Rensselaer Union, Volume 11, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 April 1879 — Page 3

The Rensselaer Union. t My . if RKNBBELAO|, :-*> k I Wd X - >'

TUB TWO.imiTB. -•“When, I’m a man!’ lathe poetry «f youth. When I win young!’ I* the poetry of old age. “ When On a man,” the .tripling oriee, And atrive* the coming yeftre U> »cau, "Ah, then 1 shall be strong and wise. When I’m a manr « When I was young.” tbeold man sighs, " Bravely the hii and linnet sutig Their carol under sonny skies, When lw«* young!” A ’ When I’m a roan, f shall be free To guard the right, the truth uphold. “ When 1 was young I bent no knee To power or gold. ’ ‘ ‘ Then shall 1 satisfy my soul With yondor prize, when I’m ft man.” " Too late I found how vain the goal To which I ran.” “ When I’m a man these idle toys Aside forever shall be dung.” “ There was no poison in my joys When I was young.” The boy's bright dream is all before. The man's romance lies far behind. Had we the present and no more, . fate were unkind. —— Bnii, brother, toiling in the night. , Bull count yourself not all unhlest If in the east there gleams a light. Or in the west. ' . —Blackwood'» Magazine. A STRANGE DEVICE. The morn was very bright and clear. When on Broadway there did appear A youth in suit of checkered gray. Well suited to an April day. (’Twas April, though she just had burst Away from March -in fact, the first.) And on his hands—hued like the doves-*-He wore a pair of brand-new gloves; And round his Deck a blue cravat, And on his curls a tall, silk hat, And in his button-hole there hung A bunch of vi’lets, sweet and young. But ah! alas! alack! alack! Upon a card pinned tb his baok, ———- In letters large and must precise, Appeared this very strange device—- “ Please kick me!” .. Jf > * As mi he went rose laughter gay, How tolly people feel to-day. And / a pleasant eight must be. For all who pass look back at me,” He thought. And then bis oane he swung And softly to himself he sung. “ Tra-la-tra-la. ’tis well, ’ti» well, To be a handsome Broadway swell.” And little recked he the unkind Request tome friend had pinned behind In capitals. Oh 1 yes indeed, So huge that all who walked might read. (How oft in life we journey thus, No vexing thought accompanying us; With smiling front and in the rear Some mischief clinging olose and near.) “Please kick me!” —Madge Elliott, tn Detroit Exet Dress.

THE “SNAPTOWN TOMMYHAWK.”

It looked very like a pig-sty; but (t wasn’t. It was the office of the Snaptown Tommyhnwk, and in the estimation of Simon Slope, the editor-in-chief and principal proprietor, was a rather imposing building. The first number of the paper had not yet made its appearance; but it all went well. It would soon burst upon the world with meteor-like brilliancy and more than verify the expectations of the public, which were very high, 1 can assure you. Simon Slope had projected the paper; Simon Slope had formed the company that wss to publish it; Simon Slope had built the office; Simon Slope had been chiefly instrumental in securing the type and paper, and Simon Slope had written the most brilliant of the editorials and the most pungent of the paragraphs; and yet you will be surprised to learn, my reader, that Simon Slope was only fourteen years of age. The Snaptown Tommy hawk grew out of a public need. The boys of Snaptown had been for years groaning under parental oppression and the systematic tyranny of their elders, and they needed an organ. They needed a mouthpiece through which they might lift up their voices against their oppressors. When a month’s half-holi-days had been faking away from them, because they had merely driven a cow into the village school-house and put cayenne pepper onto the meeting-house stove, they felt that tho time had come when they should make their wrongs known to the publio and appeal to that sense of justice that is supposed to slumber in the heart of every community. One day the Snaptown Couranl had published a paragraph reflecting unkindly upon the boys of the place, and Simon Slope had read it. He could hardly contain himself with indignation as the words sank into his heart; and as soon as his father had turned his back he rolled the scurrilous sheet into a ball, and, thrusting it into his trowsers* pocket, rnshed out of the house td a warn) corner by the meet-ing-house horse-sheds, where the boys were wont to assemble for tho twilight loafing. “Lookhere!” he shouted. “Isay, this is too bad. Nobody is going to stand tills Bort of thing.” And he pulled the rumpled paper from among the tops, jack-knives, fishing-tackle and chewing-gum in his pocket. “Now,you fellows, just listen, an’ I’ll read you something that’ll make your hair fairly stand on fend. Here’tis.” And he read aloud the following paragraph:^

“Mischievous Bova-When we consider the aomgß or the boys of this town, we feel such a sense of indignation that we feel that we should like to exchange our editorial pen for a good, thick birch rod a«d give them a thrashing ail round. Wo have heard a good many oomplaints of their behavior; but we did not fully realize the prevailing: spirit of miaehief until it came home to ourowndoor. We did not mind their playing ball before our office till Pandemonium would be quiet in comparison to the street. We did not heed, or, at least, pretenned not to heed, the hieroglyphiae with which our garden fence had been aeoorated. We should have felt quite lost if an occasional pane had not been broken in ,our offloe-wmdows. And we looked upon the hanging of a dead oat to our front door as a harmlesa pleasantry. But when it comes to stretching wire across the sidewalk at such heights that wo alternately abrade our shins and out our throats as we go home at night; when it comes to putting loaded sHoks into our woodpile (one of which blew np our office stove a few weeks ago), we feel that, patience ceases to be a virtue and that honest citizens have some rights that boys are bound to respect. We hope this hint will be taken in the proper quarters, and that sundry parents in this town will heed Solomons wise admonition!. We shall be happy to furnish rods." “ There!” exolaimed Simon,' when he had finished reading. “What do you think: Of. that?” V.'JS’My ain’t willin’ to let us have a little fun,” said Tom Stokes, Simon’s bosom friend, and the very boy who had bored the hole aiuf put the powder into a stick of tjie editors wood: “Something oughtto be done about iV* exclaimed a red-beaded urchin, whose special recreation Was the draw-ing-of caricatures on doors and fences. “ I’ll make a picture of him hanging to a gallows. Paint it in red on his front door.” “ I might lick his little boy,” said a pugnacious ureijin; “ but I’ve done it so often a’ready that he wouldn’t know whht’twas for, an’ I’m afraid’twouldn't do no good.”, “We might serenade him with tin libTOrittidrm Ptos,” said another boy; “bub he’s so used to it now that he sleeps straight through it.” , “i’ll tell you what let’s do," said Simon. “ Let’s start a paper add pay

him back in his own coin. Barse for sarse—that’s what I say.” “ Taken a lot of money to .start a paper,” remonstrated the hieroglyphic “Bother!” saidSimou. “It don’t tafe maoh if you do your own work of it. Wo can toy a press tor (We dollars, and boy second-hand typeby the pound for a little more'n the prfbe of old lead.”

• “ Where you goin’ to get you’re five dollars to buy your press P” asked one practical youth.* “Earn it, you l>ooby,” said Simon. “An’ whose goin’ to write the paper, after you got things? atoms to me it will be a good dew like writin’ compositions, and everybody knows there ain’t no furi in that.” “Oh! I will write most of it,” said Simon; “me and two or three of the other boys. We’ll form a company. Capital ten dollars. I’vo got five already, and I’ll be half owner; and the rest of you can make up fiye more easy enough.” 1 This was the beginning of the Snaptown Tommyhawk. The company was formed, the type was bought and sorted, the press was sot up in the building which the publishing oompany had erected for it. The building, as I’ve said, was not imposing, but it answered admirably. Ola doors, old drygoods cases, in fact any old boards that could be found lying about were used in its construction, and the sash for the windows were surreptitiously obtained from a ruined hen-house on the Slope premises. But I needn’t go into the details of preparation. The Snaptown Tommyhawk becapie a reality in due course of time, and a copy of its first and only issue is lying before me as I write. * Si Slope had a very good conception of an editor’s duties. Tip had thought a good deal about the matter, and askea the advice of his elders. He had heard his father say that “what the public wants is facts;” and fiis mother had remarked that it was gossip that made the people read thejiapers. His older sister, who had just returned from a finishing school, declared that no first-class paper oould exist without a fashion article .and poetry. Then Si’s quick observation had shown him that the most attractive articles in the Snaptown Courant were those that were the most abusive. In fact, he had heard his father say “that fearlessness is what everybody likes in a newspaper calling a spade a spade, and a liar a liar, and a thief a thief;” and upon this free and fearless basis Simon determined that the Snaptown Tommyhawk should be conducted. Then it should be original—nothing stolen from other papers, no rehash of stale jokes, no old rhymes; but all fresh and original. To attain the end of originality, Simon enlisted all the boys of his acquaintance to bring him in items. “Just keep your ears and eyes open, boys,” he said, “ and tell me what you hear and see. I’ll fix it into shape and publish it; and you shan’tbe the losers, yon bet.” The boys were very diligent and effective nowsgatherers; and Si proved to the world that he held the pen of a ready writer, as you will see by the following extracts from the first number of the Tommyhawk. I think I’d better transcribe the whole numbed, as it is not larger than two pages of a reading-book. Here it is-—beading, spelling and all: THE SNAPTOWN TOMMYHAWK. Foundered by Simon Slope. Vol. I. May 15th, 1874. No. 1. motto: be jest and feak not.

Editorial. * This paper is published by Simon Slope and some other boys, to show to old Smith, of the Couranl , that he ain't all creation, as he thinks he is, and that somebody else can write and edit a paper as well or better than him. Most everybody round here has had about enough of old Smith’s sarse, and it Is high time a decent and unscurrilous sheet was started. That is what this is going to be. All the news we publish will be Original, which is not the case with the Courant. We have a large corpse of reporters, and have hired a boss poet, and we do not intend to knock under to any paper in the country. We respectfully solicit the patronage of our towns people, and hope to run the Courant off its legs in about 1 year. Sic semper tyranis.

POETRY. SPUING. BY 8. S. The ‘snow ia gone the iipring is here And planting time has come round Again To ride the merry hone to plow Will make ns boys feel cross as Cain. And now our Bleds ipust be stowed away J For Sliding in hqfcttastber we cannot do. v And skates must also be laid away r~-f?) —- Also ohangeour boots for the festive shoe. I am fond of winter, I don't like spring For in winter you see there is much more play And now we poets our ink must sling And can’t go out to enjoy this bright May day. 9w.i THE SNAPTOWN COCRANT. BY SIMON. The meanest paper under the sun Which hardly anybody ever reads. -r It is like an old rusty Continental gun tsiaded with Punlcm seeds. ~ It can\t shoot straight and it never hita And lit does not hurt if it docs. And when it shoots it kicks so it nearly seta the editor into lit*. Such an editor! Oh— dear mo— bus!!! MANNER. BY ff S E. r-' I love yon hanner—hanner dear And do you hanner love me? . If you do, you see, we’ll build us a boat And go sailing into the Carriboah Sea. I will defend yon while I live Andfight for von till 1 die And if yon don t love me hanner dear 1 shall certainly heave / 4 sigh. NEWS,' The editor of the S n o— — t, on returning' from the lodge of Freemasons, last Tuesday Evening, was called an “ outrajous old donkey” by his wife, who kept him sitting on the doorsteps for three quarters of an hour. He had forgotten his latch-key. BiHy Smith informs us that his sister thinks the new singing teacher just lotely. She remarked at the tea-table last Sunday Evening that all through the singing-school she felt like just flinging her arms around his neck and kissing him. Wecannot commend her taste—for we should not like our sister to case for a man who has his hair: dyed on the sly every Saturday evenings as our barber’s son informs us Mr. Singing Snodgrass does. Mr and Mrs Percival had another p<mlwt. i night. They had better be careful how they quarrel with their wijjdewsxipen. On? friend Tom Stokes informs us that his father' the grocery man dot

keep rum in the keg down. cellar labulled “Soothing Syrup,” and that Captain .Fungus has a jug filled'there every week. Ho says also that his father sometimes puts chalk or some other,white stuff his sugar. Deacon Pepper has aboil on hisnoso. He Ball starves Ms hired boy—afid we’re glad he’s getting his “come upuns.”

The Thompklns family keep their children on rather short allowance. One of them informs us that no more than one piece of plum cake is ever allowed them at a time. Miss Slope will have the minister and his family at tea next Wednesday. Great preparations arc in progress. She has borrowed Mrs Pepper’s china Tea Set for the occasion and the repast will be spread on Mrs Stoke’s long damask table-cloth. She has just sent her best spoons down to Boston to be replated and sent word to have them all matked to look as nigh as can bo like real silver. SJfie says that whatever the minister’s sermons amount to she!* bound ha Shall have a good supper—and that’s what he don’t often get at home with such a wife as hq^has., ARTICLES.— Cats. —Cats aro abput the most interestingest animals there is. You can have more fun with a cat in half an hour, - if you have a good tree handy and an enterprising dog, than you can with a whole traveling menagerie. Cats and fire-crackers are mortal enemies—You tie a bunch to a cat’s tail and set ’em off, and they will go down the street like a firry comet. N. 8., wire is better than string to fasten them on with—as string is liable to burn oft. It is a very pleasant pastime to see two cats fight. Their tails may be. tied firmly together, and for fear that they might tear things up in the garden'it is a good plafTto hang them across a clothes-line. They can be heard miles. 1 have often seen them. Some folks regard this sport as cruel, we call such folks chicken-liv-ered. Did you ever see a shaved cat? They are very singular creatures—it may be done with a razor if you know where your father keeps his’n. You tie up’the cat’s paws in old mittens while you are doing of it. Some folks don’t think it hardly pays—and I shall never be guilty of doing of it—though I do think a father is rather mean who whales his boy all over—wheiMus finger is cut half off - and his face scratched ail over all ready. Kittens are very pretty. There are more than forty of them in the water under the mill bridge. They nearly all of them have stones tied to their necks. It is a very unfeeling thing to drownd. a kitten. They are innercent harmless creatures. Cats are great singers. The Chinese eat cats. What can vou expect of the heathen? Some people hang dead cats as Mav baskets —it is only a joke but the folks that get ’em never seem to appreciate it. There is a great many other things about cats—but I think I have given you plenty of ideas already, so will close. Simon Slope.

That was all the reading-matter that the Tommyhawk contained. There were some advertisements, principally calling attention to the manufacture of sweet-fern cigars and asking for the return of lost balls and jack-knives. Altogether the paper was a success—if the success of a paper can be reckoned by the commotion it creates. The above number was issued on a Saturday morning, and before midnight of the same dry Mrs. Slope had received a note from the minister declining her “ kind invitation to tea” and devoting several pages to as hearty abuse as a minister could frame in language. Mr. Stokes’ store was visited by a committee of the temperance society, who brought an officer to seize the “ sooth-ing-syrup” keg; and before he had fone another minion of the law had lr. Stokes in hand for selling adulterated goods. That same night Deacon Pepper discharged his hired boy without notice. On that Same afternoon Mr. Singing Snodgrass walked into the barber’s shop, thrashed the barber, broke tho bottles. aDd went straight off and proposed to Billy Smith’s sister — who accepted him at once. The edition pf the paper was sold in no time. There was not a copy of it left by three o’clock in the afternoon, and whilo Si Slope was that evening making a selection of candy and dime novels, for which he intended to pay with the proceeds of the sale, he was seized upon by Mr. Percival, who proceeded then and there to chastise him. He had hardly escaped from this angry man before Stokes’ boy -had him by the hair of the head, dragged him into the middle of the street, and, putting him down in the mud, kicked him till he was black and blue. Capt. hungus saw the light and came and helped Stokes’, boy. At -last, covered with mud and with shame, the young editor made his escape and hied him homeward, vowing vengeance, lie was just turning the last corner when he met the boy whom Deacon Pepper had turned away, and this wicked boy had a horsewhip. Such shrieking was never heard before in Snaptown. After this lasi infliction Si sneaked into the yard, saying: “ Never mind. I’ll pay them up next week. I’ve got things to tell about all of ’em. I’ll get every one of them a licking!” Anflfche went across the yard and locked up the Tommyhawk office. As he approached the building, the Tompkins boys sprung out upon him, and, acting as leaders to a score more of fiery and untamed youngsters, they proceeded to tear down the building before Simon’s very eyes, having previously bound him to a tree. Then they pelted him with the types, and, it being quite dark* made a glorious bonfire of the debris of the structure. Mr. Slope, seeing the light, oame rushing out of the house, And, instead of driving the boys away, shouted: “Go it, boys. Serves him right. Apd when you’ve done, I’ll take him in hand.” And Mr. Slope did take him in hand pretty effectually—so effectually, indeed, that Simon was obliged to stand at his meals for a week afterward. j Poor boy! The day after that first and only issue he was seen limping out to the ruins; and as he stood there, leaning on a cane, and surireyed them with his- one unblacked eye.he.Waa heard to murmur: “Things ain’t as they was. There’s no premium on telling the truth nowadays. George Washington couldn't have edited a paper without lying; and I’d rather go to sohodl all .my a ays than ever try it M.jF. Round, in N. Y. Independent. i 7 < ■ * An exchange says that tho only jokes wemen like to read are those which t«fleot ridicule on men, and asserts in proof that on taklqg-up apAper a woman invariably turns to the marriage Column. This is A high-menial charge against the fair sex.— N. Y. Graphic ? ‘i i ■ - • *

HOME, FARM AND GARDEN.

—A white knitted shawl can be cleaned, without-making it yellow, by rubbing it thoroughly with dry flour. —Charring posts before setting is considered beneficial, but immersing the end to go in the ground in hot ooid tar is decidedly better.— lowa Slate Register. —Baked Custard. —Beat four eggs and two tablespoonsful sugar thoroughly, and stir into one quart boiling milk, pour into cups, grate nutmeg over the top, and bake ten or twelve minutes in a hot oven. To be eaten cohh~ - —Spanish Cream.—One ounoo gelatine, three pints of milk, six eggs, eight tablespoonsful of sugar; qook the gelatine one hour in the milk, then when it comes to a boil beat the yelks of the eggs with the sugar and stir in; let it simmer; then take off" the fire, and pour over it the whites of the eggs beaten to a froth; flavor with lemon or Vanilla. —Fig Pudding.—One pound flour, six ounces fresh beef-suet, with halfteaspoonful of skit, and one pound figs, with one teaspoonful of baking powder. Chop the suet as fine as possible, remove all strings; mix well with the flour, salt and baking-powder; make this into a paste with iced water, and roll, out in a sheet; cut the figs into long slices, cover the paste with them, tie in a cloth, and boil in fast-boiling water tor two hours. Eat with a sauce. — N. Y. Times.

—A good way to raise potatoes is given by a correspondent of the Cincinnati Enquirer, who says: Break up the ground and harrow it right well,, and run furrows into rows, into which drop seed potatoes about fifteen inches apart. Put a little fine earth over them, and then spread straw over the entire patch about one foot thick. The straw will keep the soil vent weeds from growing. Nothing else need be done until digging time. I raised in this way the best potatoes I ever saw. I had' some that weighed fourteen and sixteen ounces, nice sound potatoes. —Miik Rolls.—These rolls can be served hot or cold. They are made with one pound of flour, one ounce of butter, one ounce of sugar, a full teaspoonful of baking powder, about a pint of milk, and a pinch of salt. To the flour add the salt, sugar and butter, and mix well by working with the fingers. Then introduce the baking powder and milk, and knead quickly. Cut the lump of dough into six or eight pieces: form into rolls, cut each roll slightly over the top twice, and place on a lightly-floured pan, and bake for fifteen minutes in a very hot oven. When done, brush the top with the white of egg or milk, sprinkle with fine sugar, and place in the oven for one minute.

—Chicken Salad (Mayonnaise Sauce —The sauce is first made, and is composed of the yelks of two eggs, one gill of salad oil, a little pepper and salt, and a teaspoonful of vinegar. Into a perfectly dry bowl place the yelks of two eggs; drop into the bowl upon the eggs, little by little, and very slowly, the gill of salad oil, stirring continuously to the left. In stirring everything else the custom is to stir to the right, but in mixing this paste, to prevent curldling, it should be stirred to the left, or toward the left hand. When the eggs and oil have been formed into a stiff paste, add slowly the vinegar, pepper -and salt, stirring all the time. The salad is made by breaking into small pieces a portion of a well- boiled fowl, and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Then cut the heads of celery into'fine pieces and mix with tho chicken. Sprinkle over this onehalf tablespoonful of vinegar, and over all pour the Mayonnaise sauce:sprinkle with a tablespoonful of capers; garnish the dish with leaves of lettuce and gerktinsf.—CincinnatiTimes:

Planting the Next Corn-Crop.

The soil for corn most be dry, rich and friable. Neither strong clay, wet nor poor lands will fill bins to overflowing. Soils are rarely too rich for corn, and, generally speaking, the plant will bear almost any amount of manure. Still, there is such a thing as feeding beyond its necessities and thereby inducing a rank growth of stalk at the expense of the grain. A clover lay or rich grass sod is an excellent preparation lor this cereal, many farmers contending that a clover sod two or three years old, all things considered, the very hest ground lor the corn-crop. Where manure is required it is advised to scatter it broadcast and plow and harrow it in. If thoroughly incorporated in the soil the roots are certain to take it up and the development of ear and grain will correspond with that of stalk and leaves, which is not liable to be the case wlion a limited amount of fertilizer is placed in the hill or drill only. The practice on poor soils of manuring in the hill induces an early start, it is true, and an early start is a great point gained; but as tho roots extend and find little or no nourishment the plant fails to make good its early promise, and a disappointment awaits the planter in the deficiency of grain. To gain paying results from the employment of stimulating elements in hill or drill, available plant-food must be near at hand in sufficient quantity to carry the plant once started on to its perfect growth., Fall and spring plowing have their merits, aud? (consequently their advocates. Fall plowing has been repeatedly urged in these columns, where there is present an abundance of vegetable matter and when there is danger from cut-worms. The time for planting varies, of course, with latitude, and after that depends iuuok upon the weather. While corn will germinate in cold earth, it will not flourish; therefore the futility of planting until the days are mild and the ground warm and dry. The old Indian rule still observed on some farms is, “ When the oak leaves are grown to the size of a squirrel's foot, plant corn.” ' Not a few ot our best farmers cling to hand planting fend hoe oulture in ,hills, but they are in the minority. It 4 generally conceded that the largest crops are grown in drills, and for extended fields corn-planters and cultivators are adopted. Flat, culture, excepting for compact soils and such as are inclined to wet, is each year gaining additional recruits, for no other method coihpares with it in the matter dt saving labor. While corn thrives best after deep plowing in most soils the seed ought never to be dropped deep or covered too thickly, two inches being all-sufficient and more than many farmers allow ih mellow ground. The distance of planting depends on the variety of seed; l**g® growing kinds requiring more space than the small. The cultivation of oom comes next in importance to the selection of the seed i which subject Was fully considered during the season for saving seed), and ■SS?*- V. „

should begin so soon as the oorn is up and cease when it is in tassel. Cultivate at first deep, but shallow subsequently; this not only subdues weeds and grass and keeps tne ground in good tilth, but checks an exuberant growth of stalk and leaves. While root-prun-ing has failed as yet to oonvinoe the majority of farmers, they generally believe that the largest development of grain is not gained fro 16 the tallest of stalks. Under the prevalent' mode of cultivation suckering is often dispensed with; indeed, the idea is being more and more universally entertained that when grain is the object suckering is to be avoided, and vice ver»a where growth of stalk is desired.— N. Y. world.

Production of Sweet Potato Plants.

The great difficulty the oultivator of sweet potatoes has to contend with is the production of vigorous plants possessing well-developed fibrous roots. Experienced gardeners are not always successful with their hot-beds, which oftentimes prove cold ones and necessitate a second attempt Hot-beds for starting potatoes for the production of sprouts are prepared usually during the month of April, the date varying with the looation. Manure fresh from the horse stable is shaken well and evenly distributed into the bed or frame, to a depth of some twelve inches. When this is accomplished a long broad fioafd is laid on the surface and the manure pressed down by the weight of a laborer walking over it; the board is moved about until the whole surface has been treated in like manner. Next is spread a covering about three inches deep of rather dry sand. Upon this the seed potatoes, selected from the previous year’s crop, are set. These ought to be of medium size and of short, compact shape, and placed close together without actually torching, Many farmers observe the order of placing small ends next to large ends as the potatoes are inserted, because the small ends, or the ends that grow up, produce more sprouts than the opposite ends. Cover the potatoes when set with three inches of sand or loam. Great care and not a little experience is required to maintain the proper defree of heat and moisture. If either eat or moisture becomes excessive, the potatoes will rot, while deficient heat, with moisture, causes black rot. Heat and dryness, if they do not kill the sprouts, at least prevent their growth. If the heat therefore becomes too great, check it by piercing through the beds into the manure with a rake handle or other convenient implement, thus allowing the excess of heat to escape. Moisture can be regulated by the watering-pot, which, by the way, should be used on clear days only. Expose the beds to sunshine on bright days and cover with hay or straw at night; in rainy weather protect from excess of moisture with a covering of boards. The sprouts under favorable circumstances will be ready for transplanting in about one month, and, as the time draws near for their removal, they should be exposed to the open air to harden them for the field. They should be drawn by taking one at a time and gently extracting it, in order to avoid injury to the seed potato, from which, if undisturbed, a second crop may be obtained. One bushel of good seed, judiciously managed will yield from 1,2C0t0 1.500 sprouts at the first pulling, and half as many more at the second. Those obtained later are often regarded as desirable as the earlier ones.— N. Y. World.

Base Ball in Olden Times.

Now approaches, the season of smashed fingers, slashed noses and mashed eyes. The time for “Red Stockings.” _ “Champion „ jlines." “Leather Overalls,” “Bruizers,” “Carmine Probosceses,” “Blue Racers,” “ Ginger Snappers,” “ Ruby Rangers,” and other euphoniouslynamed base-ball clubs has come. There was a time when base ball was fun. That time has long since passed away. There are probably remote portions of the country where there is still some amusement in a game of base ball—where the rustic inhabitants have not yet learned how awfully scientific the game has become. There, when the striker hits the ball a good, reliable whack he runs for ail he is worth. When the other fellow gets the ball he doesn’t place it quietlyon the base, but he hurls it with unerring precision at the runner and knocks two dollars’ worth of breath out of his body. The runner is then out. He generally goes and lies down on the grass to think over matters and rub tne spot where the ball hit. But balls in those days were not the globular bricks they are now. Any boy with a little ingenuity and an old stocking could make a ball. A piece of cork or a bit of rubber to make it “bounce” did to start on. .Then the old stocking was raveled and the yarn wound on this rubber basis until the ball reached proper proportions, when it was covered with leather. The boy who owned a nice, soft, covered ball was a King among his kind. Next to him came the boy with a good bat. The principal official in the old style of base ball was the fellow who sat on the top of the rail fence and kept tally. He cut the notches for one party on one edge of a shingle, and for the other party on the other edge. Sometimes a good tallyer would do more for his favorite side than its best batilnan. There were no umpires in those days for both Captains to .quarrel with. When the two Captains were ready to choose sides one tossed a ballclub to the other and they went hand over hand to the top; the last hand that held the club had the first choice of players. Sometimes a boy would insist that his hand was last, while it projected over the end of the bat. This was settled by another boy striking with another bat the end of the choosing bat. If the last hand could stand the strokes it was all right, but if the hand projected a little too high it was generally withdiTtwn after the first blow. Those were the days when base ball was not composed of four parts science to one of fun. —Detroit Free Press.

Sacrifices to Fashion.

The other day I came upon a new store in the city. The windows were fairly dazzling with color. A stray sunbeam falling upon them, the shop front flashed back a rainbow of blue and green, and red and yellow, indigo and vermilion, umber, and black and white. I paused to gaze. It was a store devoted to the modern fashion of adorning ladies’ hats, bonnets, and drepes“ %ith “birds an# “butterflies. All the corners of the earth hail been ransacked to satisfy this nojv craze. Whole birds, birds’ wings, tails, breasts, were here fey the thousand. Butterflies and humming-birds vied with

each other in wealth of color and beauty of arrangement It is true there are lots o! stores in London dovoted, to specimens of “ natural history,” where these things may be purchased; but here is a shop full of them, not as studies or specimens, but as articles of adornment. Travelers and others tell me that bird-slaughter, as .» trade, has now reached proportions which threaten the very extinguishment of some of the rarest, as well as the gayest, species. One can understand this when it is stated on authority that a German dealer in this city recently received a consignment 01-82, 000 dead humming-birds, 80,000 aquatia birds of several varieties, and 800,000 pairs of wings. This is one dealer alone; while at tho same time all the other traders are increasing their orders to foreign shippers. There is something very sad in these figures. Surely, our women cannot think about the subject, or they would never promote this sacrifice of bird-life for a mere freak of fashion. The rage'for feather trimmings has almost annihilated the ribbon trade of Coventry. Men, women and children in that once busy city are starving becauso fashion has introduced a new style of ornament. So that to pleaso the latest whim, birds must die and children must starve. You may stand “on the bridge at Coventry” now, and see scores of people loitering there who, but for the supersedure of ribbons by feathers would be busily at work in the locked-up mills. —London Letter. “ La Surprise” is the name of anew hat with three-quarters of a yard of feathers hanging from the right side. It is so called from the surprised manner in which the husband exclaims “ La!” when presented with the bill. — Norristown Herald.

The Tidy Housewife.

The cnreflil, lldy housewife, when she Is giving her-JioHsu its spring cleaning, -should bear in mind Hint the dear inmates of her honse are more precious than houses, mid that their systems need cleansing hy purifying the blood, regulating tho stomach and bowels to prevent and cure the diseases arising from spring malaria and miasma, and she should know that there Is nothing that will do it so perfectly and surely as Hop Hitters, the purest and best of all medicines. See other column.

The Physical Paradox.

It has been said that “the blood la tho source of life.” It is as truly the source of disease and death. No life, that is to say, no healthy tissue can bo generated from impure blbod, no organ of the body can normally perform its functions when supplied with impure blood. Tbe fluid that should carry life and health to every part, carries only weakness and disease, filood is the source of life, only when it is pure. If it has become diseased, it must be cleansed by proper medication, else every pulsation of tbe human heart sends a wave of disease through the system. To cleanse the blood of all impurities, use Dr. Pierce’s Golden Medical Discovery and Pleasant Purgative Pellets, the most effectual alterative, tonic and cathartic remedies yet discovered. They are especially efficient in scrofulous diseases. In making bread not only should you select the best flour, but the best yeast. National Yeast is acknowledged by all to be the best. Chew Jackson’s Best Sweet Navy Tobacco.

jgggtr. Speaks for Itself. Bnuccss UNIVKKBITV. /V iWKiiSsfgA Syracuse, N.V., Nov. 15,1878. K-r'VX About four rears since, on rs V building my mouse, I ana* VfrKi vl lysed a Targe number of s&m----5* ■Wißkji'l -S <vm Tc pies of white lead, and from - * j&Wwaw o' these selected the best to be _ Jji jfPlWfMl-"". 1 bad. with which I painted a large part of the house; tbe rest I painted with ‘-Bubber Paint,” after analysing it and “ V COe— finding It contained the rubber for which It Is named. One year since 1 found the “pure lead and oil” could be easily rubbed off, and was, In fact, being fast washed off by the rains, while that part of the building painted with the Rubber Paint was ss hard and glossy as It was three weeks after first applying It I have since painted the whole bouse with the BubMir Paint. 1 can, therefore, from both analysis and practical test recommend the Kubber Paint In strong terms. J. J. BROWN, Prof, of Chemistry and Physics. For price*, terms, etc., address mJBBBR PAIWT 00., Cleveland, Chicago. St. Louis, New York. SPARK-ARRESTER. U toSSS fSlfe C H. P. Mounted, $660. toEUU IHhggW 12 “ 1000. 4 - <• 250. Send for our Circulars. 6 “ " 360. B.W.Payne&Sonß,Corning, N.Y. State where you taw thie. _____ Chicago Eighteen Dollar PHOSPHATE —AT—*IB PER TON IN BAGS In car-load lots at factory, is made to meet the low prices of farm produce. Cost per acre small; Increase of crops large. Ground Bone at popular prices. Discount to Dealers. Seud for Circulars. NORTHWESTERN FERTILIZINB COL, Sole JtooufiM-turera, Chicago, ILL. B ■>' , /i “ f f' HeEIS I daita.'s and lltguta Are used forear-inarktiig Swine, Sheep and Cattle, with perfect success. 1(K1 labels, stamped with your name and animal’s number, with Punch and Register Sheet, sent by mall on receipt of at. Address C. DANA, West Lebanon, N. H. ■ KELt-T STEEL BARB FENCE WTRE. W , V Made under intent, of ISAS .oil ell bw. V I for- It. B.ml for rimiUw Mid yrie. lilt, T -di—- -.—. I so Thou Wiseßiwt Cm. EVP— -.a.. - __ onn choice selections for Elocutionist*, and speeches "r and dlal'guea for School Exhibitions, Ms. JXftHK HA.VKV A Co.. 119 Nassau BL.H&

TH^ Ap ™sj Vfree homes IN KANSAS ~artM.-a-'.-y.'"s si-darr,i#»si“sssm- r-srr v-

WWfDETICTIVBS OF EUROPE AND AMERICA, OB xjfb W tub sbcrkt snmcs, A Mwcnos or OilmiuTKii Casks rs Grkat Britain, franc* Girmani. Italy, Spain, Hcsmu. Volanu, Eoift and amrrica. A Revelation <j f the Moet Renowned Deteettem of the Olobe.for the pan 25 t/eart. It dlscloa*! anus of Uj» most marked Instance* of dceplald plans at mischief end outrage erer recorded bjr pen or pencil. Prqfueeljr lltutnated with Rull Pane KnoraMnue. 850 pages. Arena ere meeting with astoutahlng menus. We aßtr K*tr» luducoinina to Agents and, w Freight charge* on Uooka. For maa address the J. B. Bmaa.Puß.Co.r Hartford, Ct. IISiSH Established In 1*72 forth* Cur* out theft#* of knife or loaaof blood and Util*

HICHOLS, SHEPARD < CD., manat am oaiv sauna “VIBRATOR” THRESWI6 MCHlint « undlgtram aadsu—mly Or BMW M«. os. astti ex. sgtu'sss Mau. no b.y«ad aaj mam —k. «r Mai. ffIHK EXTfRK Thraahlag Zxpeuua (sad ofta* A armatv* dam lkat uaMaU wa M aadelij ton Ertr. Onto BATED ay SB— bap—a* Mmaiam. ABIOI Sahara will set submit to tho eoorVr—a wail— tt Ovala aaM Iks tahvtm ttrk «ay aB sum* maMtom, whaa mm —M an tk* OBuu NOT Only Tartly Supertee SrVtartWi) Btrity, ijt, tmS »• Ormla., tat tta On., ittim ■Uaai.BuuOralut.BMia. ■ VS Thorough Workmanship, Chant Hah*, Ja Pvftatloa a Pa— o—uto—at K*alyaauu, tm, am « Vaninas* Thvmlm Oat— am lamspwmM*. • i'®" VyrAKVKLOHS fbr Simplicity at Parts, aatag ala taw tkaa ma-halt u>. staal Mta and Oaara. Mafcm Clma Work übk aaUturlo*. «r ScMlut— Vtotc Sixes of Separators Cade, Caning ' JC tram SU to Twelve-Hotm aixo, cad twvatylac «T Uo*m+ •d Hon* Power* to nsNh. POC Particular*, Call ou oar Dealer* or write to at for Utootratod Circular. which w# mail fre*

TBCTBt. hop bTtters, (A Medicine, net a Drink,) OOWTAINS HOP*, IDCMV, HAFOBAKI, BARDBUOX, Andthb PvxK»r and Bist Midical Qciutiis or all othui Bitters. ■ 1 TSIDV OUHB All Disease* of the Stomach, Bowels, Blood, Liver, Kidneys and Urinary Organs, Nervousness Sleeplessness, Female Complaints and Dr>-,nkennesi. •1,000 ll* COLD Will he paid for a case they wQI not core or help, or for anything Impure or Injurious found In them. Ask year druggist for Hop Bitters and free books, and try the Bitters before you sleep. Take no other. The Mop Cough Care sad Pula Relief Is the Cheapest, Barest and Beet, nop Bitten IT* Co., Bochorter, ff. T. For Sale by all Druggists.

riTO CURED 11 HIV FREEH An infallible and uneicelled ■ ■ ■ *r remedy for Fite. Kpllepey or Falling; Mfekneoo, warranted to effect a speedy and Permanent Curt. A Free Bottle” of my renowned specific and a valuable Treatise sent to any sufferer tending me his Pootofflce and Emea* Address. Dr. H. O. BOOT. 181 Pearl Street H V. RIDGE'S POOD, the best, cheapest and most reliable food to.tbe market; thousand* of children are now reared on this delicious diet. Woolkich & Co. on every label. Mm “i™* OUIUIIU "“WEST. A choice from over I.ooaooo acreo laws Lairta, doe west from Chicago, at from *5 to g 8 per acre. In farm lot*, and on easy terms. Low freights and ready markets. No wilderness—no ague—no Indiana. Landexploring tickets from Chicago, free to buyers. For Cedar Kapids, lows, or 92 Randolph Street Chicago. lIEU uri HTCn 5 Florida. 9H*d JoS ? ?n a M^^k County, Florida, should not watt until the Company advance the price again. Lute at present Three and fj££. < lmp , lSr3uU Clear Water... ...;......;r.Tf,IKO 1(1 acres on Tampa Bay Rl4 acres oa Tampa Bay *250 Rearing Orange Grove in Sumpter County *12.000 5 and 10 acre Orange Tract, Pcdk County. *9O per acre. Land, from $1.25 to ll.OOOper acre, for sale. Apply to WM. VAN FLEET, South Florida Land and Emigratlou Office. 146 LaSalle St, Chicago. Agents wanted. P AGENTS WANTED FOR THE ICTORIAL HISTORY op tub WORLD It contains #Tt fine historical engravings and IJW large double column page*,and Is tbe most complete Hto tui yof the World ever publ Ished. 11 sells at sight. Mod for specimen pages and extra terms to Agents, and see why Tt Mils taster than any other book. Address, EiTIOKAL PUBLISH I»0 CO., Chisago. M, ' fi lANJEDM ii ."-t Circular* free. Address Quo. F.Cram. 66 Lake-et.. Chicog”. Dl Remedies.” by Lloyd V. TeUor. M. tt Just published; theoulif book of the kind; no competition. Highly reooeamended by tbe NatT Live Stock Ase’n. For liberal tonus Ai ten Itogy ad. Jna «mo»7. Pub, ÜBMadlaoo at, Chicago. AGENTS. READ THIS. WewtU pay Ayrento a Salary of *IOO pm month and expenses, or allow a large oommtMton, to sell our n*w X PIAHOBStt?-SE^ Vathuahak’s scale for Agoerea-toeet °Pm&m ROR* PtAXO Co,, tt & ltth Strum. B. I. PURE IISSS rat stock In the country; quality and terms tbs hast Country storekeepers should call or write THX WJKLB TEA CQMPAMI.2OLFnItomrt.RT. f. ft IWk 8590. rth . The “ IJttle Wetecllve.” Pfl Tfl TheOLDKSTud BEST WAD If That Pave—Selling our new Cooker. 30 DAYS’ nuLjssisssrsss Send tor circular. W. G BEACH. St Johns, Mich. U A | Vfe Wholesale and retail. Semi for price•yorkd giE^fjwnTriega^j^ wromfqtlCO SEE circulars and terms to M. J. MoCulh>ugh. tawTaooaXah, aatistv "TgasfeTfe.'aar big MOM 15 it iMgifeWasaag Sasa.'s? JVv SS outfit nra& Awi M. A. N. K. 75. 8- • -krmam wwmw rm mldirtrt* —Rimag artaa |Jhf| Jk rtrHpfimA jghntpww ———- w wernw—m ,T * * «*a SMa Frt»*r. «