THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
MARCH 8 
158 
IP Oman’s IPark. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY LOUISE TAPLIN. 
CHAT BY THE WAY. 
* 4 A DMIT NOTHING INTO THE HOUSE 
jtx. THAT IS TOO GOOD FOR DAILY USE.” 
That is a household golden rule suggested 
by Olive Thorne Miller in Harper’s Bazar. 
What a comfort it would be if it were al¬ 
ways carried out. An over-fine house is a 
regular Old Man of the Sea; it oppresses 
every one, and what a misery it is to the 
children ; when one cannot sit down with¬ 
out rumpling a tidy, or move without up¬ 
setting a table, or a basket, or a screen, or 
a piece of miscellaneous bric-a-brac, there 
is not much fun in living. Certainly a 
house which the family cannot enjoy is not 
a home at all. It should be as pretty 
and attractive as one can make it, but it 
should not be a museum of gimcracks, like 
the flat Mr. Howells describes in a recent 
novel, where the forlorn dwellers had 
to store away several barrels full of 
Japanese curios and assorted bric a brac 
before they had room to move about. After 
the bare necessities, books and flowers are 
two refinements which should first be add¬ 
ed ; let fancy-work and bric-a-brac wait a 
bit. We love pretty things, but there are 
other needs of more importance. The home 
should be essentially a place of rest and 
comfort, and it certainly ceases to be the 
dearest spot on earth when the blinds are 
always drawn down to keep the carpets 
from fading, and the windows are shut to 
keep the dust out, and no one is allowed to 
enter the better rooms for fear of tracking 
mud into them. 
* 
*• * 
Harper’s Bazar suggests, as an admir¬ 
able remedy for that very objectionable 
habit biting the nails, dipping the ends of 
the fingers in a strong solution ot glycerine 
and quinine, after each washing. The in¬ 
tensely bitter taste soon checks the habit, 
which is usually the result of forgetfulness. 
It is really a dreadfully disagreeable trick, 
whether in children cr adults, apart, froili 
the bad effect on the nails. 
What a number of toilet uses one may 
find for common salt; really, it is a good 
idea to keep a little jar of it on the dress¬ 
ing-table. In cases of sore throat, salt-and- 
water makes a good gargle; when the ail¬ 
ment is merely the result of slight cold or 
fatigue this gargle relieves it at once, and 
is thoroughly safe to use. For a stuffy 
cold in the head, weak, cold salt-water is a 
great relief, when snuffed up the nostrils. 
It is our usual cure or relief for this afflic¬ 
tion. The same solution, used quite weak, 
is admirable to remove slight inflam¬ 
mations, such as redness of the eyelids, 
or an inflamed spot left by a pimple. 
When the eyes look inflamed on 
first getting up, bathing them in the weak 
salt water will be found very comforting. 
Another use for salt, recently given us, is 
to rub it into the roots of the hair to re¬ 
move dandruff. We were told to rub it 
lightly in at night, not using a great quan 
tity; in the morning it is all gone, only 
leaving a slight dampness. We have not 
tried the remedy ourselves, but it must cer¬ 
tainly be harmless, and it was suggested 
by a lady who has the best possible oppor¬ 
tunity for learning the use of such things 
in the toilet. 
* 
* * 
We often think that our hot, dry rooms 
are frequently responsible for premature 
wrinkles; it is noticeable that people w T ho 
are much in a steamy atmosphere are little 
troubled in this way. So we think that 
people who wish to keep the skin smooth, 
instead of indulging in nostrums, should 
try a simple preventive: when lying down 
after extra fatigue, let them wring out a 
cloth dipped in very warm water, and lay 
it over the face, keeping the eyes closed. 
After doing this for 15 minutes the skin is 
beautifully soft, and it causes a decided 
improvement of the complexion. 
FLOWER CULTURE FOR COUNTRY 
BOYS AND GIRLS. 
I F the young boys and girls living in the 
country could be induced to engage in 
the cultivation of flowers, they would soon 
become interested in rendering their homes 
beautiful and attractive and would not be 
so anxious to wander off eleswhere in 
search of entertainment. One who has 
cared for the rose tree from the time the 
first cutting was put into the ground, look¬ 
ing so fragile and helpless, until the slowly 
opening bud discloses its hidden wealth of 
color, finds infinitely more pleasure in its 
possession than he who simply orders from 
a florist a plant bearing flowers of a special 
color. 
The farther one goes in flower culture 
the more wonderful are the secrets that 
nurture discloses, and when science adds her 
wonderful skill the effect much resembles 
witchcraft. There is a large rose tree in my 
garden that was covered not many weeks 
since with two distinct kinds of roses, 
part of the branches being loaded down 
with the Baroness Rothschild, a large, hand¬ 
some, full-petaled rose of a silvery pink 
color; while the remainder of the branches 
were wreathed with exquisite wild roses 
with dainty pink petals growing singly 
around a large golden center. Their foliage 
too is quite different, that of the Baroness 
being large and broad-leafed, while the 
foliage of the other is small and pointed. 
Carrying out their respective natures still 
further, the branches of the wild rose are 
now busy making seed pods and the more 
highly cultured Baroness is covered with 
buds getting ready for another season of 
bloom. A florist would advise cutting out 
the wild rose, for the Baroness having been 
grafted on its stem, the shoot that has 
sprung up from the root below the graft is 
more vigorous than the graft and seems in¬ 
clined to crowd out the int ruder. But I in¬ 
tend to let them alone, the sight is such a 
curious one to all who enter my garden, 
and, besides, the blossoms are so lovely 
mingled together, so like in color yet so dis¬ 
similar in growth. 
It is also very interesting to study the 
nature of vines, creepers, and trailing 
plants. How many children are there who 
know that nearly all vines will twine in one 
direction only ; if you compel a tendril to go 
contrary to its nature it refuses to grow 
until it slowly untwists and starts out 
right. As a class, vines appear to have 
more of what is called “ vegetable instinct” 
than any other variety of plants. In fact, 
a close observer of their habits declares that 
the amount of apprehension they display 
would almost lead one to believe them pos¬ 
sessed of reasoning powers. Suppose you 
have a wild vine planted out in open ground 
with no available support, and in the even¬ 
ing you drive down a wooded staff within 
a short distance of one of its many runners 
that are reaching out in all directions for 
something to take hold of. You will find 
the next morning that the wise little vine 
has moved several inches, if it be one of the 
rapidly growing species, in the direction of 
the staff. Remove the staff and place it the 
next evening on the opposite side of the 
vine, and on the following morning you 
will find that the same runner has reversed 
its course and is again reaching out toward 
the staff. Now suppose instead of a staff, 
you arrange a stout cord or wire within 
reach of the vine, what will be the result ? 
It may remain there for days and the vine 
appear to be unaware of its vicinity. If 
anything, the runners will turn away from 
it, knowing full well that ever since the 
world began they have been accustomed to 
lift themselves from the earth by the aid of 
wooden supports, not by the assistance of 
either cord or wire. 
These and many other interesting experi¬ 
ments may be made by children during 
their leisure hours for their instruction and 
amusement, for I can imagine no pleasant¬ 
er way of spending one’s time than in culti¬ 
vating an intimate acquaintance with the 
peculiar habits of growing plants, and of 
reading the wonderful accounts which 
natural history gives of those indigenous 
to foreign countries. There appears to be 
quite as much variety in their dispositions 
as in their manner of growth, some being 
clinging and dependent, while others are 
cruel and barbarous, actually setting traps 
with their open blossoms to catch unwary 
insects and even small birds. After the 
prey is secured, we are told that the petals 
of the flowers tightly close and when the 
poor little prisoner dies its body is consum¬ 
ed by its rapacious captor. W e also read of 
aquatic plants that subsist upon fish 
caught in the same way, secreting a sub¬ 
stance in their flower cells which serves as 
bait. hortense Dudley. 
-- 
GOLDEN GRAINS. 
F EAR not soltitude. It is harmless as 
the pure moonlight, whose silver 
rays portray, in the palaces of the ungodly, 
hellish specters, and in the cottages of the 
pious, bright angels of heaven. 
Cicero said that careful attention to one 
thing often proves superior to genius and 
art. 
Let us all resolve, says Mrs. H. B. Stowe, 
first, to attain the grace of SILENCE; 
second, to deem all fault-finding that 
does no good A SIN, and let us all resolve, 
when we are happy ourselves, not to poison 
the atmosphere for our neighbors by calling 
on them to mark every painful and dis¬ 
agreeable feature of their daily life; third, 
to practice the grace and virtue of praise. 
Schiller says that truth, like the Venus 
de Medici, will pass down in 30 frag¬ 
ments to posterity; but posterity will 
collect and recompose them into a goddess. 
If you will let Christ have unhindered flow 
into your will and your affections you will 
be not barren or unfruitful, but will abound 
in the work of the Lord. Take a large life 
with you into Heaven. 
An Interesting Origin.— Thatcher’s 
Orange Butter Color was originated and 
perfected in the study of colors in grasses 
and traced to cream and butter with one 
of Beck’s fine London microscopes.— Adv. 
Domestic (L'ecmonuj 
CONDUCTED BY MRS. AGNES E. M. CARMAN. 
SOME REMARKABLE NOVELTIES. 
H AVING faithfully studied the various 
catalogues for some weeks, I have at 
length ventured to make out my list of 
seeds, and knowing the R. N.-Y.’s willing¬ 
ness to aid its friends, I herewith submit 
the same, desiring its opinion thereon. I 
have selected entirely from the novelties, 
both because they are so far ahead of the 
older kinds and because some of the seeds¬ 
men give extra packets of new things to 
those whose orders show great interest in 
novelties. 
In beans, I have selected from W.’s cata¬ 
logue a new early wax bean for the reason 
that “it has never shown the slightest in¬ 
dication to rust or spot under any circum¬ 
stances, and is the hardiest, earliest, most 
productive, richest, best-flavored wax bean 
ever raised.” From M.’s catalogue I have 
taken M.’s Butter Wax, because “ it is un¬ 
questionably the earliest, contains more 
meat than any other, and is less liable to 
spot than any other.” Of course, I must 
have B.’sBush Lima, even if he does charge 
75 cents for four beans, for next year the 
price will be 25 cents for a packet of 15 
beans, and I may be able to sell all I raise 
at a high price; and probably I shall get 
the prize of §100 which B. offers for the 
most prolific plant. 
In corn, I have made three selections: 
The first is M.’s Ever-bearing Sweet Corn, 
“a magnificent variety which developed 26 
ears from one grain last year, and is cov¬ 
ered with kernels clear to the end of the 
cob. It is also ornamental, both stalks and 
husks being a lovely red.” W. has no really 
wonderful new sort this year, his best be¬ 
ing Simpsonia Prolific Sweet, which is “the 
most productive variety in cultivation, 
with fine, large, handsome ears and all the 
creamy, sweet, and delicious flavor of the 
best small-eared sorts.” From B.’s list I 
have taken the Maplewood Prolific Pop¬ 
corn, for the children. They will go into 
raptures over it, “as single stalks have 
produced as high as 18 ears (which is very 
good, indeed, for a pop-corn), and many 
ears reach eight inches in length.” I also 
learn from C.’s description of it, that 10 
stalks bore 121 ears, an average of 12 ears 
to a stalk, and that it pops white, which I 
consider a very desirable characteristic. 
I do not remember ever before to have 
heard of so prolific and promising a va¬ 
riety ! 
Our family are especially fond of cauli¬ 
flower, and we are looking forward to a 
rich treat this year, as this fine vegetable 
has been lately so improved. I was puzzled 
to decide as to the best, and I fear I have 
been really grasping about it; for I have 
four kinds on my list. M.’s Prize Earliest 
“ surpasses in earliness Snowball (the late 
standard) and every known variety. In 
1888 every plant produced a superb head 
that surpassed every variety in earliness, 
size, and quality.” That ought to be 
enough for any man, but B.’s Best Early 
has proved to be “ the best early cauliflower 
in cultivation, remarkable for extra earli¬ 
ness, and certainty to head, and the leaves 
naturally protect the heads,” so I put that 
down too. The great advantage of W.’s 
Early Denmark is “its unfailing certainty 
to head; ” and it is not only the “ earliest 
but the finest, best and surest header, fully 
a week ahead of the Snowball or any other, 
and producing large, solid heads, twice 
the size of any other.” I was quite satis¬ 
fied with these three, but my better half 
had seen H.’s catalogue and wanted the 
kind he called Long Island Beauty because 
“ every plant makes fine heads, which aver¬ 
age larger than any other sort, and it is 
earlier than the Snowball and better in 
every respect.” We shall use cauliflower 
every day after the Fourth of July. 
In peas, my list includes B.’s Quality, be¬ 
cause “it is the sweetest and most exquisite 
in flavor of all peas.” W. adds to this that the 
peas retain their fresh green color and fine 
flavor even when old, although he does not 
say how old. I think perhaps a year is as 
long as they will keep sweet. But for a 
real acquisition, I pin my faith to a variety 
that M. catalogues, which he calls New 
Abundance. I am free to say that if I had 
not seen the picture I could scarcely have re 
alized the enormous bearing power of this 
pea. Four rows are shown, which form 
regular perfect hedges, evenly trimmed, 
and scantily topped with leaves, while all 
the rest is peas, the pods overlapping solid¬ 
ly like shingles on a house, “ three inches 
to the weather ” ! I wish I had had it when 
I was market-gardening; I could have eas¬ 
ily “outstripped” all competitors. Imeantto 
have Telephone and Stratagem, each of 
which bears 12 or 13 enormous peas in a pod; 
but as I have tried them once or twice and 
they did not succeed under my treatment— 
seven or eight to a pod being about all I 
could muster—I thought I would study on 
the matter another year,and try to learn how 
to get such enormous yields. By comparing 
catalogues and various reports one can 
learn a great deal. 
The picture of the Heavenly Pepper 
shows about 250 peppers—two to three 
inches long, and taking the place of leaves 
—on one-half < f the best plant. Is it any¬ 
way lik6ly that I can approach to that, if I 
try it, or is it only the regular seedsmen 
who can grow peppers so abundantly ? I 
remember I had hard work, one year, to 
get half-a-dozen to a plant of the wonder¬ 
ful and very productive Golden Dawn 
Pepper. 
In tomatoes my list is confined to the 
odd, new kinds, as I was so fortunate as to 
get Ignotum last year, and I find that it is 
“very early and a prodigious bearer, the 
handsomest and most desirable of all.” 
That will do very well; but I want the 
Peach Tomato, as we have no peaches; and 
the New Zealand Fig Tomato because “it 
will make figs equal to the best Smyrnas 
when properly cured.” This is a point we 
have never before reached in tomatoes, I 
think. We have had tomato figs, but not 
Smyrnas from tomato plants. I shall not 
get the Station Tree, as I had it two years 
ago, before it reached its present state of 
catalogue perfection, and it was then no 
earlier than several good sorts, and bore 
small, flat, ugly-colored fruits, which were 
so irregular that I almost fear the old Fiji 
will be the next new evolutionary acquisi¬ 
tion. 
I have plenty of good melon seed on hand; 
but it is all of the summer kinds. I shall 
try J.’s Christmas and New Year’s Water¬ 
melon, and the Christmas Pineapple Musk- 
inelon. This last is running quite an op¬ 
position to B.’s Bush Lima, both claiming 
to be the greatest and most valuable uovel- 
ty ever offered. “It is really the fact,” 
they say, that these melons—which are of 
better quality than any musk-melon now 
in cultivation—“ will keep in good, sound 
eating condition through the winter 
months, without losing any of their rich, 
spicy fragrance, so that in a few years it 
will be as common to have the most deli¬ 
cious musk-melons on our table at midwin¬ 
ter, as it is now in summer.” I was quite 
vexed that the introducer forgot to state 
whether these melons are cooling like the 
summer kinds, or the reverse, to suit the 
season. I notice that W. offers one novelty 
that none of the others have yet acquired, 
viz: “A cure for hard times.” I fancy he 
holds the entire stock. I was a little afraid 
of it, so did not put it on my list. 
On figuring up I find that one packet each 
Itti cc IIa n c ou $ v c v t i .$ i n jj . 
When Baby was sick, we gave her Castoria, 
When she was a Child, she cried for Castoria, 
When she became Miss, she clung to Castoria. 
When she had Children, she gave them Castor u> 
