only been rolling off my poncho on to 
the ground, and that the poncho I had 
on me is all on the other fellow. Just 
then, they come posting the relief, and 
that keeps us awake for a while, and by 
the time the noise is dying in the dis¬ 
tance, the man in the next tent begins 
to snore. He does not stop, but at last, 
from sheer exhaustion, I fall asleep, 
until awakened by the blast of the bugle. 
Such is our present life. 
Oitr Cuban Allies. —The Cubans were 
turned out of Santiago, as food is scarce, 
and the Spaniards must be getting 
hungry. You have no idea how much 
like an animal one gets, living in this 
way. You know we live like animals, 
and expect to fight any minute. Seeing 
those Cubans does not help to elevate 
one’s feelings; they are dirty and almost 
black. They are clothed in thin, duck 
trousers, light shirts, straw hats, and 
some of them have one shoe, not many, 
but some. One came along the road 
yesterday ; it had been raining, and the 
place was all puddles. lie suddenly sat 
down, and taking off his shoe, he 
scooped it full of the cleanest water he 
could find, rinsed it around, and dumped 
it out, then he got up and marched on. 
Philosophy in Discomfort. — When 
you are home and burn your finger, you 
rush around looking for soda, and every¬ 
thing you can think of, and put them all 
on ; here one is cooking, when suddenly 
a lot of hot bacon grease is spilled on 
one’s hand. One upsets the bacon and 
hard tack, and dances a little, then licks 
off the hot grease (one’s hands are al¬ 
ways dirty) and watches the blisters 
raise on it. It hurts for an hour, and all 
is over. While sleeping on the deck of 
the transport, a fellow dropped his rifle 
on my head. I thought it had broken my 
head and made a hole just above my 
eye, big enough to let the end of the 
rifle in. It bled, and I washed it off, put 
on a piece of plaster, and it never hurt 
once, but has left a scar, just for luck, 
I suppose. * * * We expect to go 
into the worst battle to-day (July 4). 
We had a terrible fight Friday, and have 
been holding trenches under heavy fire 
until yesterday. There was a naval 
battle yesterday morning, but there has 
been no fire since. Bullets have been well 
aimed, and fly thick and fast. w. A. n. 
71st New York Volunteers. 
Canned Mulberries. — A. G., Tomp¬ 
kins County, N. Y., asks for a recipe for 
canning mulberries. We have had no 
experience with canning this fruit, but 
mulberries may be preserved exactly 
like blackberries. While the flavor is 
rich and characteristic, it is rather cloy¬ 
ing, and a better result is obtained by 
mixing some red currants with the 
mulberries. This combination has a 
higher flavor than the mulberries alone, 
and makes a fine preserve. 
On the Wing. 
SCIENCE FOR THE FARMERS. 
AMONO STUDENTS AND PROFESSORS. 
[EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.] 
An Insectary. —“ How on earth do 
those scientists cage up their bugs and 
worms while they study them?” The 
question thus bluntly asked has, doubt¬ 
less, occurred to many interested, from a 
practical standpoint, in economic ento¬ 
mology. When visiting the Geneva Ex¬ 
periment Station. I was interested in the 
arrangement of the insectary, occupying 
quarters in one of the greenhouses. The 
insects undergoing study were confined 
in large cages of wire mosquito netting. 
In some were cocoons awaiting the 
emergence of moth or butterfly; in others 
were caterpillars supplied with their 
natural feeding ground in the shape of 
shrubs, miniature trees or branches. 
Mr. V. H. Lowe, the station entomolo¬ 
gist, pointed out the cocoons of a cater¬ 
pillar infesting the Ailanthus tree. This 
tree has always been regarded as singu¬ 
larly free from insect pests, but the in¬ 
sect here noted is reported in consider¬ 
able numbers on Long Island. It was 
interesting, even to one little in touch 
with entomology, because of the appar¬ 
ent intelligence displayed by the cater¬ 
pillar in spinning its cocoon. The 
caterpillar formed his snug quarters 
within a leaflet, rolling the leaf edges 
together, and binding it firmly with 
many strands of tough but delicate 
smoke-colored silk. The Ailanthus is a 
pinnate leaf and, ordinarily, when it 
fades or dries, the individual leaflets 
would fall from the main stem. The cater¬ 
pillars act as though aware of this, so 
they reenforce the midrib by twisting it 
with gray silk, and then bring the silk 
down to attach each leaflet firmly to tlig 
main stem. When the leaf dries up, the 
plump, withered cocoons swing firmly 
until the insect is ready to emerge. This 
caterpillar spins such a firm fiber that 
its use in silk-making has been sug¬ 
gested, but apparently, the thread is so 
twisted that it cannot be unwound prop¬ 
erly, and we must continue to go to 
Madame Sericaria for our silk gowns. 
Figuring and Studying Insects.— 
The cages in which the insects are con¬ 
fined have doors to permit easy access. 
But it is often desirable to photograph 
the insects while observing their feeding 
habits, and removal from the cages 
would frighten or disturb them. So the 
cages are detached from the base, and 
by an easily-worked rope and pulley, 
they may be raised right up, just as one 
would lift a dish-cover. A screen is 
slipped behind to form a background, 
and the creeping and crawling subjects 
have their pictures taken, before they 
know anything about it. The camera 
is a great help to the entomologist, but 
much of his investigation is done with 
the microscope as a working partner. 
All science is a matter of infinite pa¬ 
tience, but think of the delicacy of touch 
and sight, the closeness of observation, 
and habit of concentrated attention, 
required to obtain insight into the tricks 
and manners of one of our commonest 
insects ! Plenty of working gardeners 
and farmers still fail to distinguish be¬ 
tween chewing and sucking insects in 
their attempts to destroy such pests, 
and there are many who destroy destruc¬ 
tive insects successfully, without fully 
understanding why a creature undis¬ 
turbed by Paris-green is killed by kero¬ 
sene emulsion, and vice versa. Modern 
entomologists have made their science a 
valuable ally to the farmer or gardener, 
and the more one studies the experiment 
stations, the more one is convinced that 
science is surely crystallized common 
sense. 
Arranging Insects. —The living in¬ 
sects are studied in the insectary, but 
MOTHERS.—Be sure to use “Mrs. Wins¬ 
low’s Soothing Syrup” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Adv. 
the entomologist has his workroom, with 
microscopes and other instruments, ref¬ 
erence works, and collections of insects. 
Most country boys are taken, at some 
stage of their lives, with a desire to col¬ 
lect moths and butterflies, but very few 
of them ever take the trouble to study 
the insect whose gaudy-winged body is 
pinned out for display. To the economic 
entomologist, however, his collection of 
insects is something like the rogue’s gal¬ 
lery at police headquarters, and every 
new depredator is an object of interest. 
In the entomological collection at 
Geneva, each specimen is mounted upon 
a small block bearing its name and class, 
these blocks being arranged in shallow 
glass-covered cases. This plan gives the 
opportunity of rearranging the speci¬ 
mens without disturbing the entire col¬ 
lection. The collection was undergoing 
classification at the time of my visit, Mr. 
Lowe receiving in this work the assist¬ 
ance of Miss Beach. This lady is a living 
disclaimer of the masculine impression 
that all womankind include every species 
of insect under the generic title of “bug”. 
Work at Geneva. —One point in which 
the Geneva Experiment Station differs 
widely from Cornell is the absence of 
students; it does not provide for train¬ 
ing courses. The work done is purely 
experimental investigation, which is 
constantly leading over new ground. 
The chemical department is a strong 
one, and here, year after year, extensive 
work in fertilizer analysis is carried on. 
Prof. Beach’s horticultural work is fol¬ 
lowed with close interest by fruit-grow¬ 
ers and orchardists, while Dr. Jordan's 
feeding experiments are widely known. 
With the opening of the new building, 
now nearing completion, there will be 
facilities for some valuable dairy investi¬ 
gations. One of the lines taken will be 
a study of cheese ripening; the new build¬ 
ing contains incubating rooms where ex¬ 
ceptional conditions may be given to the 
cheese during the progress of ripening. 
Horticulture at the Station. —Tree 
fruits, small fruits, vines and vegetables 
are all under study, not only in the 
station grounds, but also upon different 
farms in varied localities, giving a com¬ 
parison of results which could not be 
obtained in any other way. In a vine¬ 
yard over on the other side of the lake, 
I had noted some Vergennes grape vines 
showing an extraordinarily light yellow¬ 
ish cast of foliage. At the station, I 
saw vines under study displaying the 
same sickly tint. Mr. Paddock informed 
me that the ailment was described as 
chlorosis. As this disease appears to 
result from the condition of the soil, 
experiments were being made upon this 
basis. It was thought that chlorosis 
may result from excess of lime and 
deficiency of iron. Some varieties are 
more susceptible to this condition than 
others. 
Jarring for curculio was progressing 
among the plum trees at the time of ray 
visit; the machine used was similar in 
construction to the one figured in The 
R. N.-Y., page 159. I was especially 
struck by the disposition shown, in all 
the work, to regard the practical stand¬ 
point of the man who must make his 
living in farm or garden. The investiga¬ 
tions, however intricate, always have a 
definite end in view, and the experi¬ 
ment station workers aim to keep in 
close touch with those who till the soil 
for bread and butter. E. T. K. 
t—ft it—«—ft ir~ft ii—ft ii—4 ii—ft ir—ft ii—ft i>— «v —ft I;—ft i.—ft 
B CUT-PRICE CARPET SALE. B 
Owing to an 
overproduction 
of Carpels, we 
have made great 
reductions for 
a short time 
only. 
Our Carpet Catalogue and Special 
Supplement, both in hand-painted 
colors, and all matter pertaining to 
this extraordinary sale, will be mailed 
any one free. This is an opportunity 
not to bo neglected. Dur¬ 
ing this sale, we sew Car¬ 
pets free, furnish wadded 
lining free and pay freight 
on all orders of $9 & over. 
w 160-pasre Cata¬ 
logue of Furniture and 
everything necessary for 
houaefurnishing is now 
ready to be mailed—it’s 
free. 
buys a made-to-your meas¬ 
ure All-Wool Cheviot. Suit, 
expressage prepaid to 
your station. Catalogue 
and samples free. Ad¬ 
dress (exactly as below). 
| JULIUS HINES & SON, 
gi Dept. 320 BALTIMORE, MD. fe 
WE SAVE YOU $12.00to$25.00 
We noil Iltirh Grade Blryelrr forLe«« 
than Any Other Concern in the W orld. 
1898 l.sdie*' or GeDl’s Models, $18 op. 
Left over of 1897 models st less than 
cost; others st $8, $10, $19 and $11. 
Write for Free Illoitratsd (at singes 
of Rleyeles and Sondrlea. Address 
DeptTl 89 VICTOR BKG. CO., 80 to 88 Market St. .Chics**. 
'imj A IM TF^—Ladies and gentlemen to pro- 
Fa IM I uw cure subscriptions for the best, 
ftfty-ceut woman’s monthly magazine in the United 
States. The most beautiful and popular woman’s mag¬ 
azine on very liberal commissions. Terms, sample 
copies, special helps and premiums furnished free. 
Address The American Queen, 78-80 Walker St.. N.Y. 
THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME, 
NOTRE DAME, INDIANA. 
Classics, Letters, Science, Law, Civil, Me- 
clianical and Electrical Engineering. 
Thorough Preparatory and Commercial 
Courses. Ecclesiastical Students at special rates. 
Rooms Free, Junior or Senior Year, Collegiate 
Courses. St. Edward’s Ilall, for boys under 18. 
The 109th Term will open September 6th, 
1898. Catalogue sent Free on application to 
REV. A. MORRISSEY, C. S. C.,President. 
FRUIT 
EVAPORATOR “The Granger.” F ”Tr“ y 
Strong—Durable. Can be applied to any stove or range. 
Cheapest in the market— S3, S5 and !#8. 
Send for free circular. 
MAST URN MANUFACTURING CO., 
257 S. Fifth St., Philadelphia, Pa. 
$50 Sewing Machine for $19.50. 
WITn ONE YEAR’S SUBSCRIPTION TO THE R. N.-Y., $20. 
We should be sorry if any reader of The R. N.-Y. iu any part of the country 
should pay $40 or $50, or even $25 or $50 for a sewing machine. We would be sorry 
because we can send him just as good a machine as is made for $19.50. The finish 
and appearance and attachments are in 
eveiy way equal to the best machines 
made. We will send it ON TRIAL, freight 
paid, and you may return it at our ex¬ 
pense, if you are not satisfied ; you shall 
be the judge yourself. We shall sell them 
at this price only to subscribers. We have 
sold thousands of these machines to sub¬ 
scribers, and we have never had one re¬ 
turned. Several families in connection 
with The R. N.-Y. have them ; that is why 
we can praise them so highly. 
For $19.50, we will send the machine to 
any subscriber, freight paid to any address 
east of the Rocky Mountains. For $20, we 
include a yeai’s subscription. After a fair 
trial, we will return the money and pay 
freight both ways, if you are not satisfied. 
We will send it for a club of 10 subscriptions at $1 each, and $15 extra. 
TUE RURAL NEW-YORKER, New York. 
