[to be continued.]
STABLE TALK—Drawn by Frank Bellew, Jun.
Portland, Connecticut.
I have both wild and tame pets. This spring a pair of brown-headed birds built their nest in the Akebia quinata. The old birds have grown so tame that they will come up to my feet to eat crumbs. Their young are fully fledged now. The robins have a brood in the apple-tree, and now another pair of small birds have begun to build in one of our evergreens. My tame pets are a pair of jonquil canaries, Nedy and Barbra. They hatched four eggs, but all the little birds died. Now Barbra has a nest of five eggs, and yesterday one bird was hatched, and to-day another. I have a few choice varieties of roses and other plants. The roses and honeysuckles in the garden are in bloom. I am ten years old.
Altia R. A.
Geneva, New York.
We have four old canaries, and one of them, named Fanny, laid two eggs, and now there are two little birds. They keep Dick busy feeding them all the time. We give them bread and milk and boiled egg. This spring we had a pair of twin lambs, and the mother sheep did not like but one, so we had to feed the other. My brother Herbert is the one who feeds it, and it will follow him everywhere. The other day it walked into the dining-room after him. It will not come to me. We have over forty little chickens, and twelve turkeys. The turkeys are just as pretty as they can be.
Grace Eleanor.
Jersey City, New Jersey.
I am ten years old. I would like you to know how much I like Young People. I do so love to read the letters from the little girls and boys. I have a canary named Beauty, and a cat named Charlie.
Lillie C. L.
Granville, Ohio.
My papa subscribed for Young People for my birthday present. I am just getting over scarlet fever, and I look forward eagerly every week for my paper, for my playmates are afraid to come to see me, and it is the best young friend I have. I am eight years old.
May A.
Port Republic, Maryland.
I saw the letters in Young People about pets, and thought I would write about mine. I have two dogs. One is named Topsy and the other Frank. But best of all is my horse, named Ella. I am eight years old.
"Little Brother."
I live in the northwestern part of Minnesota, in the town of Detroit. I think I must be one of the most northern subscribers to Young People in the United States. This winter has been very severe. The snow staid on the ground nearly five months. We have no spring here, only a winter and a summer, with a very short autumn. Two years ago I saw a flock of Bohemian wax-wings, which are very rare in the United States. I would like to know if any other correspondents have ever seen them. They are pretty birds.
Some honeysuckles and blue, white, and yellow violets grow here in the woods.
Jay H. M.
Crugers, New York.
My aunt sends me Young People, and I like it very much. We have a squirrel round our house that is pure white, but its mother is a common red one. We think that is very odd. Our gardener calls the young one a dandy. The squirrels and rabbits in our yard are very tame, and do not mind people a bit; and a little wren builds its nest in the horse post by the stoop every year. We never frighten or hurt our wild pets.
Philip P. C.
Tullahoma, Tennessee.
I am very sorry we had to leave Frank Austin so soon, and I hope we are going to hear how he went back to his mother and sisters. I think if all Young America had as much pluck as Frank, there would be no such thing as "fail."
I caught a little rabbit a week ago, but it got away before I had made a cage for it. I have a turtle that weighs about ten pounds. But my best pet is a large dog named Andy. He is a good jumper. He can jump a very high fence.
My father has been a subscriber to Harper's Magazine ever since 1859. I think I shall take Young People as long—and longer too. My brothers take Harper's Weekly. The illustrations are so pretty! My brother Abe, who is six years old, says he is going to be a "picture man," like Mr. Nast, when he grows up.
Have any of the correspondents a tame crow? I would like to know how to pet one.
"Lone Star."
West Chester, Pennsylvania.
My brother has a young pet crow. When it is hungry it "caws" till we go out and feed it. The other day it ate three mice and a mole. It can not fly yet. I have a dear little kitty, and if it goes toward the crow, the bird will open its mouth and hop away sideways. I like to make Wiggles and Misfits very much.
Anna M. J.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
I caught a dragon-fly the other day. It was three inches long, and its wings spread five inches. Its head was transparent. I have a cat named Lion. My brother takes Young People. I like to read the letters in the Post-office Box.
Care G. De M.
Milton, Vermont.
The last of April, when I went after May-flowers, I brought home some frogs' eggs in my basket. They looked like hemp seed in lemon jelly. In about a week each egg separated from the main part in a little ball. It took two weeks for the pollywogs to hatch, but when they did, it was very comical to see them swimming about. If we scared them, they would run to their balls, or homes, as we called them. I put them in the brook, and afterward when I went to look for them, I could not find them. I suppose they had developed into little frogs, and hopped away. I brought a toad home last night, and put it in the garden. It dug into the ground until it was nearly buried, and this morning I could not find it. Perhaps it got homesick—if toads ever do.
Alice C. H.
Smithfield, North Carolina.
I live one mile from a little village on the east bank of the Neuse. I have three cats, but they have no pretty tricks. I have a goat too. Her name is Philadelphia, but I call her Phila. I have a corn patch in mother's garden, and every two weeks I cut it and give it to my goat to eat. I began to study French last winter, and I finished the introductory course last night. I am ten years old.
Mattie P.
New York City.
I thought perhaps the boys and girls would like to hear about my Polly. It is just beginning to talk. Its only bad habit is that it will learn slang words. The other day a lady came to see us, and Polly cried out, "Bully for you, old fellow, come in!"
We use Young People for a reader in our school.
N. D.
Pleasant Hill, Missouri.
Two little birds have built their nest in a tree in front of our porch. It sounds so much sweeter to hear them sing out of a cage than in one, especially when they are wild birds. When the raspberries get ripe, our missionary society will have a lawn party in our yard, because it is very large. I am eleven years old.
Grace C.
Baltimore, Maryland.
I have a little bird. It is a beautiful singer and a great pet. It is a very funny little fellow. It used to escape from its cage so often that we had to tie the door. We call it Dick. The other day mamma had given Dick a bath, and tied the cage door securely, as she thought. She left it alone in a room with the windows all open, and about an hour afterward she went to put seed in, and the cage was empty, and Dick nowhere to be seen. She hunted about a long while, until at last she found him sitting on the round of a chair. She had only to put the cage down, and Dick hopped in.
Fannie S. M.
Auburn, California.
I have a pet cat named Dido, and our neighbor has a cat named Jacko. Dido and Jacko are great friends, and play together a great deal. Mamma is Dido's "meat man," and one night when she was taking Dido to feed him, Jacko began to cry, as though he did not want to be left. Then Dido ran back and put his nose up to Jacko's, and it looked as if they were kissing each other good-night. Then Dido turned and followed mamma.
Russia L.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
I am in the Soldiers' Orphan Institute, and I like to read Young People very much. My Sunday-school teacher made each boy in her class a present of it. We are sorry that the story "Across the Ocean" is ended. It was such an interesting story that we want some more of it.
Charles V. F.
Harmony, New Jersey.
I am a little girl nine years old. We moved here this spring from La Fayette. My papa is a Methodist minister, so we have to move once in a while. I have a brother and sister. We have a beautiful Maltese cat, and twelve little chickens. We live three miles from the Delaware River. My brother takes Young People, and we all like it very much.
Annie Jean H.
Parkville, Long Island.
I have a pet hen, but she does not lay any eggs. She is a very cross hen, and she nips my fingers when I feed her. I had a little goat, but it died. My papa is going to buy me another. We have a little dog-cart, and a doll's house, and we play croquet, and swing in a swing made of chains.
Charlie S. R.
Xenia, Ohio.
I had Young People for a Christmas present, and I like it ever so much. It comes every Wednesday, and I am almost always the first boy at the book-store to get it. I liked the story of Frank Austin very much. He was a very brave boy.
The only pet I have is my little sister, and I pity the fellow who has not so nice a pet. She is the best one in the world. One day at the dinner table, while she was eating a piece of pie, she found a plum seed in it. All of a sudden she exclaimed, "I found a pie seed!" and she rushed out and planted it, thinking it would grow to be a tree with pies on it.
Roscoe E. E.
North Newfield, Maine.
My little cousin sends me Young People. I had a dear little kitty, but it died. Its name was Rose. Do you think it is a pretty name? I am seven years old.
Teenie J. B.
Princeton, Arkansas.
Brother Ben and I take Young People, and we enjoy it very much. It is a splendid paper for little folks, and I find that older people like to read it too. I am eleven years old, and I study music, drawing, and other things. Ben is thirteen, and he studies algebra, geometry, and Latin. I have a beautiful pet dog named Prince. A showman gave him to me. He will not let strangers come in the yard when he is loose. He is black, and very large.
Annie S. D.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
I am collecting stamps. I have some French, English, Swiss, German, and American, and a lot of Treasury stamps. I have a little brother named Charlie. He can not read, but I read Young People to him, and sometimes mamma reads it to both of us. I learned to write last winter, but I never went to school.
Paul R. H.
Newark, New Jersey.
I am quite sick now, and I am going to write my first letter to "Our Post-office Box." I have a large cat named Louis. At meal-times he goes right to papa, and waits for something to eat. If papa does not notice him, he jumps up on his knee and pats his arm to remind him. Then papa always gives Louis something to eat. I am nine years old.
Gardner M.
Hamilton, Canada.
Here is a simple recipe for a jelly-cake for Puss Hunter's Club: Three eggs; a small tea-cup of sugar; one cup of flour. Beat the yolks and whites of the eggs together. This quantity makes two layers; and as it bakes in a very short time, it requires very careful watching while in the oven. Any kind of flavoring may be used.
"Fatinitza."
Danville, Illinois.
Here is one of my own recipes for kisses: Beat the whites of four eggs to a froth; then beat in slowly two cups of white sugar. Spread greased paper on a baking-pan, and drop the mixture on it, a spoonful at a time. Bake in an oven not too hot, until a little brown.
C. H. S.
Brooklyn, New York.
I am ten years old. I have no pets but a dear little sister, who is as nice as all the pets in the world. I tried the recipe for sugar-candy, and found it very nice. I go to school every day.
M. H. S.
I made two flower beds a few days ago, and the hens scratched them very badly. I am eleven years old, and I go to school, and have lots of fun. I have no pets now, but I did have a pet robin that I was very fond of.
I tried Nellie H.'s recipe for making sugar-candy, and it was very nice. Here is a recipe of my own for her to try: One pound of white sugar; six table-spoonfuls of cream; one of vinegar; one of corn starch; one of melted butter; the white of one egg. Boil until it waxes when it is cold. It should boil about one hour.
I would like to exchange pressed flowers, both cultivated and wild, with any little girl living in the Southern and far Western United States.
Annie L. Woods,
Canton, St. Lawrence County, New York.
I would be very glad to gather birds' eggs to exchange with I. Quackenboss and Samuel P. Higgins, if I knew how to preserve them and send them by mail. Can some one tell me, please? I live where there is much of the long gray moss so common in the South, and if any one would like to have some, I would be glad to exchange it for shells, birds' eggs, pretty minerals, or anything of the kind. There are many pretty flowers that grow wild here. There are blue-bonnets, Phlox drummondi, sweet-williams, lantana, larkspur, verbena, and fox-glove; but they have nearly all finished blooming for this year. I would like to know how to press some of them.
Lula Barlow,
Refugio, Refugio County, Texas.
I am collecting postage stamps, and would like to exchange with some of the readers of Young People. I have nine hundred and seventy-six different kinds.
Leon M. Fobes,
No. 22 Cushman Street, Portland, Maine.
I am thirteen years old, and I live on the right bank of the Pecatonica River. If C. B. F. will look in a good encyclopedia, he will find out a good deal about ants. I have a dog and a cat, and a great many pigeons and chickens. I was out with my mamma the other day, and we found ferns three feet high.
I have a collection of birds' eggs, and would like to exchange with any of the readers of Young People.
Charles J. Burchard,
Freeport, Illinois.
We have some of the handsomest white roses here that I ever saw. When they first open, they are tinted cream-color. I live on the Pecatonica River, and we have a boat. I think it is very nice to ride in it.
I would be very much obliged if Harry H. M., of Windsor, Connecticut, or some other correspondent, would send me a pressed trailing arbutus, as I never saw any of that flower. I will exchange some of our pressed flowers for it.
Carrie Harding,
Freeport, Illinois.
I am twelve years old, but people think I am older, because I am so tall. We have a great many pets. We have a white horse, a black and white coach dog, a Maltese cat, and two kittens; and mamma has just raised a brood of four canaries, but the cat caught one of them.
My sister and I tried Nellie H.'s recipe for candy.
I would like to exchange pressed flowers with Genevieve of California. I have already pressed a few.
Hattie D. Condon,
P. O. Box 98, Ipswich, Massachusetts.
E. G. Koch.—The best thing for you to do is to go to Prospect Park Lake, Brooklyn, any pleasant Saturday afternoon, where you can witness the regatta, and learn full particulars concerning the yacht club.
W. B. A. S.—The loon is found in all the Northern States. It is a very awkward bird on land, but a graceful and rapid swimmer. It is a remarkable diver, and it is thought that no other feathered creature can dive so far beneath the surface or remain so long a time under water. A specimen was once found attached to the hook of a fisherman's set line in Seneca Lake, it having dived nearly one hundred feet to reach the bait. It feeds on lizards, fish, frogs, all kinds of aquatic insects, and the roots of fresh-water plants, usually swallowing its food under water. It is a very large bird, about three feet in length, and spreads its wings fully five feet. It builds its nest in marshes, near water, of rushes and grass, which it twists together in a huge heap on the ground, usually among tall reeds. The eggs, usually three in number, are a little over three inches long, and in color of a dull greenish ochre, with indistinct spots of dark umber, most numerous toward the broad end. During the winter this bird lives near the sea-shore, especially in the salt-marshes on the Long Island coast, and along the shores of the Chesapeake; but in the summer it goes as far north as Maine, and breeds there in great quantities.
Edith H.—The peculiar spots often found on lemons and oranges are only a natural appearance of the skin of certain varieties. Havana oranges and the best Floridas are more marked in this way than other kinds.
A. R. A.—Your Wiggles are remarkably pretty, but they came too late to be engraved.
A. U. Y.—Japanese wine-flowers can be obtained in New York at nearly every store where toys, novelties, and apparatus for parlor magic are sold. They are also called Surprises, or Japanese Curiosos.
Favors are acknowledged from Carrie E. Lucas, Julia T., Charles and Fred W., Harry L. Chase, Bertha Frederick, Aggie M. Mason, Leon Munroe, Edmund I. Sheppard, John J. A. F., Graham Hereford, Emmie L. Brazier, M. Welchman, J. M. T., John H. Bartlett, W. Lloyd Clark, Rosa Hickman, Hugh D.
Correct answers to puzzles are received from Alexander Maxwell, Charles E. Boehler, Charlie D. Cutter, Roscoe E. Elwell, Altia R. Austin, J. F. S., William I. Coleman, Maud and Gertie, A. H. Ellard, Maud Matthewson, "Fatinitza," Perry Von Olker, Cora R. Price, Cora Frost, Fred Purdy.
PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.
No. 1.
WORD SQUARE.
First, a native of a certain country. Second, not under. Third, a flower. Fourth, the imperfect form of a verb.
Eddie.