Chapter IV: Part 4

With the exception of two days, the 22d and 23d, which were stormy and gave us ten to twelve inches of snow, followed by a little sleet and rain, the latter half of December has been as delightful as the first half was, though a good deal colder. The sleighing since the 17th has never been better; and as there is ten inches to a foot of solid snow now lying on the ground, it is likely to last some time longer. The sleet and rain formed a crust an inch and a half thick, and though it is not very strong, it, together with the compact snow, makes getting down to the grass beneath quite out of the question, and stock have to depend on the stalk fields or be fed hay and corn.

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This will make a heavier draft upon the grain and hay in reserve than has been anticipated by those who depend on carrying their stock through mostly on grass, and be sure to lessen the surplus and raise the price of corn, oats, and hay accordingly. Corn in the field is drying out so fast under the influence of the dry, cold weather, stock do not refuse soft corn as they did after the first sharp frost in November and December. It is now seen that it would have been better to have left all the soft and some of the immature corn in the field, than to have husked and cribbed it as many did and lost more than would be believed, if reported, by mould and rot.

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At any rate the fall wheat is safe so long as the present covering of snow lasts, and this more than compensates for the loss of winter pasture. The snow, as near as I can learn, covers all Illinois, except a few counties on the west, and as usual, is quite as heavy in the timbered regions of which Vandalia is near the center, as in Northern Illinois. So far the cold season considerably resembles the winter of 1878-79, and let us hope it will continue to the end, that we may have light snows and many of them, good sleighing and moderate temperature through January and February.

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It has mystified me, as I have do doubt it has many others, why European Governments have had so much to say about trichinæ in the hog, of which we have had scarcely any, and so little of hog cholera, of which we have had a good deal. But the mystery is now cleared up. The sickness and losses from hog cholera, have either by error or intention been reported to the several European Governments as results of almost universal trichiniasis, and they have acted accordingly. That it should be so, seems surprising, but that it is so, we have the proof in the following paragraph from a late number of the Journal D'Agriculteur Pratique. The writer, Dr. Hector George, one of the regular contributors, in a long article opposing rescinding the order prohibiting the importation of American pork products into France, first quotes the report of the Chicago Board of Health, that 8 per cent of hogs slaughtered in Chicago are afflicted with trichinæ, goes on to say: "This per cent, however considerable it may be, is far inferior to the reality if we judge from an official dispatch addressed to Earl Granville by Mr. Crump, English Consul at Philadelphia." in 1880 trichiniasis destroyed 700,000 hogs in Illinois alone. According to an official report by Dr. Detmers to the Government of the United States, the hogs sick or dead from trichiniasis are hurried to the packing houses and are thereafter prepared and immediately sent off to Europe.

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M. Paul Bert, from whom we have recently heard on the same subject and in the same strain, no doubt got his inspiration from the article in the Journal D'Agriculteur Pratique after which he probably read the official report of Dr. Detmers, to whom he refers, and like Dr. George, either did not understand or intentionally misconstrued it for political purposes. Perhaps what Dr. Detmers did report was bad enough and extravagant enough, but it had exclusive reference to hog cholera then prevalent, as any one can satisfy himself who will turn to the reports or the Department of Agriculture for the several years 1879, 1880, and 1881. B.F.J.

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A RECORD OF UNFASHIONABLE CROSSES IN SHORT-HORN CATTLE PEDIGREES; a book of 240 pages; the only work of the kind in existence. Send for a circular. F.P. & O.M. HEALY, Bedford, Taylor Co., Iowa.

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REMEMBER _that $2.00 pays for_ THE PRAIRIE FARMER _from this date to January 1, 1885; For $2.00 you get it for one year and a copy of_ THE PRAIRIE FARMER COUNTY MAP OF THE UNITED STATES, FREE! _This is the most liberal offer ever made by any first-class weekly agricultural paper in this country._

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POULTRY NOTES

Poultry-Raisers. Write for Your Paper.

CHAT WITH CORRESPONDENTS.

Notwithstanding the fact that I have repeatedly said I would not answer questions unless they came through THE PRAIRIE FARMER the people who, by ways and means best known to themselves, have managed to obtain my address, keep right on asking questions by mail at a rate that would drive me frantic if anything could. But nothing ever troubles me long at a time, so I take your disregard of my wishes good naturedly, as I take everything else that I can't help, and in the future I will answer all questions whether they come through THE PRAIRIE FARMER or not, sometime. To be sure "sometime" is not very definite, but it is the best I can do. My poultry letters are "too numerous to mention" and it requires no small amount of time to answer them all; but I won't growl about that if you will only be patient and not grumble if you don't get an answer "by return mail," or "in the next paper." All questions of general interest will be answered in these columns as soon as possible, while those that require an immediate answer will be attended to by mail. Poultry raisers who desire information that I can give, and who have not my address, can address THE PRAIRIE FARMER. However, let me ask you not to write except when necessary, and then please put your questions as plainly as possible, and "be as brief as the nature of the subject will permit."

And when you are writing to me don't use postal cards. Postal cards are only intended for the briefest of business messages, but lots of people use them for nearly all their correspondence. I know one man who writes love letters on postal cards. Most women and some men manage to make one side of a 5 × 3 inch postal card do duty for four pages of commercial note. They will write up and down and across lots and on the bias until the whole thing is so hopelessly mixed and tangled up that if the mystery of a woman's ways, or the fate of Charlie Ross were solved upon one of these cards all the "experts" in the world could not unravel it. A penny saved may be as good as a penny earned, and I have no objections to your saving it in a legitimate way, but when it comes to saving it at the expense of my time, patience, and eye-sight, I object most decidedly. Hereafter I will not answer postals; I will not even read them.

An Iowa woman writes: "If it is true that vaccination prevents chicken cholera, how does it happen that fowls which had the genuine chicken cholera last season took the disease again this season and died from the effects of it? This happened on our place." I have puzzled my brains on the same thing but I am not scientific enough to explain things that I don't know anything about, so I leave that conundrum to be answered by some of the learned people who have the whole theory of chicken cholera at their tongues' end.

Several correspondents want to know how to get rid of rats in poultry-houses. One man says that he firmly believes that there are more rats than chickens in his poultry-house, and although he has tried half a dozen different kinds of rat-traps he rarely catches anything in them.

I never found rat-traps much good; some of them would catch one or two, but after that the rest of the tribe would fight shy of all such devices for their undoing. A well trained rat terrier proved to be the best rat-trap we ever had on the premises, and for the poultry raiser who likes dogs a good ratter would be a good investment. Or you can use some one of the "exterminators" that may be obtained at the drug stores. Remove your fowls to some other building, prepare the poison according to directions, and place it in the poultry-house. The best kinds to use are those that make the rats thirsty and cause them to die immediately after drinking; water can then be left in the hen house and the dead rats will be found close by. When you have rat poison in the house see that it is properly marked and put out of reach of children and careless hired girls; and always see that all remnants of bait are taken care of.

A Nebraska man wants to know why his hens don't lay. Says they are mostly early pullets, have a fairly comfortable poultry house, all the grain they will eat twice a day, and plenty of fresh water at all times.

It seems to me that "all the grain they will eat twice a day" is rather overdoing the grain business. Have some of that grain ground, mix with boiled vegetables and feed warm every morning; also give green food and raw bone, and my word for it your hens will soon "lay like sixty."

FANNY FIELD.

FEATHER ENDS.

Plymouth Rock pullets are not always early layers, for they often grow for ten or twelve months before laying, though some say as early as six months after being hatched. The best plan the keep Plymouth Rocks is to get the pullets hatched as early as possible. April is as late as should be desired, but a Plymouth Rock cock crossed on common hens will produce pullets that may be hatched later.

N.Y. Times: A poultry-house should be large enough to be airy, but if it is kept strictly clean and sweet it will do no harm to be somewhat crowded. A house 24 feet long, 10 feet wide, 5 feet high behind and 8 feet in front, and having four roosting poles, all on a level and only a foot from the floor, will hold 60 to 80 fowls. This manner of arranging the roosts prevents a good deal of quarreling to get on the top perch.

Poultry-rearing for export appears to be largely on the increase in Germany; and Rummelsburg, near Berlin, boasts of the largest goose market probably in the world. There arrive daily at that station on an average forty cars with geese and ducks. Every car contains about 1,500, thus making about 400,000 birds shipped every week, or an annual total of 20,000,000. The largest portion of these birds are reared and fattened in the surrounding provinces, and thence dispatched to all parts of Germany, England, Belgium, France, Switzerland, and other European countries.

Farmers' Call: Turkeys do not require as warm quarters in winter as do other fowls. They will rest on a cherry tree when the mercury is frozen solid in the thermometer bulb, and then fly down in the morning and wade through the snow to cool off. This is a hint to the turkey raiser. Do not confine the turkeys in quarters too warm and close, and be sure that they have three or four hours' exercise each day in the open air. The turkey is really a hardy fowl and easily wintered if you do not pet it too much. Be a little unkind to it in cold weather. About all the shelter they will need is a wind-break. Give them plenty of highly nutritious food.

Mr. Harrison Weir writes: "What the farmers should do is this--they should produce their poultry of the finest quality, poultry of the stamp of the old Dorking--plump birds, thick-skinned birds, small-boned birds, and birds with little offal--fat them well, truss them well, and send them to market. The white-legged beauties would take the highest price, and, if well seen to, would very soon drive the foreign fowls from our markets, and English gold would gladden the home of the English henwife. I may mention that a neighboring farmer intends rearing 3,000 chickens next spring, all to be off his ground before the beginning of May, when the cattle will come out. He expects to get 75c. a head, and I believe he will, and it will pay him if he does."

Poultry houses should be whitewashed inside and out. For the inside we add two tablespoonfuls of carbolic acid or a pound of sulphur to a pailful of the wash (to kill vermin); do not be afraid of putting on too much, but apply the wash to every corner and crevice in the building. If you have plank floors, clean them off nicely and put on three or four inches of fresh earth. Dirt floors should be dug up the depth of one foot. Wash your windows (if you have any in your house, and if not you ought to have them), so that the fowls can see daylight, and in bad weather they will enjoy the confinement of the poultry houses much better. Wash off the roosts with kerosene oil at least once a week. Take every nest box and wash inside and out, and put in clean straw, sprinkling upon it some sulphur or loose tobacco. Observe these rules, and your fowls will do better and keep healthier. We find this good advice floating about and do not know its source. The hints are worth remembering.

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THE THROAT.--"_Brown's Bronchial Troches_" act directly on the organs of the voice. They have an extraordinary effect in all disorders of the throat.

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THE APIARY

KEEP BEES.

The beginning of the new year is a general time of settling accounts and making resolutions for the future. The head of many a family is overcast with gloom as he ascertains the true state of his affairs, and perceives how little he has to show from the past year of toil. His family may have been industrious in a general way, and yet been consumers only, and not producers. We knew a farmer's family where there were three daughters just budding into womanhood. On inquiring of the mother what she had to sell to clothe her daughters with, she answered, Not a thing. Have you no butter, eggs, fowls, honey, or bees-wax to sell from this good farm? No, nothing. These girls were not idle! Oh no. They pounded the organ, and the result was music as sweet as filing a saw; crocheted, darned lace, and helped mother. When their father went to town they asked him to bring them a pair of shoes, a bustle, or a necktie, with no thought or care. And all the while the neighbors said "he was hard run."

There are few farmers' families that are so situated that they can not care for a few colonies of bees. They not only need the sweets they gather, but these industrious insects help to fertilize the bloom of their orchards and meadows. Nature has appointed this insect, and it alone, to do this work for her.

Honey can be used in many ways as a substitute for sugar--in canning fruit, making cookies, and for other culinary purposes.

We would advise all those contemplating bee-keeping to start on a small scale, if they have had no previous training. Two colonies are plenty, and then let their knowledge increase in the same ratio as do their bees. The next thing in order, after purchasing bees, should be a good standard work on apiculture; and study it well. A person should be full of theory, and then they are ready for practice. Those who are energetic, willing to work, intelligent and willing, eager to learn, observing, persevering, and attentive to their work, will rarely ever fail in apiculture.

We have heard farmers say that bees will not flourish with the same care given to other farm stock, and that they have not time to attend to them. We would recommend to all such to try the experiment of procuring a colony or two of beautiful Italians, in some good movable frame hive, and present them to the family, with abundance of bee literature, and see if they are not taken care of, especially if the almighty dollar puts in an appearance.

MRS. L. HARRISON.

THE NEW BEES.

Prof. Cook, at the late Michigan Convention of Bee-keepers, spoke in this wise on the topic of the New Bees:

"I have had no experience with the Cyprian bees, but I think more and more of the Syrian. I find no trouble to handle them, and take my large class of students, new to the business, right into the apiary. These thirty or forty students daily manipulate the bees, doing everything that the bee-keeper ever needs to do, and rarely ever get stung. I find that the comb honey of the Syrians is excellent, that the bees go readily into the sections. We did not get all our sections so that they could be crated without the use of the separators; but I am not sure but that it was more our fault than the fault of the bees. They are very prolific, breeding even when there is no nectar to gather, and they often gather when other bees are idle. I have this fall secured from Mr. Frank Benton a Carniolan queen, and shall try crossing the Carniolans with the Syrians. Perhaps we can thus secure a strain with the amiability of the Carniolan, and the business of the Syrians."

HIVE AND HONEY HINTS.

Mr. Willingford, of Carlingford, Ontario, who had a crop of several tons of honey this year, has taken it to England for sale.

Manufacturers of tobacco, of pickles, of cakes and cookies, confectioners, and pork-packers are now using honey more extensively than ever in the preparation of their specialties.

A singular instance of bee-swarming occurred a short time ago in Singapore harbor, on board the British steamer Antonio, which at the time was lying entirely outside the shipping in the roads. A swarm of wild bees from the shore suddenly located themselves directly under the sternpost of a boat lying above the deck, and all attempts to drive them away proved unavailing, the chief officer being very severely stung in endeavoring to get rid of them. They held to their position for several days, and were eventually destroyed after the steamer had hauled alongside the wharf.

Rev. L.L. Langstroth recently said: When I commenced bee-keeping, a sting caused much swelling, but in time this trouble passed away. Several years passed, during which I handled no bees, and when I again attempted it, I found myself more susceptible to the poison than ever, but by continuing to work with the bees, disregarding the stings, my former indifference returned.

Ohio bee-keepers will discuss the following questions at the Columbus meeting on the 14-16: How to winter bees successfully. How many brood-frames are necessary in one hive? What can be done to prevent adulteration of honey? How to create a home market for honey. How many colonies can be kept in one locality? Can we do without separators? What shall we do with second swarms? Which is the most salable section--one-half, one, or two pounds? Which are best--deep or shallow frames? Is it advisable to have a standard-size frame for all bee-keepers?

Many are inquiring the proper way to let bees out on shares, so as to have both parties satisfied. I do not know any such way, for the most I have known in regard to letting bees out on shares resulted in both parties being dissatisfied. But it all depends on what the agreement is; and perhaps you had better have it down in writing. One case I have recently heard of, the agreement was to divide the profits. Well, it so happened that there was no profit, but there was a pretty big loss; and as no provision had been made for this state of affairs, each one felt disposed to put the loss on to the shoulders of the other. I decided it would be about fair to divide the loss; but very likely circumstances might make this not the right way after all. So says the editor of Gleanings. It strikes us that he is all right, but if he had said to bee-keepers "use the same common sense as to contracts that people do in other kinds of business," he would have covered the whole ground.

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THE PRAIRIE FARMER

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YOUTH'S COMPANION

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REMEMBER _that $2.00 pays for_ THE PRAIRIE FARMER _from this date to January 1, 1885: For $2.00 you get it for one year and a copy of_ THE PRAIRIE FARMER COUNTY MAP OF THE UNITED STATES, FREE! _This is the most liberal offer ever made by any first-class weekly agricultural paper in this country._

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SILK CULTURE.

WOMEN IN SILK CULTURE.

The feminine portion of our population is getting to be mighty independent. Instead of waiting, Micawber-like, for something (a man) to turn up they are going to work to turn it up themselves. They would rather make a living for themselves than have a man to make it for them. They are teaching schools, operating telegraph instruments and telephones, clerking, keeping books of account, type-writing, doing short-hand reporting, lecturing, preaching, practicing law, and some have so far fallen from grace as to be editing papers. But many of these occupations present closed doors to our country girls and women. Many of these can not leave their country homes, and these occupations, with the exception of school teaching, can not be carried on in the country. Others, who could leave home, are chary of braving the wiles and temptations of the city, and their friends are still more loth to have them go. The great need is some work, light, respectable, and yet fairly remunerative, which our country lassies can carry on at home. School teaching is possible, but teaching country district schools is the most thankless of all drudgery, and, besides, a majority of our young women are not able to endure the worry and close confinement. If it can be made successful, sericulture offers by far the best opportunity to country girls to earn their own pin money, or even their own living. It can be engaged in at home; it is light, pleasant, and interesting work; and there is no doubt that American silk can be produced of such a quality that there will be a brisk demand for it at good prices. But if all this be true the question at once presents itself, Why have not American women engaged largely in sericulture?

The answer is that they have been appalled at the very outset by the alleged expense of the undertaking. The promoters of the enterprise took to writing books. There was an excuse for this amounting almost to a necessity. To engage in silk culture, a person must be possessed of some special knowledge. It is no harder than poultry or bee-keeping, but a person to succeed at these must have some expert knowledge, and as sericulture was a new thing, beginners must have books containing what they needed. But these authors made the business much more difficult and expensive than it should be. First of all, they laid it down as one of the Medes and Persian laws of sericulture, that the worms must have mulberry leaves to subsist upon. Mulberry sprouts are costly to begin with; then the trees must grow at least two years, and should grow five years, before the leaves are used. This, of itself, was enough to deter but a very few from silk culture. But they made it appear, also, that very expensive appliances for a cocoonery were necessary, and only the most costly breeds of worms should be used, entailing greater expense and difficulty. The books were, and for that matter are, filled with dry scientific details of the internal construction of the worm and of its habits--details which only confused the learner and which, though giving an author material from which to deduce rules of instruction, should have been omitted from the book and their place supplied with the rules deduced. In short, it seemed to be the prime object to make sericulture as hard and forbidding as possible, and to deter the people from it rather than to induce them to engage in the work. For this very reason there has been considerable popular indifference to it, and from the agricultural press it has not received that attention which so promising an industry deserves. I would not be so unjust as to leave the reader to infer that all authors on sericulture have been thus guilty. There have been some very few who from the very start have presented it in as easy and practicable a light as was consistent with successful work. Nor would I be ready to assert that those who have said it could not be made financially profitable without mulberry groves, fancy priced worms, and expensive appliances, have done so from base motives. Yet it would appear as if not a few could be justly indicted of this; for they have mulberry sprouts, fancy priced worms, and costly appliances to sell. And perhaps it occurred to them that if they deterred the people generally from taking hold of it, they would have less opposition and competition.

But be this as it may, the fact is that it is not necessary to have mulberry groves, costly appliances, or even fancy priced worms (though good worms only should be reared), in order to profitably engage in sericulture. I know of no business presenting so promising an opening that requires less capital. And I say this, having no axe to grind in any way, simply for the sake of those girls and women who might make money by it, and who would do so if they only knew the facts. I have no book, no sprouts, no worms, nothing whatever, to sell.

I have said that the leaves of the mulberry are not essential to silk growing. If this be true the greatest obstacle in the way of sericulture becoming a great national industry will have been removed. And that it is true is proven by the experience of not a few practical silk-growers. Without exception those who have tested the matter say that the leaves of the Osage-orange are equal to those of the mulberry, and some say they are better. My position brings me into correspondence with the leading specialists in agricultural pursuits, and among others with many practical silk-growers. To-day I received letters from three silk-growers, one in Illinois, one in Kansas, and one in California. Each had fed the leaves of the Osage-orange exclusively for the last two years, and with the best results. One said there was no doubt that they were at least equal to the leaves of the mulberry, and the other two pronounced them superior. One of our best authorities on sericulture, Prof. Barricelli, has shown by means of chemical analyses and other scientific data, that as nourishment for silk-worms the Osage is superior to the mulberry. In fact, nine-tenths of the practical silk-growers of the West, those who are making it not only practicable but profitable, are now feeding Osage leaves exclusively. This should be known by the people at large. There can be no monopoly of the Osage-orange. No one can demand of the expectant silk culturist exorbitant prices for Osage sprouts. In very few localities will it be necessary to plant the Osage even. We have an abundance of Osage hedges, particularly in the West. In such localities the silk culturist will be at no expense whatever for food for the worms, and will not be under even the necessity of waiting a couple of years for it to grow. When this is more fully understood by the girls and women of the country, we may expect silk culture to assume the importance of a profitable national industry.

JOHN M. STAHL.

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MEDICAL.

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Send 10 cents to Dr. C.R. Sykes, 181 Monroe street, Chicago, for valuable book of full information, and mention the "Two Ladies."

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PUBLICATIONS

THE YOUTH'S COMPANION

FOR 1884.

THE COMPANION presents below the Announcement of its Fifty-Seventh Volume. Its unusual character, both in the range of its topics, and its remarkably brilliant list of Contributors, will, we trust, be accepted as a grateful recognition of the favor with which the paper has been received by more than 300,000 subscribers.

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Illustrated Serial Stories.

A Story of English Rustic Life, by Thomas Hardy. The Foundling of Paris, by Alphonse Daudet. A Boys' Story, by J.T. Trowbridge. The Covenanter's Daughter, by Mrs. Oliphant. A Story of Adventure, by C.A. Stephens. My School at Orange Grove, by Marie B. Williams.

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Science and Natural History.

Eccentricities of Insanity, by Dr. W.A. Butler. Common Adulterations of Food, by Dr. J.C. Draper. The Home Life of Oysters, and other Natural History Papers, by Arabella B. Buckley. Wonders in Ourselves; or the Curiosities of the Human Body, by Dr. Austin Flint, Jr. Insect Enemies of the Garden, the Orchard and the Wheat-Field, by A.S. Packard, Jr. Demons of the Air and Water. A fascinating Series of Papers on Sanitary Science, by R. Ogden Doremus. The Youth Of the Brain, "Speech in Man," "Animal Poisons and their Effects," and Other Papers, by Dr. W.A. Hammond. Strange Ways Of Curing People. A Description of Curious Sanitaria,--the Peat, Mud, Sand, Whey, and Grape Cures, by William H. Rideing.

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Encouragement and Advice.

Hints for Poor Farmers, by C.E. Winder. The Failures of Great Men, by James Parton. A Dietary for Nervous People, by Dr. W.A. Hammond. Hints for Country House-Builders, by Calvert Vaux. The Gift Of Memory, and Other Papers, giving Instances of Self-Help, by Samuel Smiles. A New Profession for Young Men. The Opportunities for Young Men as Electrical Engineers, by Thomas A. Edison. At the Age Of Twenty-One. A Series of Papers showing what Great Men had accomplished, and what they proposed doing, at that period of their lives, by Edwin P. Whipple.

* * * * *

Original Poems.

BY ALFRED TENNYSON, VICTOR HUGO, THE EARL OF LYTTON, J.C. WHITTIER, T.B. ALDRICH, DR. CHARLES MACKAY, And Many Others.

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Illustrated Adventure and Travel.

Shark-Hunting, by T.B. Luce. Four Amusing Stories, by C.A. Stephens. Outwitted. An Indian Adventure, by Lieut. A. Chapin. A Honeymoon in the Jungle, by Phil. Robinson. Wrecked Upon a Volcanic Island, by Richard Heath. Stories of the Cabins in the West, by E.J. Marston. Adventures in the Mining Districts, by H. Fillmore. The Capture of Some Infernal Machines, by William Howson. Breaking in the Reindeer, and Other Sketches of Polar Adventure, by W.H. Gilder. An American in Persia, by the American Minister Resident, Teheran, S.G.W. Benjamin. China as Seen by a Chinaman, by the Editor of the Chinese American, Wong Chin Foo. Stories Of Menageries. Incidents connected with Menagerie Life, and the Capture and Taming of Wild Beasts for Exhibition, by S.S. Cairns. Boys Afoot in Italy and Switzerland. The Adventures of two English boys travelling abroad at an expense of one dollar a day, by Nugent Robinson.

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Reminiscences and Anecdotes.

Stage-Driver Stories, by Rose Terry Cooke. Stories of Saddle-Bag Preachers, by H.L. Winckley. My First Visit to a Newspaper Office, by Murat Halstead. Queen Victoria's Household and Drawing-Rooms, by H.W. Lucy. Child Friendships of Charles Dickens, by his Daughter, Mamie Dickens. Our Herbariums; Adventures in Collecting Them, by A Young Lady. My Pine-Apple Farm, with incidents of Florida Life, by C.H. Pattee. Bigwigs of the English Bench and Bar, by a London Barrister, W.L. Woodroffe. At School with Sir Garnet Wolseley, and the Life of a Page of Honor in the Vice-Regal Court of Dublin, by Nugent Robinson. Student Waiters. Some Humorous Incidents of a Summer Vacation in the White Mountains, by Child McPherson.

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THE EDITORIALS OF THE COMPANION, without having any bias, will give clear views of current events at home and abroad. THE CHILDREN'S PAGE will sustain its reputation for charming pictures, poems, and stories for the little ones.

ISSUED WEEKLY. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, $1.75. SPECIMEN COPIES FREE.

SPECIAL OFFER.--To any one who subscribes now, and sends us $1.75, we will send the Companion free to January 1st, 1884, and a full year's subscription from that date.

Address,

PERRY MASON & CO., 41 TEMPLE PLACE, BOSTON, MASS.

_Please mention where you read this Advertisement._

* * * * *

HOUSEHOLD.

For nothing lovelier can be found
In woman than to study _household_ good.--_Milton._

THE SCHOOL-MARM'S STORY.

A frosty chill was in the air--
How plainly I remember--
The bright autumnal fires had paled,
Save here and there an ember;
The sky looked hard, the hills were bare,
And there were tokens everywhere
That it had come--November.

I locked the time-worn school-house door,
The village seat of learning.
Across the smooth, well trodden path
My homeward footstep turning;
My heart a troubled question bore,
And in my mind, as oft before,
A vexing thought was burning.

"Why is it up hill all the way?"
Thus ran my meditations:
The lessons had gone wrong that day
And I had lost my patience.
"Is there no way to soften care,
And make it easier to bear
Life's sorrows and vexations?"

Across my pathway through the wood
A fallen tree was lying;
On this there sat two little girls,
And one of them was crying.
I heard her sob: "And if I could,
I'd get my lessons awful good,
But what's the use of trying?"

And then the little hooded head
Sank on the other's shoulder.
The little weeper sought the arms
That opened to enfold her.
Against the young heart, kind and true,
She nestled close, and neither knew
That I was a beholder.

And then I heard--ah! ne'er was known
Such judgment without malice,
Nor queenlier council ever heard
In senate, house or palace!--
"I should have failed there, I am sure,
Don't be discouraged; try once more,
And I will help you, Alice."

"And I will help you." This is how
To soften care and grieving;
Life is made easier to bear
By helping and by giving.
Here was the answer I had sought,
And I, the teacher, being taught
The secret of true living.

If "I will help you" were the rule.
How changed beyond all measure
Life would become! Each heavy load
Would be a golden treasure;
Pain and vexation be forgot;
Hope would prevail in every lot,
And life be only pleasure.

--_Wolstan Dixey._

A CHAT ABOUT THE FASHIONS.

Although the lady readers of THE PRAIRIE FARMER have probably by this time made up the heavier part of their winter wardrobe, still a few suggestions may not be out of place, for the "fashions" is a subject of which we seldom tire.

In discussing the subject of silk and silk-culture at the late Woman's Congress, Mrs Julia Ward Howe said that "although silk is said to be depreciating in value, and is not quite as popular as formerly, yet we must confess it lies very near the feminine heart," at which statement an audible smile passed over the audience, as each one acknowledged to herself its truth.

We are glad to see that wrappers are becoming quite "the thing" for afternoon home wear, and a lady now need not feel at all out of place receiving her callers in a pretty, gracefully made wrapper. The Watteau wrapper is made of either silk or brocaded woolen goods, conveniently short, the back cut square at the neck, and folded in a handsome Watteau plait at the center, with a full ruche effect. A yolk portion of silk fills in the open neck and is sewed flatly underneath to the back. The side seams are curved so that a clinging effect is produced at the sides. Jabbots of lace extending down the front, and a prettily bowed ribbon at the right shoulder, with a standing collar at the neck, and a linen choker collar give the finishing touches to the toilette.

Velvets and velveteens seem to be taking the place of silk, and are really quite as cheap. In fact, velveteens are cheaper, as they are so much wider. A suit of velveteen is fashionable for any occasion--for receptions, church or street costume. The redingote or polonaise is very stylish and pretty, especially for a tall, rather slight person. For a young miss the close-fitting frock coat, with pointed vest effectively disclosed between the cut-away edges of the coat fronts, is much worn. The latter curve away from the shoulders and are nicely rounded off at their lower front corners. An underarm dart gives a smooth adjustment over each hip, and in these darts are inserted the back edges of the vest. Buttons and buttonholes close the vest, but the coat fronts do not meet at all. The coat and long-pointed overskirt can be made of any heavy material, but the vest should be of silk; a deep box-plait on the bottom of the underskirt made of silk to match the vest will make the suit very stylish and pretty.

There ought to be great satisfaction among the wearers of bonnets and hats this season, because they can so easily have what they want--big or little, plain or decorated, as they please. For a person with dark hair, gold braid loosely put around the edge of a velvet capote is very becoming. Bunches of tips are worn much more than the long, drooping plumes, though both are fashionable; while birds--sometimes as many as three on a hat--are often preferred to either. We notice upon the street a great many elegantly dressed ladies with but a single band of wide velvet ribbon fastened somewhat carelessly around the bonnet and tied in a bow under the chin. Unique it may be, but undoubtedly the taste of the wearer, would be the verdict of the passer by. In fact, one can scarcely be out of the fashion in the choice of a bonnet or hat, but care should be taken that it be just the thing for the wearer, and that it be properly put on.

I firmly believe in the doctrine that "good clothes tendeth toward grace." What woman can not talk better when she knows she looks well? She can then forget herself and lose all self-consciousness, which is a state most devoutly to be desired by all women--particularly our young women. So, girls, study your costumes, especially the "superfluities," or "furbelows," as they are wont to be called; make yourselves look as pretty as you possibly can--and then forget yourselves.

I wish all our lady readers might have been here the holiday week, for the stores were perfect bowers of beauty. It was a pretty sight in itself to watch the crowds of happy-faced children, with their little pocket-books in their hands, at the various counters buying presents for father, mother, brothers, and sisters. Children always enjoy Christmas more when they can make, as well as receive, presents. So I hope all our little readers were made happy by both giving and receiving.

I am sorry I could not give you a more satisfactory talk on the fashions, but our space is limited this week. I hope the ladies will not forget that our "Household" department is open to them, and that they will contribute anything that may be of interest to the others.

MARY HOWE.

A KITCHEN SILO.

The farmer's wife in the Netherlands has long been using a sort of a silo. Probably she had been doing so for long years before M. Geoffrey began experimenting with preserved stock food in France. The Netherland housewife's silo consists of an earthenware jar about two feet tall. Into one of these jars in summer time she places the kidney bean; in another shelled green peas; in another broad beans, and so on. Making a layer about six inches deep in each. She sprinkles a little salt on top and presses the whole firmly down. Then she adds another layer and more salt. She leaves a light weight on top to keep all well pressed down and exclude the air, in the intervals between pickings for often the harvest of a single day will not fill the jar. When full, she puts on a heavier weight, and covers all with brown paper. She thus has green vegetables preserved for winter. The ensilage is said to be "more or less good, according to taste."

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CHICKEN SALAD: Two common sized fowls, one teacup of good salad oil, half a jar of French sweet mustard, the hard-boiled yolks of ten eggs, half a pint of vinegar, one teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, eight heads of celery, one teaspoon of salt or a little more if required. Cut and mix the chicken and celery and set away in a cool place. Mash the eggs to a paste with the oil, then add the vinegar and other things, mix thoroughly, but do not pour it over the salad until about half an hour before serving, as the celery may become wilted.

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SOFT GINGERBREAD: One cup butter and two cups sugar well worked together, three eggs well beaten in, one cup New Orleans molasses, one cup good sweet milk and five cups of flour into which has been stirred one teaspoonful baking powder, not heaped, two tablespoonfuls ground cinnamon and one tablespoonful ground ginger. Bake in small dripping pans not too full, as they will rise.

* * * * *

Mixture of two parts of glycerine, one part ammonia, and a little rose water whitens and softens the hands.

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OUR BOOKS.

BOOKS FREE!

Good books are valued by intelligent men and women more than silver and gold. They are treasures in every home. They are to the mind what light and heat are to plants. They

_STORE THE MIND WITH USEFUL KNOWLEDGE_;

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These books comprise standard works, and the latest and best books for

Farmers, Stockmen,
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Architects, Etc., Etc.

THE PRAIRIE FARMER PUBLISHING COMPANY will give to any person, association, or club, who will obtain and send subscribers to THE PRAIRIE FARMER (including both new subscribers and renewals), at the regular price of the paper ($2) each, any of the books contained in our Book List on the following terms:

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Sent by mail to any part of the United States or Canada, the postage will be seven cents on each dollar's worth of books.

It is necessary that parties to whom the books are given shall remit us the postage before the books are sent.

* * * * *

A Dictionary Free!

This is no catchpenny affair, but a valuable lexicon. It is the popular

AMERICAN DICTIONARY,

on the basis of Webster, Worcester, Johnson, and other eminent American and English authorities. It contains over 32,000 words, with accurate definitions, proper spelling, and exact pronunciation; to which is added a mass of valuable information. It is enriched with 400 illustrations.

REMEMBER,

every subscriber at the regular price of THE PRAIRIE FARMER gets this Dictionary FREE, if preferred to our commercial map.

* * * * *

HERE IS ANOTHER.

ROPP'S CALCULATOR And Account Book for 1884.

This is the most useful thing in the way of a memorandum book and calculator ever issued. It is a work of nearly 80 pages of printed matter and an equal number of blank leaves, ruled, for keeping accounts. The contents include a vast array of practical calculations, 100,000 or more in number, arranged for reference like a dictionary, so that a farmer or business man may turn to the figures, and find the answer to any problem in business.

There are three kinds. We use No. 3. Full leather; assorted colors, with flap, slate pocket, and a renewable account book, ruled with divisions or headings especially adapted to farmers' use. The retail price of this book in leather is $1. We will send it FREE to every subscriber to THE PRAIRIE FARMER who sends us $2. Or we will send THREE copies of No. 1, the cheaper issue.

* * * * *

AND YET ANOTHER.

AMERICAN ETIQUETTE AND RULES OF POLITENESS.

It is the latest and best standard work recommended and endorsed by all who have read it. The acknowledged authority. Beautifully and appropriately illustrated; handsomely and substantially bound. It contains 38 chapters, treating on all subjects relating to etiquette. We send this book--plain edition, to any subscriber desiring it who sends $2.00 for THE PRAIRIE FARMER year, or for two subscribers to THE PRAIRIE FARMER at $2 each, we will send American Etiquette bound in English cloth, burnished edges.

Our large and varied premium list will be issued in a few days. Send for it.

* * * * *

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* * * * *

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To Our Readers.