Chapter IV: Part 4

You will not find it on the map because it is not mentioned there, and I shall not tell you where it is because I promised the little woman who owns it, and who gave me permission to tell other women what she had done, that I would not mention her name or the name of the place where she lives and works. How did I happen to find her? I didn't find her; it just happened--i.e., if anything ever happens in this queer old world of ours. We bumped our heads together once in a railway accident, and we have been firm friends ever since.

Her farm is only a bit of land, some thirty acres, but for the last five years she has made from ten to twelve hundred dollars a year from it, and most of the money came from the ducks. She sells eggs for hatching, and ducks for breeding and for exhibition, but the main object is ducks and feathers for market. She thinks ducks are less trouble and quite as profitable as hens. She keeps twenty-four stock ducks, eight males and sixteen females, through the winter. The ducks commence laying from the middle of February to the first of March, and lay from 100 to 125 eggs each in a season. The first laid eggs are set to get ducks to sell for breeding stock and for the early summer market. For this purpose the eggs from the ducks that are two or three years old are used, and when hatched the ducklings from those eggs are marked by punching a small round hole in the web of the feet. She thinks, and rightly, too, that the eggs from the older ducks procure larger and more vigorous birds than the first eggs from the young ducks.

As soon as the weather gets warm enough to ship without danger of chilling on the way, she sells eggs for hatching at $3 per dozen, and finds no difficulty in disposing of as many as she cares to spare at that price. Her sales of eggs for hatching amount to about $100 yearly. Besides the eggs used and sold for hatching she generally sends a twenty-four-dozen case to New York just before Easter. These large, finely-shaped, pure white eggs sell readily for Easter eggs, and bring from forty to fifty cents per dozen.

From the eggs set on her own place during the season she raises from ten to twelve hundred ducks each year. The ducklings are hatched from the first of April up to about the first of August. Most of the ducklings are raised by hen mothers, and she keeps some fifty hens for that purpose. The hens are all pure Buff Cochins, and are kept until they are two years and a half old. Besides raising two broods of ducks each season, each hen pays her owner an average profit of seventy-five cents a year from the sale of eggs for market. When fattened for market at the end of the second season, these Cochin hens are large and heavy, and the carcass of the old fowl generally sells for enough to pay for a pullet to take her place. No chickens are raised on the farm; the pullets are bought of a neighbor who keeps the Buff Cochins.

She aims to set several hens and the incubator at the same time; when the eggs hatch the incubator ducklings are divided up among the hens; one hen will care for twenty ducklings until they are old enough to care for themselves. The eggs hatch well--those in the incubator quite as well as those under hens, and when the incubator ducklings are once mixed up with the others she finds it impossible to distinguish "which from 'tother."

When the ducklings are ten or twelve hours old they are moved with the mother hen to coops and safety runs, which are placed in an orchard near the house. This orchard contains about four and a half acres, and the coops are scattered over it a few rods apart. On the side of the orchard that leads to the "pond lot," the bottom board of the fence is a foot wide and comes close to the ground in order to keep the ducklings from taking to the water too early in life.

When the ducklings are four weeks old the hens are taken away, but the ducklings are kept in the orchard until they are six weeks old, or until they are well feathered on the breast and under part of their bodies, when they are turned into the pond lot, where they "take to the water like ducks."

The pond lot contains nearly thirteen acres, five of which are covered with water. Originally, this lot was a piece of low, rocky, bushy pasture land, between two low ranges of hills. A stream of clear, sparkling water, a famous trout brook, ran through the center. The woman who proposed to raise ducks saw at once the advantage of such a situation, and had a dam constructed near the upper end of the lot, and later another was made lower down, so that the lot contained two large ponds. Where the fences which separate my friend's land from that of her neighbor cross the stream, water-gates are put in, which keep the ducks from swimming out with the water; and the bottom boards of the fence around the rest of the lot keep them from getting out that way. Two well-trained dogs guard this lot at night, and woe to the two-footed or four-footed prowler who intrudes.

The duck houses are simply long, low sheds--with the exception of the one where the breeding stock is wintered, which is inclosed--placed on the slope a few rods back from the water. They were built of refuse lumber, and the cost was comparatively trifling. Connected with the house for the breeding-stock is a small yard where the ducks are shut in at night through the laying season. From the time when they are twelve hours old till within twenty-four hours of the time when they are killed for market, the ducklings are well fed with a great variety of food. From the first meal until they are turned into the pond lot they are fed every two hours between daylight and dark. "Little and often," is the motto. Before they take to the water the ducklings are fed a little cooked meat once each day, and doubtless this ration of meat has much to do toward making the fine large ducks that my friend has a reputation for raising. After they are turned into the pond lot the ducklings are fed but three times a day till within two or three weeks of the time when they are to be marketed; then they are confined in the fattening yards and fed oftener.

The fattening yards are situated between the two ponds, and so arranged as to inclose a portion of the stream.

The ducklings are marketed as fast as they reach a suitable age and size. She commences sending them to market about the middle of June and keeps it up till about the middle of September, when she quits till near the middle of January. These prime young ducks, getting into market at a time when such poultry is scarce, bring good prices--from 22 to 25 cents a pound, dressed. By the time the price begins to decline she has marketed all the earlier ones that she cares to spare, and the later-hatched she keeps growing till mid-winter, when fine ducks are again scarce and the price goes up. At Thanksgiving and during the holidays when the markets are crowded with poultry of all kinds, she holds on to her ducks, unless she has an order at an extra price.

At first my friend kept the Rouens; then she tried the Aylesburys, but now she keeps only the pure Pekins, and is so well satisfied with them that she has no desire to change for anything else. She says, "For laying qualities, quick growth, great size, fine flesh and fine feathers, the Pekins can not be excelled."

On her place I have seen six-weeks old Pekins that weighed six pounds a pair alive, and those that dressed from three to four pounds each at ten or twelve weeks. At five and six months her ducks dress from six to eight pounds each. For the feathers, the best and finest of which are carefully saved by themselves, my friend obtains forty cents per pound.

All the work connected with the duck-raising, except now and then some heavy work which is necessary in the pond lot, is now performed by my friend and her three children, a boy of fifteen, and two girls of thirteen and eighteen.

There is a moral to this, but if you can't find it it will not do you one bit of good.

FANNY FIELD.

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CONSUMPTION CURED.

An old physician, retired from practice, having had placed in his hands by an East India missionary the formula of a simple vegetable remedy for the speedy and permanent cure of Consumption, Bronchitis, Catarrh, Asthma and all throat and Lung Affections, also a positive and radical cure for Nervous Debility and all Nervous Complaints, after having tested its wonderful curative powers in thousands of cases, has felt it his duty to make it known to his suffering fellows. Actuated by this motive and a desire to relieve human suffering, I will send free of charge, to all who desire it, this recipe, in German, French, or English, with full directions for preparing and using. Sent by mail by addressing with stamp, naming this paper.

W.A. NOYES, _149 Power's Block, Rochester, N.Y._

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A GUILT frame--the prison window.

THE APIARY.

APIARY APPLIANCES.

In the last issue of THE PRAIRIE FARMER the "Italian and German Bees" were described true as life, by that prince of writers, L.L. Langstroth. After a careful perusal of the article named, in which the good and bad traits of each race are delineated, any person ought to be able to choose intelligently which bee is best, all things taken into consideration, for him to procure.

In starting an apiary, there is another item of equal importance, and that is what kind of dwellings should be erected for the occupants of this future city. The wants of the future tenants should be considered; provide them with all modern conveniences, as to pantry and larder, and don't forget, as some architects do, that abodes should be ventilated as well as warm. Some bee-masters prefer houses that are high between ceilings, others low; some prefer large houses, many again those that are smaller. The size has to be made according to the frame chosen. There are five different sizes of movable frames now in use among bee-keepers, and those are equally successful who use either size. The Langstroth is more in common use than any other. Some object to it, claiming that it is too shallow.

In looking at the plates of the five different sizes of frames, an idea is gained how minds differ. Each one has its advocates, and its votaries claim that the frame they use is the very best for all purposes. We were once looking out of the window of a friend's house on her neat, well-kept apiary, and remarked what baby hives. And we found no fault with the baby, when this lady showed us her beautiful white sections of comb-honey, and ate her delicious peaches, canned, with extracted honey for sweetening.

It must be fun to handle the little Gallup, but the Langstroth has an advantage over all others; it consists in this: that it is most used, and if a person desires to sell his hives and frames, he can more readily do so. It is also easily obtained, as it is kept in stock by supply dealers, and can be quickly sent forward when ordered, but if it was an off size wanted, a delay would occur; some change might have to be made in the machinery, and it would cost more, as well as the delay occasioned, which, if in the midst of the honey harvest, might cause great loss.

Other appliances of the apiary, to suit this frame, are kept by supply dealers; such as extractors, comb-baskets, uncapping cans, etc. With any of these frames a hive can be made large or small, by regulating the number of frames. If the hives are bottomless, as many make them, a tall hive can be made by tiering up, as is practiced by those who work for extracted honey. The Adair frame was formerly used in a hive called the "New Idea, or Non-swarming Hive." Its non-swarming qualities consisted in its being a long hive, and if empty frames were always kept in front, so that the bees had to pass through empty space to reach the brood nest, they would not swarm.

Frames should be placed in a hive an inch and one-half from center to center, and should have three-eighths of an inch space between them and the hive. This last item was considered of enough importance to have a patent issued for it. If the distance from the top of the frames to the honey board, or between the frames and the hive, is less than three-eighths of an inch, the bees will propolis it together, and if it is more, they will build comb between.

MRS. L. HARRISON.

WHAT SHOULD BE WORKED FOR.

As publishers, says the Weekly Bee Journal, we should,

1. Encourage planting bee-pasturage, that there may be, every season, a crop of honey to gather, in order to make apiculture a certain occupation.

2. Foster district and local societies to afford mutual instruction, and strengthen fraternization.

3. Institute large and attractive honey and apiarian exhibits at all fairs, to educate the community to the desirableness of a superior product.

4. Cultivate a discriminating domestic market, to encourage superiority and excellence.

5. Sell at all times, and in all places, an honest article under an honest name.

* * * * *

BROWN'S BRONCHIAL TROCHES for Coughs and Colds: "I do not see how it is possible for a public man to be himself in winter without this valuable aid."--_Rev. R.M. Devens, Pocasset, Mass._

* * * * *

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SCIENTIFIC.

THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM.

"We have seen his star in the East," said the wise men. From what remote region of antiquity may we suppose that this fancy came, that important events to the world of man were heralded by marvelous phenomena of the heavens? To the ignorant man, there can never be any world outside of that with which he is concerned. So the primitive man had no use for planets, comets, and the like, that were not in some way concerned with his destiny. And we no doubt own our magnificent modern science of astronomy to the quack system of astrology, which was only a device to induce the heavenly bodies to minister to the importance and conceit of man.

The accepted Scriptures tell us that the birth of the Savior of mankind was heralded by the appearance of a remarkable star in the sky. Taking this assertion to be true, it might be a matter of some interest to consider what explanations have been made of this phenomenon. A large majority of religious teachers, we admit, even to the present day, have attempted no explanation whatever, but have settled the subject by calling the star a miraculous appearance, concerning whose true nature we can know nothing. But two solutions of the phenomenon have been given by well-known astronomers, either of which, if accepted, will place the miracle in the list of purely natural occurrences.

Kepler held that the Star of Bethlehem was simply a conjunction of the planets. Astronomy, which, more fortunate than history, can bring unimpeachable witnesses to its record of past events, assures us that there was a remarkable conjunction, or rather three conjunctions of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, in the year of Rome 747, or seven years before the Christian era. It is now generally admitted that Christ was probably born at least four years before the date fixed upon as the first "year of our Lord," and remembering how much uncertainty hangs about this date we might consider ourselves fully justified in placing it, as Kepler did, in the year 7 B.C. This being granted, let us see how the occurrence of the conjunctions in this year explains the miracle of the "Star."

In the first place, note that the Magi, or Wise Men, of the East (presumably the country of Chaldea) were the first to call attention to the star as indicating the birth of the "King of the Jews." The Chaldeans were devoted to astrology, and it is only reasonable to infer that whatever remarkable appearance they saw in the sky, they would endeavor to explain it by their astrological laws. On the 29th of May, 7 B.C., a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurred, in the 20th degree of the constellation Pisces, close to the first point of Aries; on the 29th of September of the same year, another conjunction of these planets took place, in the 16th degree of Pisces; and on the 5th of December, a third, in the 15th degree of the same sign. (These are not conjectures or inferences, but known astronomical facts.) If we suppose that the Magi, intent on their study of the heavens, saw the first of these conjunctions, they actually saw it _in the East_, for on May 29, it would rise three and one half hours before sunrise. It is not necessary to suppose that the planets approached near enough to each other to appear as one star, for they probably did not--it was their conjunctions that gave their astrological significance. It plainly indicated to these observers that some important event was impending, and what could be more important than the birth of a great man? But where was this one to appear? The sign Pisces was the most significant one for the Jews, for according to astrological legend, in the year 2865 A.M. a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in this sign had heralded the birth of Moses; the proximity to Aries indicated that the hero foretold was of kingly lineage; the Jewish expectation of a great king had become a well-known story in Chaldea during the captivity, ergo, the inference was prompt and sure, this conjunction indicated the birth of the expected King of the Jews. That they might be among the first to do honor to so great a personage as they believed this king to be, the wise men soon set out for Judea. The journey probably took them five months or more. On their way they witnessed the second conjunction, which no doubt only strengthened their faith. If they performed the journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem at the time of the third conjunction, December 5, in the evening, as the narration implies, the stars would be some distance east of the meridian, and would seem to move from southeast to southwest, or towards Bethlehem. Their standing over the house we may regard as an additional statement that crept into the narration probably through its repetitions.

Such is Kepler's explanation of the Star of Bethlehem. But before he had given this to the world, indeed while he was an infant in his cradle, Tycho Brahe had connected the phenomenon with that of one of the great variable stars of the solar system.

The latter astronomer discovered, in 1572, what appeared to be a new star in the constellation, Cassiopeia. It was a star of the first magnitude when first perceived, and daily it increased in brilliancy, till it out-shone Sirius, equaled Venus in lustre, and could be perceived, even by the naked eye, at noonday. For nearly a month the star shone; at first it had a white light, then a yellow, and finally it was a bright red. Then it slowly faded, and in about sixteen months had disappeared.

Amidst all the conjecture concerning this remarkable appearance, some regarding it as a new world in process of creation, others as a sun on fire, Tycho Brahe held to the belief, though unable to prove it, that it was a star with a regular period of light and of darkness, caused possibly by its nearness to, or distance from, the earth. When the telescope was invented, forty years later, the accuracy of this theory was known. At the spot carefully mapped out by Tycho Brahe, a telescopic star was found, undoubtedly the same one whose brilliant appearance had so startled the world in 1572. Upon this, astronomers began to study the annals of their science for similar appearances, and found that a very brilliant star had appeared and disappeared near the same spot in the heavens in 1264, and also in 945. The inference was that this star had a period of about three hundred years, and counting back, imagination might place one of its periods of brilliancy very near the time of Christ's birth. For this reason it received the name of the Star of Bethlehem, and many have fully accepted the theory which makes this variable luminary identical with the "Star of the East."

This second theory has especial interest just now, for if astronomical calculations are correct, we may look for the reappearance of this remarkable star during the coming year. If it does fulfill the prediction of its return it must be reckoned as one of the most noteworthy phenomena of the century.

For the benefit of amateur observers, who are as likely as any to be the first to perceive this remarkable sight, we may say that Cassiopeia, the constellation in which it will appear, lies very near the North Star. You all know how to find the Polar Star by the pointers of the Great Dipper; continue this line beyond about an equal distance, and you will strike Caph, the largest star in Cassiopeia, or the Chair, so-called because the stars form the outline of an inverted chair. Near one of these the wandering luminary will probably flash out, "to amaze a wondering world."

We may remark, in conclusion, that though there are quite a number of variable stars, their nature and the cause of their changes are but imperfectly understood. The Star of Bethlehem has no doubt an orbit, which brings it much nearer the earth at some times than others. But astronomers do not believe that the mere fact of distance explains all changes. There is a star known as Mira, which for eleven months is wholly invisible to the naked eye, then flames forth as a star of the first magnitude, and is visible for a period of nearly three months, fading at its close into darkness again. The star Algol, in the constellation Perseus, is usually of the second magnitude, but every two and a-half days it begins to decline in brilliancy, becomes very faint, and remains thus for about three hours, and then waxes bright again. Possibly this may be caused by the shadow of another star. In 1866 a star of the eighth magnitude, in the Northern Crown, suddenly flamed up into extraordinary brilliancy, remained thus for several months and gradually subsided. This star was examined with the spectrum, and showed lines of burning hydrogen. This led to the theory, now held, that the increase in brilliancy of these stars is caused by the incandescence of this gas. These fixed stars are all supposed to be suns of other systems, and to be surrounded--like our sun--with envelopes of fiery gases; from some cause not at all understood these gases may, at regular periods, flame up with fiercer heat than usual, and produce this appearance of greatly increased light. This is a very inadequate explanation, no doubt, but it is the best that astronomers have yet been able to devise in the matter.

A.C.C.

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"TRAIN AND STATION SERVICE"--Giving The Principal Rules and Regulations governing Trains; 280 pages. 2.00

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"THE FREIGHT TRAFFIC WAY-BILL."--Its Uses Illustrated and Described. Pamphlet. .50

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Money should be remitted by express, or by draft check or post office order.

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CUT THIS OUT & Return to us with TEN CTS. & you'll get by mail A GOLDEN BOX OF GOODS that will bring you in MORE MONEY, in One Month, than anything else in America. Absolute Certainty. Need no capital. M. Young, 173 Greenwich St. N. York.

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40 (1884) Chromo Cards, no 2 alike, with name, 10c., 13 pks, $1. GEORGE I. REED & CO., Nassau, N.Y.

HOUSEHOLD.

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

HOW THE ROBIN CAME.

Happy young friends, sit by me,
Under May's blown apple-tree;
Hear a story, strange and old,
By the wild red Indians told,
How the Robin came to me:

Once a great chief left his son,--
Well-beloved, his only one,
When the boy was well-nigh grown,
In the trial-lodge alone
Left for tortures long and slow
Youths like him must undergo,
Who their pride of manhood test,
Lacking water, food and rest,
Seven days the fast he kept,
Seven nights he never slept.
Then the poor boy, wrung with pain,
Weak from nature's overstrain,
Faltering, moaned a low complaint;
"Spare me, Father, for I faint!"
But the chieftain, haughty-eyed,
Hid his pity in his pride.
"You shall be a hunter good,
Knowing never lack of food;
You shall be a warrior great,
Wise as fox, and strong as bear;
Many scalps your belt shall wear,
If with patient heart you wait
One day more!" the father said.
When, next morn, the lodge he sought,
And boiled samp and moose-meat brought
For the boy, he found him dead.

As with grief his grave they made,
And his bow beside him laid,
Pipe and knife, and wampum-braid--
On the lodge-top overhead,
Preening smooth its breast of red
And the brown coat that it wore,
Sat a bird, unknown before.
And as if with human tongue,
"Mourn me not," it said, or sung;
"I, a bird, am still your son,
Happier than if hunter fleet,
Or a brave, before your feet
Laying scalps in battle won.
Friend of man, my song shall cheer
Lodge and corn-land hovering near.
To each wigwam I shall bring
Tidings of the coming spring;
Every child my voice shall know
In the moon of melting snow,
When the maple's red bud swells,
And the wild flower lifts its bells.
As their fond companion
Men shall henceforth own your son,
And my song shall testify
That of human kin am I."

Thus the Indian legion saith
How, at first, the robin came
With a sweeter life from death,
Bird for boy, and still the same.
If my young friends doubt that this
Is the robin's genesis,
Not in vain is still the myth
If a truth be found therewith:
Unto gentleness belong
Gifts unknown to pride and wrong:
Happier far than hate is praise--
He who sings than he who slays.

_--J.G. Whittier in St. Nicholas._

AFTER TWENTY YEARS.

The following tale of love and faithful waiting is told the New York World by its Canton, Ohio, correspondent:

At the residence of Thomas Barker, three miles from this village, two people were to-day made man and wife. William Craig left his pretty girl sweetheart in a fit of jealous anger on the eve of Dec. 9, 1863, returned a week or two since, found his betrothed still single and true, and this afternoon the long deferred marriage was consummated. All the surviving friends of their youth were present, and many half forgotten associates came from neighboring towns and farms to join in the merrymaking.

Twenty years ago Will Craig worked on his father's farm near here during the day and spent his evenings at the residence of a farmer neighbor. The attraction was Mary Barker, a pretty seventeen-year old girl. Craig was deeply in love and so was Mary, but like many other girls she liked to play the coquette occasionally.

Their wedding-day was set for Christmas, 1863, and the prospective bride felt secure. One evening, however, the pretty Mary pushed her coquetry too far. On December 7, 1863, Farmer Barker gave an old-fashioned "sociable" in honor of his daughter's approaching wedding. Craig was there, of course, but his happiness was marred by the presence of a Pittsburg youth--a new comer. Mary allowed this young man to pay her many attentions.

Craig was madly jealous. After all his attention he thought his betrothed showed too much regard for his rival, and as she only laughed at his pleadings he grew angry and threatened to leave. Her seeming indifference made him desperate, and he declared:

"If you dance once more with that fellow you will not see me again for twenty years."

"You couldn't leave me for even twenty hours if you tried ever so hard," she replied, and with a coquettish smile she went off to dance with his rival.

Craig went home alone that night and the next day was missing. The most careful search failed to reveal any trace of him. The old couple continued to till the farm without the aid of the strong-armed son, and at the neighbor's down the road pretty Mary Barker went about her household labors with a demure air that told plainly how she regarded her lover's disappearance. She refused to "keep company" in the old-fashioned way with any of the young farmers who would willingly have taken young Craig's place. She went out very little, kept a cat and grew domestic in her habits. She had an abiding faith that Craig would return, and to all entreaties would only shake her head and say: "I am waiting for Will." The firm contour of the cheek grew somewhat less rounded, the springing step less elastic, but she would not think of marriage.

Friday, December 7, of this month (December) was just twenty years since the disappearance of William Craig. In the twilight a bearded man of forty came up the walk and as Miss Barker opened the door he put out both hands and said:

"Mary, I have come again."

"I am sorry you waited so long Will," was the quiet reply, as she led him into the house, where each told the story of the weary waiting, and Christmas was fixed upon once more as the day for the wedding.

To the eager questions of old friends as to where he spent the time, he told them, as he had already told his wife, how he had at once gone to Philadelphia, enlisted in the army under an assumed name, then, after the war, gone to Nebraska and taken up a tract of valuable land. This he had diligently cultivated until at present he is in more than comfortable circumstances. The Craigs will leave early in January for their Nebraska home.

WILL READERS TRY IT.

The other day, says an exchange, we came across the following recipe for making ink in an English archaeological journal. Archaeology is the "science of antiquities," and surely this recipe is old enough to be good. It occurred to us that during the summer vacation many of our boys who are longing for something to do, might earn some money by manufacturing some of this ink and selling it in their neighborhood. At any rate the recipe is a good one and worthy of a trial by old folks as well as young people. Here is the recipe, and the way it was discovered, as told by a writer in Notes and Queries:

While examining a large number of MSS. of an old scribe some twenty years ago, I was struck with the clearness and legibility of the writing, owing in a great measure to the permanent quality of the ink, which had not faded in the least, although many of the MSS. were at least two hundred years old. It was remarkable, that the writer must have been celebrated in his day for the excellence of his calligraphy, for I met with a letter or two from his correspondents in which there was a request for the recipe of the ink he used. I found his recipes, which I copied, and from one of them, dated in 1654, I have, during the last fifteen years, made all the ink I have used. The recipe is as follows:

Rain water, one pint; galls, bruised, one and one-half ounces; green copperas, six drachms; gum Arabic, ten drachms. The galls must be coarsely powdered and put in a bottle, and the other ingredients and water added. The bottle securely stoppered, is placed in the light (sun if possible), and its contents are stirred occasionally until the gum and copperas is dissolved; after which it is enough to shake the bottle daily, and in the course of a month or six weeks it will be fit for use. I have ventured to add ten drops of carbolic acid to the contents of the bottle, as it effectually prevents the formation and growth of mold, without any detriment to the quality of the ink, so far as I know.

THE SECRET OF LONGEVITY.

A French medical man who has just died at the age of one hundred and seven, pledged his word to reveal the secret of his longevity, when no more, for the benefit of others. It was stipulated, however, that the precious envelope containing the recipe for long life was not to be opened until he had been buried. The doctor's prescription, now made known, is simple enough; and easy to follow; but whether it is as available as he pretends, the Journal of Chemistry says, is extremely doubtful. He tells his fellow-men, that, if they wish to live for a century or more, they have but to pay attention to the position of their beds. "Let the head of the bed be placed to the north, the foot to the south; and the electric current, which is stronger during the night in the direction of the north, will work wonders on their constitutions, insure them healthier rest, strengthen their nervous system, and prolong their days." It is, he adds, to scrupulous attention to the position of his bed that he ascribes his longevity, the enjoyment of perfect health, and the absence of infirmity.

HOW THE INVENTOR PLAGUES HIS WIFE.

A facetious chap connected with one of our daily newspapers gave the following amusing burlesque on the trials of an inventor's wife:

"It is all very well to talk about working for the heathen," said one, as the ladies put up their sewing, "but I'd like to have some one tell me what I am to do with my husband." "What is the matter with him?" asked a sympathetic old lady. "William is a good man," continued the first, waving her glasses in an argumentative way, "but William will invent. He goes inventing round from morning till night, and I have no peace or comfort. I didn't object when he invented a fire escape, but I did remonstrate when he wanted me to crawl out of the window one night last winter to see how it worked. Then he originated a lock for the door that would not open from midnight until morning, so as to keep burglars out. The first time he tried it he caught his coat tail in it, and I had to walk around him with a pan of hot coals all night to keep him from freezing." "Why didn't he take his coat off?" "I wanted him to, but he stood around till the thing opened itself, trying to invent some way of unfastening it. That's William's trouble. He will invent. A little while ago he got up a cabinet bedstead that would shut and open without handling. It went by clockwork. William got into it, and up it went. Bless your heart, he staid in there from Saturday afternoon till Sunday night, when it flew open and disclosed William with the plans and specifications of a patent washbowl that would tip over just when it got so full. The result was that I lost all my rings and breastpin down the waste pipe. Then he got up a crutch for a man that could also be used as an opera-glass. Whenever the man leaned on it up it went, and when he put it to his eye to find William, it flew out into a crutch and almost broke the top of his head off. Once he invented a rope ladder to be worn as guard chain and lengthened out with a spring. He put it round his neck, but the spring got loose and turned it into a ladder and almost choked him to death. Then he invented a patent boot heel to crack nuts with, but he mashed his thumb with it and gave it up. Why, he has a washtub full of inventions. One of them is a prayerbook that always opens at the right place. We tried it one morning at church, but the wheels and springs made such a noise that the sexton took William by the collar and told him to leave his fire engines at home when he came to worship. The other day I saw him going up the street with a model of a grain elevator sticking out of his hip pocket, and he is fixing up an improved shot tower in our bed-room."

RECIPES.

A hot shovel held over furniture removes white spots.

A paste of equal parts of sifted ashes, clay, salt, and a little water cements cracks in stoves and ovens.

Fried potatoes: Chop fine cold boiled potatoes; heat some butter in a frying pan and put the potatoes in. A few minutes before taking them from the fire stir in some well beaten eggs. Serve hot.

Sardines picked up fine, and mixed with cold boiled ham also minced fine, and all well seasoned with a regular Mayonnaise dressing, make a delicious filling for sandwiches.

Rye Bread: Make sponge as for wheat bread; let it rise over night; then mix up with rye flour, not as stiff as wheat bread. Place in baking pans; let rise, and bake half an hour longer than wheat bread.

One of the best ways to cure sore throat is as follows: Wring a cloth out of salt and cold water, and keeping it quite wet bind tightly about the neck. Cover this with a dry cloth. It is best to use this remedy in the night.

A delicious hot sauce for puddings is made of six tablespoonfuls of sugar, two of butter, and one egg; beat the butter, sugar, and the yolk of the egg together, then add the white beaten to a froth; lastly stir in a tea-cupful of boiling water and a teaspoonful of vanilla.

A Dish for Breakfast: Take six good cooking apples, cut them in slices one-fourth of an inch thick; have a pan of fresh, hot lard ready, drop the slices in and fry till brown; sprinkle a little sugar over them and serve hot.

A little curry-powder in chopped pickle gives a delicious flavor to it. A tablespoonful of the powder to four quarts of pickle is about the right quantity to use, unless you like to use the curry in place of pepper; then at least twice this quantity should be put in.

A good way to extract the juice of beef for an invalid is to broil the beef on a gridiron for a few minutes, and then squeeze the juice from it with a lemon-squeezer. Put a little salt with it. This may be given, as the sick one prefers, cold or hot, or it may be frozen, and given in small lumps.

Rolls: Flour, two quarts; sugar, one tablespoonful; one half cup of yeast; one pint of scalded milk, or water if milk is scarce, and a little salt. Set to rise until light; then knead until hard, and set to rise, and when wanted make in rolls. Place a piece of butter between the folds and bake in a slow oven.

For Earache.--A writer in the Druggists' Circular says: "The remedy which I here offer has, after repeated trials, never failed to afford almost instant relief. It is perfectly simple, easy of application, costs but little, and can be procured at any drug store: Olive oil, 1 ounce; chloroform, 1 drachm. Mix, and shake well together. Then pour twenty-five or thirty drops into the ear, and close it up with a piece of raw cotton to exclude the air and retain the mixture."

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THE PRAIRIE FARMER AND YOUTH'S COMPANION

ONE YEAR, $3 FOR THE TWO

It is not required that both papers be sent to one address, nor to the same post-office.

Address Prairie Farmer Pub. Co.,

150 Monroe Street Chicago.

PAMPHLETS, ETC., RECEIVED.

Gunnison, Colorado's Bonanza County, by John K. Hallowell, Geologist, Denver, Col. Price 50 cents, postpaid.

Midland Florida: The Eden of the South. By "Carl" Webber, New York.

United States Consular Reports, No. 35, for November, 1883.

The Saskatchewan Fife Wheat: Its history, from its first importation from the Saskatchewan Valley, in Manitoba, six years ago, till the present time. By W.J. Abernethy.

Price list of Huntsville nurseries, Huntsville, Ala.

Oscar Close, Greendale. Catalogue of nurseries, Worcester, Mass.

Price list of L.R. Bryant's cider vinegar works, Princeton, Ill.

Vich's Floral Guide. Here it is again, brighter and better than ever; its cover alone, with its delicate tinted background and its dish of gracefully arranged flowers, would entitle it to a permanent place in every household. The 1884 edition is an elegant book of 150 pages, three colored plates of flowers and vegetables, and more than 1,000 illustrations of the choicest plants, flowers, and vegetables, with directions for growing. The price, only 10 cents, can be deducted from the first order sent for goods. Rochester, N.Y.

The Great Rock Island Cook Book, dedicated to the women of America, Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway. This book contains a selection of the most useful recipes and other valuable information in the culinary art. It will be found especially valuable for the young housekeepers, as they can hardly fail to become good cooks with such a guide.

Buist's Almanac and Garden Manual for 1884, Philadelphia. This little book is in its fifty-sixth year, and is one of the best of its kind published. It contains a full descriptive list (with cuts) of all kinds of vegetables, and many kinds of flowers.

Report of the crops of the year, December, 1883. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

The Household Magazine for January comes to us in its usual bright, readable form. It is an unusually good number and will be enjoyed by the ladies.