Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 May 1886 — Page 3

HOME, FARM, AND GARDEN.

Talks with the Farmer, Orchardist, Stock-Breeder, Poulterer, and , Housekeeper. . ■ I Hints on House Decorations, Kitchen Economy, and the Preserva* tion of Health.

AGRICULTURE. Replanting Com. Whore corn has failed to grow it will rarely pay to replant. The second growth will injure the first as much as its own is worth, and as for grain on roplanted com it rarely ripens Hops and Hop Poles. One of the largest items of expense in sotting a new or enlarging an old hop yard is the matter of poles for the vines to run oa A , very small plantation of locust trees sot closely together will supply a large yard. The locust sprouts readily when cut, and the poles are more durable than of any other rapidly growing wood. ' '' Grafting Tomatoes on Potatoes. The potato and tomato, being both members of the same family, may bo graftod into each other with success so far as growth is ooncemed. A gardener who tried grafting tho tomato on a potato plant had a crop of tomatoes above ground and one of potatoes underneath. Th§ latter, however, were not good, as the potato leaves wore needed to give character and maturity to the crop. Protecting Bright Surfaces. How many farmers remember that the time employed in scouring plows and cultivators allowed to rust is a dead loss, and m addition to that incurred by bad work while tho turning surfaco is acquiring a perfoct earth polish? One of tho Dest of tho more simple means of preventing rust is to coat all bright surfaces when not in use with a thick paint of kerosene and common lampblack. If the tools ars then kept where neither rain nor other causes will wear off the covering the surfaces will remain as they were when painted, and when used this will be carried off with the first movement in the furrow, and no clogging occur. There is also no better medium for surfaces which sometimes rust from being out over night, and the cost is next to nothing. If, however, the bright surfaces have become rusty, elbow-grease, assisted by a bath-brick and kerosene oil, will remove the difficulty.— Chicago Tribune. Compacting Zand for Com. On the question of the rationale of corngrowing a correspondent of the National Stockman has the following: “Corn wants dry land even more than wheat or other small grains. This is in part because only as the soil is dry can it be got to a high temperature early in the season. One of the important advantages from planting oora on sod, or over a mass of coarse manure, is that those under the furrow keep the soil porous,. mid thus admit the warmer air to the roots. On any heavy soil the plowing for corn should be shallow, and after plowing it should not be rolled or otherwise packed, except as is necessary in cultivating to make a mellow seed-bed. I have often seen the line where a stone-boat was drawn across a field for com after plowing distinctly visible by the smaller plants where the soil was too much compressed. This was when rains had already . sufficiently compacted the soil; but this is the coalition of most common lands contain*ifig S9me clay. In a very dry time, after " planting corn, this result might be reversed, Dut even then the improvement would be more due to better tilth than to compacting of the surface. I think much of the roller for pther crops, but it is n,ot' adapted to com on land as heavy as most of mine. Farm Notes. In the hands of the farmers rests the safety Of the republic.— John Mb Govern. lowa is the center of the new dairy constellation.— Coffin. Bbaxns on the farm gives activity to industry and food to the world. A wise observer says there is too much pigpen and not enough pig-pasture. A truthful alliteration. An Oakland, Cal., planter proposes to undertake the cultivation of tea, with the help of Japanese laborers. In Holland three-quarters of the land is in Fiasture and; hay and three-quarters of the arming population are engaged in dairying. Notwithstanding the excessive value of the soil and high taxation, they are counted the wealthiest agricultural population in the world. It iB due both to the extreme care bestowed on their admirable cattle since Ciesar’a time, and to their painstaking industry in die art of dairying, Z ■ A farmer near Plankinton, Dak., states as the result of his experience, both East and West, that if a well is dug directly boneath an ant-hill water will be found at a distanoe of not less than seventeen feet beneath the surface. Ants, he says, always locate their hills directly over a vein of water. The suggestion may be worthy of the attention of stockmen and others in locating water. It is also worthy of remark that ant-hills in the West are seldom, found except in situations where a considerable mound is required to keep the habitation out of water in wet times, and in such soils water is usually found near the surface. A Connecticut farmer says: The cankerworm is easily destroyed if'the right means are taken. Tne female moth is wingless, and must crawl up the tree to lay its eggs upon the branches. All that is necessary is to prevent this wingless moth from crawling up tho stems of tho trees. This is done by putting around the trees bands of paper smeared with printer’s ink, or a mixture of tar and fish-oil. whioh will not dry readily, and across which the moth can not pass. "This is done in the spring, in May, and m August, and there are two broods in a year. If the worms attack the trees they may be destroyed by spraying them with water to which Paris green or London purple has been added, using a force-pump and sprinkler for the purpose.

THE STOCK RANCjfr. Keeping Sheep Dry. The wool with which sheep are covered is admirably adapted to exclude cold so long as it is dry, but when thoroughly wet it is as had as no covering whatever. If shelter is provided Bheep will stay under it in stormy weather, and'their wool will be enough better to make Bhelter profitable, aside from the greater comfort and thrift of the sheep. Sweet Apples for Stock. There is unfortunately not enough domand for sweet apples for market to make them a profitable crop, but farmers having trees of productive sweet apples need hot destroy them. Probably in no other way can as much good food be produced from a small area as irom an apple tree that will bear every year, as some kinds of natural sweet apples will Feeding Cattle. Satis factory profit from beef production will usually result from one of two causes: The production of animals of fair to good quality at less than the average cost, or producing animals of very high, quality, even at comparatively large cost Tne latter course is ana Will be followed by some breeders and feeders, usually men of intelligence, large experience and abundant capital. The great mass of fat cattle which will reach our markets.will not be of this class. It is not wise for many farmers, with their present surroundings, to attempt the production of such cattla Preparing for market beeves which have been well but cheaply reared and fattened, and which, if not thoroughly ripened or finished, give wholesome, nutritious and palatable beef for the great mass of middle-class consumers, may give larger net profit to many farmers than would attempts with ordinary facilities and little experience to produce beeves of the very highest quality- . . - For some years to come, in the West, a large number of grass-fed cattle may be expected to bo sent to market during the summer and autumn months from die great grazing regions of the prairie country. So far as it is practicable, it is wise sos feeders on the farms of the older States to send their cattle to market when they will not be in competition with these grass cattla It is doubtful whether the farmers of Illinois, for tostanoe, can

oompete with the Western cattle without fairly liberal grain feeding. It also seems true, however, that the once common plan of almost unlimited corn feeding for a vear or more to cattle in open fields has ceased to beprofitable. Z Z Z The mass of Illinois-bred stoers of good quality are marketed from thirty to forty-two months of age. Steers four years old or more are becoming more and more rare in the best feeding districts of the State, and as yet comparatively few are slaughtered before 2% years. We hsve not yet reached the time when what is known as “baby beef” is generally profitable to the producer. For four years we havo reared a score or ihore of calves. eaoh year using skimmed milk ontirely aftor they wero from dne to two weeks old, and are sure that the practico is desirable for very many farmers. We have not been able to secure so rapid growth or so plump and attractive appearance for the oalvos as whon they sucklo their dams or are sod whole milk. Nor do we secure maturity in. so short a time. In other words, we behove pure milk is the best possible food for a calf, but satisfactory results and often greater profits result from using the cream for butter-making and feeding the skimmed milk. The change to-skimmed milk should not be made suddenly. Cjye should be takon to have the milk or uniform temperature whon sod, better below than above that of fresh milk. It is bettor to feed three timos a day while the calvos are young, and better to food oach calf separately than several toS other. A good device by which the calf can raw its milk as nearly as possible as it does in suckling is better than to have it drink from a pail or trough. The use of linseed oil meal, better heated and thoroughly mixed with tho milk, is dosirablo. The calves should be encouraged to eat coarse or cut hav and some grain or meal, oats being preferable, as soon as may be. Large quantities of milk at long intervals are not nearly so good as smaller quantities more frequently given and accompanied by other food. The milk should be continued until tho calves aro five or six months old. With such treatment we have produced calves weighing 350 to 400 pounds at six mouths, 600 to 700 pounds at one year, 1,000 to 1,100 pounds at two years, on grass, and 1,500 pounds at thirty-three months after two or three months of grain feeding. These are not great weights, but they are not unsatisfactory, and with butter selling at 20 to 26 cents, as at present in this section, these weights from skim-milk rearing are able to reSay greater profit than giving the calves all le milk from the cows .—Bulletin of the Illinois College of Agriculture.

THE ORCHARD. Russet Apples for Cider. It is not generally known that the russet apple is one of the very best for cider. It has a very rich juice and the culls of russets unfit for Barreling may be more profitably utilized for cider than for any other purpose. Profit in Fruit Growing. The farmer who sella fruit, even at low prices, will be surprised to find how much more ne receives from an equal area in any kind of fruit than in ordinary grain crops. It takes a pretty large area to produce #2O worth of wheat at present prices, hut this amount is easily realized from a few choice vines or trees in full bearing, and with less expense for cultivating and harvesting. The Care of Orchards. The propriety of pruning fruit in the winter is a topic upon which there is much disagreement, Dut if the work is well done it matters but little when it is done, and perhaps the best time is “whenever one’s knife is sharp." The practico of scraping old trees so thoroughly as to remove all the shaggy dead bark is pro-, nounced worse than useless labor, except when it is evident that the bark conceals insects or their eggs. In ihat case the denuded parts should be protected with a c6at of pitch and tallow. This rough bark is provided fey nature as a protection against the adverse influences of climate, and for maintaining in even balance that degree of warmth favorable to the healthy exercise of the functions of growth and productiveness. Wood, particularly in the direc!tion across the graip, ’is a non-conductor of heat in an eminent degree. This practice of scraping off the rough bark promotes no good end. Even the long strips of dead bark hanging from the trunks and limbs of large hickory trees are of more service than injury, and it is doubted if even moss or lichens are hurtful to trees, as they live exclusively on food drawn from the atmosphere, and in bleak and exposed situations they may supplement the bark in affording proteotioa When covered with moss to excess it may he presumed the trees are in an unsatisfactory condition,. either from impoverishment of the soil, want of drainage, or exposure to the rigors of a severe and variable climate. Blitting the bark up and down with a knife, with the idea that the tree is bark-bound, is absurd. Dig ring about the roots, and washing the trunks of the trees with lye, soap-suds, or chamber-slops is all that is wanted. Fruit orchards should receive a generous top-dressing at least onoe in every two years Moderate applications of lime, and generous ones of wood ashes are always profitable, and phosphates are useful if buried beneath the surface; also Peruvian guano, if slightly covered, lato in the fall, so as to become thoroughly divided by winter rains. Coarse organic manure should not be used in contact with the roots of young trees, but chip-dust, fish, flesh, and the bones of dead animals, horn piths and hoofs, hair and old plaster, and all like articles, are good for growing trees Pear trees that have not borne fruit for twenty years have been brought into full bearing by yarding two shoats beneath the trees in August and September, in an inclosure a rod square, having their beds close to the body of tho tree. In this yard holes were made with a Crowbar, into which kernels of corn were dropped, and the whole yard was rooted over and over to the depth of eight to twelve inehes, and many of the roots were torn up. The next season every branch was filled with plump, luscious fruit, and for many years the trees continued to yield bountiful crons —Ben: Terlev Moore, inAmerican Cultivator.

THE SEWING-ROOM. A Flea for the Sewing-Room. The ideal Bewing-room is rather small, so that there may be no room in it for other occupations than that for which it is designed. It is entirely without carpets or rugs, but with a smoothly finished floor of hard wood, or one with a good coat of paint This prevents the accumulation of dust, and makes it easy to sweep up the scraps and threads which are allowed to fall freely on it during the day’s work. The pins and needles, too" that will gravitate to the floor are more oasily found. The furniture is of the simplest sort. Two or throe* comfortable sewing oliairs, not rockers, stable and a catting board, or the two combined in a good cutting table, a bureau with many drawers and the sewing-machine are all that are allowed to find a place in it A large box, about \% f»ot in height, with a cushioned iid and covered with chintz, is useful as a receptacle for work, as well as an additional seat The walls are of cheerful tint, and two or three pictures may beautify it, but books never enter here, nor any literature except that pertaining to sewing. The Razor and similar publications are welcome for their patterns and valuable aid in work, and have a shelf of their•< own. The bureau drawers are devoted each to a certain kind of oonteuts—one to cotton, tape, buttons and such small wares, one to pieces Of white materials, one to colored linings, one to woolen pieces, one to Bilk pieces, etc. The room contains a closet in which can bo hung half-finished garments, and on its shelves stand tho boxes of odds and ends of ribbon laces and similar things that accumulate day by day. The room is warm and sunny in winter, and cool in summer, for its occupants are to he as comfortable as possible Its ontlook is pleasant, giving an occasional rest to the tired eyes of the seamstress, and the room is in the retiredpart of the house There, in those dreaded days when the dressmaker comes she is received, to find all her necessary materials ready for her, and when her day’s work is -done; she can-leave the-room secure in the thought that she will find no natterus disturbed and no parts of her work missing when she returns next morning; for, as the idea of the room precludes its being used for any other purpose than its own, it is to be closed when T hours for work are ended. If it is necessary, as it onght not to be, to sew in the evenings, let some well-prepared and easily managed part of the work to be chosen, bo that the evening hours can be spent in the family circle which gathers m the general sitting-room.— Good Housekeeping.

I THE DAIRY. j Forcing Butter Yields. It seems to bo a fact that the good cows, like good people, die young. The extra high feeding which such oows usually receive is probably in part responsible for this The usual method of securing large yields is to give heavy rations of grain and oil or cotton-seed nieal, all of whicn with dry food derange the digestive organs and predispose to disease. We can feed higher when a cow has green feed, and the ability to feed larger quantities of grain and m;al may prove one of the important advantages of onsiiage. The Bp-Product of the Dairy. ... V It does not look as though butter and cheese making was s very profitable business, whon able writers ooiitend that in nine oases out of ten the butter or cheese barely pays the expertises of running the dairy. And this is true, though that is not saying that a well-conduct-ed dairy business is not the best in the world, for wo boliovo it is. The fact is that in the mass of cases the real profit of the dairy comes out of what may be termed the byproducts of tho dairy—that is, the skim-milk, feutter-milk, whey, manure, and calves, with a questionable profit from fattening the old cows. Just as those by-products of the dairy are handled will the balance in the farm accounts stand on the debit and credit side. The skim-milk is by far the most valuable, and may be utilized in make skim cheese, feeding back to cows, or to calves, or pigs. By far the best use we liavo ever soon skim-milk put to was feeding it back to the cows, with a small quantity of added meal or bran. The next best use is to feed it to young hogs and calves. Skim-cheese returns a poor profit and 1 kill tho goose that lays the golden dairy egg There is no sense in any system of farm management that destroys the prospective market just for the gams that may temporarily be had at the present. The dairy is the work of a lifetime, and each movement in it should be with a distinct view to its effect in the future. You should not take, gain biers’ chances but depend upon slow accretion for your ultimate gain. Of course skim-milk can be profitably disposed of if fresh, sweet and pure, by delivery to a near market, but under these circumstances tho skimming should be done with the oentrifugal machine, as the delay in raising the cream, even in the ice-setting system, is detrimental to the milk. Buch milk twelve hours old compares with centrifugal skim-milk just about as' fresh-laid eggs compare with limed or pickled eggs. The manure, every farmer thinks, will take care of itself on the farm, that it naturally finds its way into a pile, and from there to the fields: but the fact is, there is an immense field for thought about the manure. In the first place, there should be absolute system about cleaning it out of the stable twice a day. There should do a sufficient quantity of leaves, muck, plaster, etc., on hand, to spread or sift over the stable floor to keep the air about it comparatively sweet and pure, and everything about the farm that will add to the bulk and value of the manure-pile should be conscientiously collected. Even the droppings in the pasture should not be allowed to remain like plasters on the soil, they should be broken up and brush harrowed THE APIARY. To Liquefy Candied Honey. Strained honey that has become candied can be restored to a liquid state by placing the vessel containing it in a boiler of water and heating it up to about 160 degrees. First place some pieces of bricks or blocks of wood in the bottomofTho empty boiler; then set the vessel containing the granulated honey upon those blocks tfb as to have an inch or two of water between the bottom of the honey vessel and that o£ the boiler, otherwise the honey would be injured by scorching. Next fill the boiler with cold water and place it over a fire where it will be heated gradually until the temperature of the Water reaches 160 degrees. Caro should be used not to heat the water too rapidly, and if the vessel contains a large quantity of honey, the latter should be stirred as it melts. By plac'ag pure strained- honey in a glass fruit jar, placing itTn Water and bringing it to a tompej'Utur&. of MJO’ SdDgrees, then sealing it aif t ight the hOnoy will - * not become candied *s. _ "

Bee Notes. When bees have been properly placed iu their winter quarters the less you disturb them the better. We think a good, dry cellar by far the best for wintering in; or good cave, made in a hillside, is good, if jdry. The temperature should bo kept at 45 degrees, if possible, and no noise should be permitted in or about your bees, whioh is too frequently the cause of death during their long confinement, causing them to fill themselves unnecessarily. All weak stocks should be doubled up, that is, put two weak stocks into odc hive, fiist killing thepoorest queen. - There are now about 300,000 bee-keepers in the United States. Many of them are procuring several tons of honey annually from their bees, yielding a handsome income on the capital invested, and yet we are sure there are many million pounds of honey going to waste for want of bees to gather it Why not keep a few stands of bees and save your own sweets?— J. M. Hicks, Mattie Ground, Ind.

THE NURSERY; Compulsory Kissing. “That child cannot have a very affectionate nature. Bee how she turns her face when one goes to kiss her. ” How many times have we heard such criticisms Of little ones from those who ought to know better, and how frequently those of us who are mothers have been sorely tried by an inability to know what it was beat to do in this matter of kissing! “jQome and kiss me, darling,” says an adoring relative or friend The child demurs. “Go and kiss auntie,” mamma remarks coaxingly. “Come right here, precious, and give me a good smack,” auntio entreats. Still no response. - “Do you hear what I Bay?” mamma asks Sresently in a tone that means business Then le poor baby sidles along slowly and reluctantly, and presents her cheek for the caress she despises. Auntie is shocked and disappointed The little one.draws the line at the cheek, and sets up a shrill remonstrance when the rose-bud mouth is insisted upon, and the result is generally discomfiture. Sometimes insult is aaded to injury by a quick wiping-off of the remains of the obnoxious kiss. Having a good opportunity for interviewing an intelligent child of four years a short time ago on this subject, the writer took advantage of it, and this was the conversation: “Grandpa felt very unhappy when you wouldn’t kiss him this morning,” I remarked tentatively. •“I did kiss him,” my companion replied “I kissed him in a clean place right by his ear,” she added “But, Flossie, grandpa wanted you to kiss his lips,” I went on. “I know it. but I won’t,” was the decided response. * “Well, why won’t you?” - “Because it makes me feel bad right here.” And the child placed her hand upon her stomach with a gesture and an expression of countenance which I .shall not soon forget “O auntie! I don’t like hardly anybody’s moufs. Mebbe their teeths an’t brushed” In talking the matter over with the mother she said to me. with a Bigh: “Now, see what a position lam in. Grandpa has gone away to-day with a real grudge against me for not compelling Florence to kiss him as he wished to be kissed He told me I had *no government whatever,' and that children who were allowed to have their way in such things were always disliked by everybody. Also, that he had heard several people remark that Florence was anything but an agreeable child - Now, I know how she suffers, tor I can remember my own unutterable agony when I used to be compelled to kiss everybody who came to the house. There were some excellent people—indeed the very salt of the earth—whom I learned to hate solely on this account, and 1 dislike them intensely to this day. Flossie is learning this lesson of hating, just as I did, and what am I to do?”. It Beams to me that sensible mothers should take such matters into their own hands and dispose at, them without fear or favsr. “My child is not fond of kissing, and you must excuse her if she declines,” would soon, establish a praiseworthy precedent and relieve the little one from the obnoxious and everlasting teasing. Some mothers are wise enough to decline to have their children indiscriminately kissed even in babyhood “In order to protect my baby,” I beared a mother remark to a gushing

visitor one day, “and In order to bs perfectly fair to! every one, I have made a rule to have .my baby adbured at a distanoe. If I allow kissing and squeezing from one person whom I know I can safely trust my child with, then I offend some good soul whose contiguity I Object to.” This parent did not need to tell me that she had undertaken a hard fight, or that she had become exceedingly unpopular with many of her friends. But she was right, and this was tho main point, after all Infants and young children seem to bo regarded by most peoplo as public property, and the child who possesses enough individuality to protect itself from promiscuous kissing is sure to be regarded as a disagreeable, unloving little creaniire, who. more likely than not, will come to eome “baa end. ” We all profess to believe in “life, liberty, and tho pursuit of happiness” Surely, if we do we shall more carefully guard tho livos of our children, and grant them tho liberty to ohoose whom they shall kiss, and make them happy by soeing to it that tfiev are not forever beset by hunters for kisses. —Eleanor Kirk, in Babyhood. - • ♦

THEPARLOR. Home-JUade Decorations. In houses where pictures are scarce the walls often look bald, especially if oovered with a light-colored paper. Brackets are a great help to the housewife- in 'getting rid of this suggestion of baldneßS.. Any carpenter will mako deal brackets to a given shape; and it is oasy work to cover tho board and make a valance for it. The consideration of what material is best to use, and what should be the color, and in what style the ornamentation should be carried out, are tho main points on whioh success depends. Virginia oreeper leaves look well on white, gray, and black grounds, and they are well adapted for the valance either of mantel boards or of brackets; they can be massed together in bunches, or applied as a bordering, and are equally effective in both styles. A charming screen can be made as follows: A length of satin, of a delicate gray tint, is worked with shaded chenille. The design may be formed of flowers alone, or birds may be introduced. In one we have seen the de--sign consists of water plants: exquisitely tinted flag, tall bulrushes of a red-brown hue, and various grasses are lightly arranged so as to leave much of the satin ground visible; a kingfisher with its brilliant bine plumage settles on some of the lower foliage, while his mate hovers above. The lovely Dlue feathers of the birds give the color that is requisite to throw up the rest of the pieoe; while darting across the top of the panel is a dragon-fly. Various pieces of work could be earned out in shaded chenille, and the soft tints are suited to articles to be placed in a drawing-room. Banner soreens, band screens, work bags, tea cosies, may all be ornamented successfully in this manner. A tea cosy may have a spray of wild roses branching across one side, on the other a few leaves rich in antumnal tints of gold, red. and brown. The cosies are made smaller than they used to be, which is certainly an. improvement. If large, they take up too much room on the occasional tables used for 5-o’clock tea, and look rather clumsy; but whon tastily made and well worked, or painted, they add to, rather than detract from, the pretty appearance of this fashionable and sociable repast An embroidered tea-cloth is a sine gua non, as many folks think. It may be either embroidered all over in a set pattern or merely bordered with crewel work. Yellow jasmine or pink convolvulus is suitable for the latter purpose; they give sufficient color without contrasting too strongly with the white ground. Vivid colors are objectionable, as the china generally affords all that is necessary; and we must study to have our cloth decorations harmonize with our cups and saucers, so that we may secure a good tone of color throughout On entering a room the tea-table, although it does not as formerly occupy the center of the floor, is yet an object that invites attention, and we shall not be throwing away our time if we make it as attractive as we possibly can.— Cassell’s Family Magazine.

A Home-Made Dressing Table. This pretty and convenient article of furniture needs only for its foundation a clean pack-ing-box of suitable height and width, or an ordinary pine table of the simplest make, with a tall upright strip at each corner to rest against the wall and support a table which, like the supports to which it is nailed, should be wound with unbleached muslin. The lower part of the stand, or box, may be utilized as a depository for bonnet boxes, and should be oovered by a plain length of cream white paper muslin under a plaited flounce of cheesecloth, which may be finished on the bottom with a three-inch wide band of maroon-col-ored canton flanneL If tho best quality of canton flannel, or fashion drapery, as it is called, is used, it will have almost tne effect of plush. The top of the stand should be stuffed with moss or hair, and covered with cheesecloth over paper muslin, and finished on the front aud ends with a six-inch broad boxplaited ruffle, bound on each edge with canton flanneL The space above the table, between the table uprights, may be covered by a breadth of canton flannel tacked to the wall. This makes a rich background for a square of look-ing-glass, which may be framed by a narrow, fiat plaiting of the flannel unless it has already a fresh-enough gilded frame. Two long curtains of cheese-cloth, with a cross band of canton flannel at the top and bottom, are fastened to the covered table at the top fey a cord, or small rod, run through the hem, and parting in the middle fall at each side of the stand like window drapery, not coming forward, as upon the semi-oireular duchess toilet tables. A little below the top of the table the curtains are held back by chains, or by bands of canton flanneL A cockade or half rosette of ribbon or flannel should be placed at the meeting point of the curtains above the stand. If the windows of the bed-room are draped with the same material and colors, as they might very suitably be, the table drapery should be placed at the same height as the windows, otherwise it would be iu better taste to have it perceptibly low Ar.

THE KITCHEN. Omelet with Spinach. Pick, wash, and chop a handful of spinach; put in an omelet pan aa ounce of good butter; when it is hot, add the spinach with a little salt and pepper. Then beat up three eggs with a tablespoon ful of sweet cream and a soupcon of salt Add to the spinach and finish as a plain omelet ( Chicken Patties. Chop very fine the dry, poorest bits left from baked chickens; season carefully with pepper, salt, and a little chopped celery. Make a light puff-paste, roll a quarter of an inch thick, cut with a neatly shaped paste cutter; lay a narrow strip' of paste all around; cut another piece the same size and lay over. Boil fifteen minutes.;———■"''—: Muffins in Tins. Take one cup of sour milk, one egg, a little shortening, a teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda; if the milk is not very sour less soda will do. Make a thick batter, and a little salt, and bake in a hot oven If you cannot obtain sour milk, sweet-milk and baking powder will answer. To a teacupful of sweet milk allow a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder. Lunch for an Invalid. A nice way to prepare a very light lunch,fOr an invalid (and to be taken with a cup of weak tea) is to toast three milk crackers, then pour boiling yater over them, draining it off immediately, spread jam or marmalade over them, and pile them up, set them into the oven while you make the tea, and take both into the sick one, and it will prove appetizing and refreshing if unexpected. Beets and Butter Sauce, Take two Bermuda beets of medium size. Wash and dry them without breaking the skin. Boil them for thirty-live minutes in fast-boil-ing water, slightly salted, which must entirely cover them. Then scrape off the skin, cut the beets into slices, and the slices into strips. Melt an ounce of butter, add to it a little salt, pepper; and a teaspooaful of vinegar. Pour it over the beets and serse. Rice Cream. One cup of rice boiled soft, but not to a pasta Two cups of milk, four eggs, a cup of sugar, vanilla extract, a cup of whipped cream. ’ Make the eggs, milk and sugar into a custard, season with vanilla. Bcald the milk first, pour this upon the beaten eggs and sugar, and let it get aimoet cold before you beat in the whipped cream Set to form in a wet mold on ice. When you are ready for it, turn out on a glass dish. . 1

RAIN’S RAVAGES.

A Flood /in Shawnee Creek Cause* a Terrible Disaster at Xenia, Ohio. A Total Loss of Life Estimated at Nearly Thirty-Much Destruction of Property.

A cloud-burnt at Xenia, Ohio, ou the night of Wednesday, inst., speedily filled nil streams in the vicinity, and the water, laden witfi logs, rushing into a railway culvert, quickly formed a dam of huge dimensions, which was burst by the pressure of tho water. The flood, when released, . swept through the town, carrying off everything in its path. In some instances whole families were drowned. The number drowned or missing is placed at twenty-seven, while the loss to property will reach SIOO,OOO. A Xenia dispatch gives the following details of the terrible affair: It seemed as if a waterspout bird burst over the place, the streets and alleys running full like rivers, and with a powerful current, carrying everything before it. The point of danger that threatened to engulf tne city and afterward did prove to be the source of wholesale drowning of the people and destruction of property was Archer Creek, a small stream that runs through the town and into a culvert under the Pan Handle Bailway depot. This stream became so greatly swollen on account of the heavy rain that the culvert was taxed to its utmost to give the water vent, and driftwood began coming down the swollen stream and was caught at the culvert until a great dam was formed. A number of citizens, perceiving the danger that threatened them, went out in the storm and worked earnestly to dislodge the timber and drift, but the force of the current was such that they became jammed mso tightly that it was impossible to dislodge them. The water backed up and soon overflowed its barriers and formed a mighty reservoir. In a short time the embankment gnve wav under the pressure, and the huge volume of water that stretohed out like a sea broke over with a sullen roar aud ran like a mill-race through the streets of the city, tearing down trees and washing away houses in its mad flight of destruction. The cries of tfee people in the flooded district were awful to hear. Many acts of heroism in saving the drowning are reported. Bonfires were lighted and the people worked all night. Twenty bodies were recovered and there are still t a number missing. Whole families perished in the flooded districts. There was great damage to property all round in the country, and the extent of damage cannot now he even approximated. The people residing in quarters not covered by the flood made np rescuing parties, and by the hundreds ran to the scene of desolation and death. The storm in the meantime raged with unparalleled fury, and persons out on missions of mercy endeavoring to save the unfortunate were almost carried off their feet by the wild sweep of the rain and wind. „ The work of finding the bodies was prosecuted all night. The Mayor’s office was turned into a mprgue, and twenty-two bodies were conveyed there. The scenes were heartrending. ZZIZ ./.ZZZZZ Z The; loss of houses is placed at sixtyeight, and it is believed the death-list will reach thirty. Appeals for aid have been sent out by the authorities, and donations are asked for in behalf of the stricken people. The great majority of those thrown out of their homes poor people, and aid is earnestly asked in their behalf. -

STOKM-DAMAGK EL SE WHERE. Wreck and Ruin In Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The storm which did such fearful work at Xenia was far-reaching, extending throughout Northern and Central Illinois, Central Indiana, and Central Ohio. The winds blew a hurricane and the rain fell in torrents, flooding streams, and washing away bridges, culverts, and farm fences. At Dayton, Ohio, the rainfall measured four and a half inches in three hours. It is roughly estimated that the damage to property in Ohio alone will reach $500.000. Many of the railroads were seriously crippled by washouts. Indiana suffered severely from this phenomenal meteorological disturbance. At Hempton many houses were partially wrecked, one man killed, and several wounded. At Wilkinson the storm blew down all the buildings in town except three. Samuel" White was killed, and his wife was fatally injured. A boy named Shaffer was also killed, and about twenty persons seriously hurt, several of whom will die. At Lafayette the Court House and the Roman Catholic and German Methodist Churches were badly damaged, two large carpenter shops burned to the ground by the lightning, and numbers of smaller buildings demolished. At Attica the buildings of the Attica Milling Company, the Severe House, the Hess and Harvey Carriage Factory, the depot, and nearly a hundred dwellings and smaller business houses were destroyed. Over 700 people are homeless, four were killed outright and two more fatally injured, while large number are seriously hurt. The aggregate losses at Attica will be in the neighborhood of $260,000. Seventy buildings were hit hard, being half demolished or entirely annihilated. One of the many losses at Attica will be of valuable shade trees, the district swept over being almost entirely devastated in this respect. At Williamsport several houses were wrecked, two persons killed, and a number badly injured. _At Logansport property was damaged to the amount of SIO,OOO. In the vicinity of Richmond houses and barns were wrecked, whole woods ruined, some stock killed, and one bam destroyed by lightning. Reports from Tipton, Taylor’s, Monon, and intermediate points show great loss of property, live stock, and crops. Many persons are reported injured from all points, and it seems miraculous that the loss of life was so small. The Wabash River inundated the crops along its valley and ruined them. In Illinois the storm was not so violent, though much damage was inflicted in certain sections. Near East Lynn, Roseville, and Potomac a number of houses were demolished and flee persons killed. The country -was deluged by the tremendous rainfall.’ The damage by the storm in'Jo Daviess County will exceed $20,000. Buildings were unroofed, glass broken, and fenoes leveled. Several houses were wrecked in the vicinity of Jacksonville, and two or three people seriously injured. > , '

Larkin G. Mead, the Boston sculptor, has finished his “Mississippi River,” which is a colossal water-god, surrounded by emblems of the majestic stream. Senator Joseph E. Brown, of Georgia, is writing a book to show the material and social progress ot the South since the war. V- ,'~ y ", ' J ' .. The Philadelphia Press quotes Charles Egbert Craddock’s work at $250 for a short story and $3,000 for a serial. Tobacco in Virginia is selling for less than the cost of fertilizers used upon the land. l-. ■ - “

INDIANA STATE NEWS.

- -The pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Rnssiaville writes the following to the / Western Christian Advocate regarding the oldest woman in Indiana: “1 have been asked so many times in regard to Sister Mary Beneman, Who resides near here, and who is s member of our church, I thought it best to answer through your columns. Sister Benemau was born tn Sussex County, Delaware, April 27, 1769. She has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church nearly eighty years. Her maiden name was Perry, a daughter of Capt. C. B. Perry, of the Revolutionary war. Her first marriage was to William Coulter. In 1808 she with her husband and two sons moved lo Ohio, and Settled where Circloviile now stands. Mr. Coulter died there, and some years later she married John Beneman, who lived but one year. Khe is the mother of eight children, four of whom tiro now living. In 1833 she came to this county, where she now lives. Notwithstanding her extreme old age she spends all her wakeful hours in sewing, and can see to threa:l her needle as readily as many persons much younger. Her Sabbaths are spent in reading the Bible, and I never visit her but she invokes God’s blessing upoh me and my work. As one looks upon her a feeling almost of awe comes over him. Her face, though plowed with furrows of time, bears a strong look of intelligence and decision of character. April 27, marking the 117th mile-post of her journey, it was thought proper to celebrate it with her. Accordingly the citizens of the place turned out in a procession of two hundred, headed by the cornet band; and marched to her residence, where they spread mid partook of a sumptuous repast, after which all dispersed to their homes, feeling it a privilege to do her honor.” —The secretary of the State "Board of Agriculture has prepared a table showing the estimated gross value of the products of Indiana for 1885, as follows: Wheat, $27,210,474; com, $34,630,174; oats, $6,307,008; barley, $82,869; rye, $250,252; buckwheat, $40,953; Irish potatoes, $2,088,549; sweet potatoes, $137,946; flax seed, $198,371; clover seed, $1,105,223; timothy seed, $57,335; clover hay, $13,030,084; timothy hay, $15,096,551; flax straw, $60,000; tobacco, $1,104,268; wood, $922,435; coal and quarries, $3,703,412; garden, $5,074,629; orchard, $3,750,320; dairy, $11,758,390; poultry, eggs and feathers, $4,973,451; honey, sorghum, maple molasses and sugar, $5,903,741; hogs, slaughtered, $19,225,170; sheep, slaughtered, $278,845; cattle, slaughtered, $8,418,270 —making the total value of the products, $160,908,713. —Details were brought to light recently of an audacious outrage on a lady living at Lafayette. The lady lives with her mother, and about bedtime one night she heard voices in front of the house. She stepped out and found a colored man and a white girl seated on the front steps. She asked them to move on, and on their refusal threatened to call the police. This enraged the man and he grabbed her by the throat, choking her until she was almost unconscious. She attempted to struggle, when the girl also seized her, and finally drew a penknife and attempted to stab her several times,wounding her slightly. The lady finally screamed and frightened the two off. To avoid notoriety the lady kept the affair secret. —Near Alto, Howard County, two young men started to a meeting of a literary society. While walking along the road, one of them fired several shots from a revolver. The other one asked to see the weapon, and, thinking it was empty, began snapping it in his companion’s face, when, to his surprise, it went off, the ball entering below his right eye and passing diagonally through the head, lodging back of the left ear. The young man is in a very critical condition, and his friends fear he will die.

—A loud-mouthed Anarchist has made himself odious to the people of Logansport for several months past. He hss preached communism, socialism, murder, and riot, and has made a business of scattering incendiary literature about the city. A committee of citizens waited On him not long since and gave him five hours to leave town. He left on the first train. , —ln Brandywine Township a father and his son quarreled over a bottle of liquor which the old njan had taken home. The father got full and hid the bottle, and soon forgetting where he had placed it, accused the boy of taking it. A quarrel ensued, and the son drew a knife and Cut the father badly in the face and Head. A colored man, at Jeffersonville, has been arrested upon evidence offered by his son, a boy 14 years old, tfiat his father forced him to steal. The boy acknowledges to stealing, under direction of his father, a horse and wagon at one place, $l5O at another, and a quantity of corn at another. —A German shot his wife through the heart at Mt. Vernon, recently. It is supposed bis mind is unsound. He was a soldier of the Eighty-seventh Indiana and was in Andersonville prison, where he suffered greatly from hardship and disease. —At Volga, Jefferson County, a youngs man aged 20, of good family and education, was arrested by a United States detective, charged with fraudulent use of the United States mail. He acknowledges his guilt. —A man in Franklin Township, Clark County, Slipped and fell headforemost into a deep well at his home, but before striking the bottom he grabbed the well-rope and broke the fall, and then climbed out, —A wind and rain storm visited Evansville recently, causing a damage to property of $300,000, and killing three persons. —The old City Hall building' at Richmond, erected in 1835, has been torn down. It was built by Dr. Ithamar Warner, who died in that year and bequeathed its rents to the educational fund of Richmond. —A storm at MonticelTo demolished many shade trees and out-houses. Several barns were moved from their foundations and the roof an,d chimneys of the Presbyterian Church were blown off. —A tornado passed through Wayne County, recently, destroying everything in its track. One woman and two men, names unknown, are reported killed.