OUR BOOKS.
Books Free!
Good books are valued by intelligent men and women more than silver and gold. They are treasures in every home. They are to the mind what light and heat are to plants. They
Store the Mind with Useful Knowledge;
the mind directs the hands. An intelligent man has an advantage over one who is ignorant, whether he is a farmer, or mechanic, or merchant, and is surer of success in his occupation. Think how
Losses of Time and Money may be Saved
by having some book at hand containing just the information desired in some line of the rural industries. We offer an excellent opportunity for any one to obtain BOOKS FREE for himself or family, and also for societies, farmers' clubs, and associations to make additions to a library, or to start one.
These books comprise standard works, and the latest and best books for
Farmers, Stockmen,
Dairymen, Fruit-Growers,
Gardeners, Florists,
Poultrymen, Apiarists,
Silk-Culturists, Housekeepers,
Architects, Etc., Etc.
The Prairie Farmer Publishing Company will give to any person, association, or club, who will obtain and send subscribers to The Prairie Farmer (including both new subscribers and renewals), at the regular price of the paper ($2) each, any of the books contained in our Book List on the following terms:
For three subscribers, books to the amount of $1.50.
For four subscribers, books to the amount of $2.00.
For five subscribers, books to the amount of $2.50.
For six subscribers, books to the amount of $3.00.
For seven subscribers, books to the amount of $3.50.
For eight subscribers, books to the amount of $4.00
For ten subscribers, books to the amount of $5.00.
For Twelve Subscriptions and Upward,
A Dollar's Worth of Books for Every Two Subscriptions sent at $2.00 each.
All books given under these offers will be delivered at our office, No. 150 Monroe street.
If it is desired that they shall be forwarded by express, they will be packed and delivered at the express office by us, the receiver to pay cost of carriage.
Sent by mail to any part of the United States or Canada, the postage will be seven cents on each dollar's worth of books.
It is necessary that parties to whom the books are given shall remit us the postage before the books are sent.
A Dictionary Free!
This is no catchpenny affair, but a valuable lexicon. It is the popular
AMERICAN DICTIONARY,
on the basis of Webster, Worcester, Johnson, and other eminent American and English authorities. It contains over 32,000 words, with accurate definitions, proper spelling, and exact pronunciation; to which is added a mass of valuable information. It is enriched with 400 illustrations.
REMEMBER,
every subscriber at the regular price of The Prairie Farmer gets this Dictionary FREE, if preferred to our commercial map.
HERE IS ANOTHER.
ROPP'S CALCULATOR
And Account Book for 1884.
This is the most useful thing in the way of a memorandum book and calculator ever issued. It is a work of nearly 80 pages of printed matter and an equal number of blank leaves, ruled, for keeping accounts. The contents include a vast array of practical calculations, 100,000 or more in number, arranged for reference like a dictionary, so that a farmer or business man may turn to the figures, and find the answer to any problem in business.
There are three kinds. We use No. 3. Full leather; assorted colors, with flap, slate pocket, and a renewable account book, ruled with divisions or headings especially adapted to farmers' use. The retail price of this book in leather is $1. We will send it free to every subscriber to The Prairie Farmer who sends us $2. Or we will send three copies of No. 1, the cheaper issue.
AND YET ANOTHER.
American Etiquette and Rules of Politeness.
It is the latest and best standard work recommended and endorsed by all who have read it. The acknowledged authority. Beautifully and appropriately illustrated; handsomely and substantially bound. It contains 38 chapters, treating on all subjects relating to etiquette. We send this book—plain edition, to any subscriber desiring it who sends $2.00 for The Prairie Farmer year, or for two subscribers to The Prairie Farmer at $2 each, we will send American Etiquette bound in English cloth, burnished edges.
Our large and varied premium list will be issued in a few days. Send for it.
MISCELLANEOUS.
TO PRESERVE THE HEALTH
Use the Magneton Appliance Co.'s
MAGNETIC LUNG PROTECTOR!
PRICE ONLY $5.
They are priceless to LADIES, GENTLEMEN, and CHILDREN with WEAK LUNGS; no case of PNEUMONIA OR CROUP is ever known where these garments are worn. They also prevent and cure HEART DIFFICULTIES, COLDS, RHEUMATISM, NEURALGIA, THROAT TROUBLES, DIPHTHERIA, CATARRH, AND ALL KINDRED DISEASES. Will WEAR any service for THREE YEARS. Are worn over the under-clothing.
CATARRH, It is needless to describe the symptoms of this nauseous disease that is sapping the life and strength of only too many of the fairest and best of both sexes. Labor, study, and research in America, Europe, and Eastern lands, have resulted in the Magnetic Lung Protector, affording cure for Catarrh, a remedy which contains No Drugging of the System, and with the continuous stream of Magnetism permeating through the afflicted organs; must restore them to a healthy action. We place our price for this Appliance at less than one-twentieth of the price asked by others for remedies upon which you take all the chances, and we especially invite the patronage of the many persons who have tried drugging the stomachs without effect.
HOW TO OBTAIN This Appliance. Go to your druggist and ask for them. If they have not got them, write to the proprietors, enclosing the price, in letter at our risk, and they will be sent to you at once by mail, post paid.
Send stamp for the "New Departure in Medical Treatment without medicine," with thousands of testimonials,
THE MAGNETON APPLIANCE CO.,
218 State Street, Chicago, Ill.
Note.—Send one dollar in postage stamps or currency (in letter at our risk) with size of shoe usually worn, and try a pair of our Magnetic Insoles, and be convinced of the power residing in our Magnetic Appliances. Positively no cold feet where they are worn, or money refunded.
PUBLICATIONS.
MARSHALL M. KIRKMAN'S BOOKS ON RAILROAD TOPICS.
DO YOU WANT TO BECOME A RAILROAD MAN
If You Do, the Books Described Below Point the Way.
The most promising field for men of talent and ambition at the present day is the railroad service. The pay is large in many instances, while the service is continuous and honorable. Most of our railroad men began life on the farm. Of this class is the author of the accompanying books descriptive of railway operations, who has been connected continuously with railroads as a subordinate and officer for 27 years. He was brought up on a farm, and began railroading as a lad at $7 per month. He has written a number of standard books on various topics connected with the organization, construction, management and policy of railroads. These books are of interest not only to railroad men but to the general reader as well. They are indispensable to the student. They present every phase of railroad life, and are written in an easy and simple style that both interests and instructs. The books are as follows:
| "RAILWAY EXPENDITURES—THEIR EXTENT, OBJECT AND ECONOMY."—A Practical Treatise on Construction and Operation. In Two Volumes, 850 pages. | $4.00 |
| "HAND BOOK OF RAILWAY EXPENDITURES."—Practical Directions for Keeping the Expenditure Accounts. | 2.00 |
| "RAILWAY REVENUE AND ITS COLLECTION."—And Explaining the Organization of Railroads. | 2.50 |
| "THE BAGGAGE PARCEL AND MAIL TRAFFIC OF RAILROADS."—An interesting work on this important service; 425 pages. | 2.00 |
| "TRAIN AND STATION SERVICE"—Giving The Principal Rules and Regulations governing Trains; 280 pages. | 2.00 |
| "THE TRACK ACCOUNTS OF RAILROADS."—And how they should be kept. Pamphlet. | 1.00 |
| "THE FREIGHT TRAFFIC WAY-BILL."—Its Uses Illustrated and Described. Pamphlet. | .50 |
| "MUTUAL GUARANTEE."—A Treatise on Mutual Suretyship. Pamphlet. | .50 |
Any of the above books will be sent post paid on receipt of price, by
PRAIRIE FARMER PUBLISHING CO.,
150 Monroe St. Chicago, Ill.
Money should be remitted by express, or by draft check or post office order.
Cut This Out & Return to us with TEN CTS. & you'll get by mail A GOLDEN BOX OF GOODS that will bring you in MORE MONEY, in One Month, than anything else in America. Absolute Certainty. Need no capital. M. Young, 173 Greenwich St. N. York.
40 (1884) Chromo Cards, no 2 alike, with name, 10c., 13 pks, $1. GEORGE I. REED & CO., Nassau, N.Y.
For nothing lovelier can be found
In woman than to study household good.—Milton.
HOW THE ROBIN CAME.
Happy young friends, sit by me,
Under May's blown apple-tree;
Hear a story, strange and old,
By the wild red Indians told,
How the Robin came to me:
Once a great chief left his son,—
Well-beloved, his only one,
When the boy was well-nigh grown,
In the trial-lodge alone
Left for tortures long and slow
Youths like him must undergo,
Who their pride of manhood test,
Lacking water, food and rest,
Seven days the fast he kept,
Seven nights he never slept.
Then the poor boy, wrung with pain,
Weak from nature's overstrain,
Faltering, moaned a low complaint;
"Spare me, Father, for I faint!"
But the chieftain, haughty-eyed,
Hid his pity in his pride.
"You shall be a hunter good,
Knowing never lack of food;
You shall be a warrior great,
Wise as fox, and strong as bear;
Many scalps your belt shall wear,
If with patient heart you wait
One day more!" the father said.
When, next morn, the lodge he sought,
And boiled samp and moose-meat brought
For the boy, he found him dead.
As with grief his grave they made,
And his bow beside him laid,
Pipe and knife, and wampum-braid—
On the lodge-top overhead,
Preening smooth its breast of red
And the brown coat that it wore,
Sat a bird, unknown before.
And as if with human tongue,
"Mourn me not," it said, or sung;
"I, a bird, am still your son,
Happier than if hunter fleet,
Or a brave, before your feet
Laying scalps in battle won.
Friend of man, my song shall cheer
Lodge and corn-land hovering near.
To each wigwam I shall bring
Tidings of the coming spring;
Every child my voice shall know
In the moon of melting snow,
When the maple's red bud swells,
And the wild flower lifts its bells.
As their fond companion
Men shall henceforth own your son,
And my song shall testify
That of human kin am I."
Thus the Indian legion saith
How, at first, the robin came
With a sweeter life from death,
Bird for boy, and still the same.
If my young friends doubt that this
Is the robin's genesis,
Not in vain is still the myth
If a truth be found therewith:
Unto gentleness belong
Gifts unknown to pride and wrong:
Happier far than hate is praise—
He who sings than he who slays.
—J.G. Whittier in St. Nicholas.
After Twenty Years.
The following tale of love and faithful waiting is told the New York World by its Canton, Ohio, correspondent:
At the residence of Thomas Barker, three miles from this village, two people were to-day made man and wife. William Craig left his pretty girl sweetheart in a fit of jealous anger on the eve of Dec. 9, 1863, returned a week or two since, found his betrothed still single and true, and this afternoon the long deferred marriage was consummated. All the surviving friends of their youth were present, and many half forgotten associates came from neighboring towns and farms to join in the merrymaking.
Twenty years ago Will Craig worked on his father's farm near here during the day and spent his evenings at the residence of a farmer neighbor. The attraction was Mary Barker, a pretty seventeen-year old girl. Craig was deeply in love and so was Mary, but like many other girls she liked to play the coquette occasionally.
Their wedding-day was set for Christmas, 1863, and the prospective bride felt secure. One evening, however, the pretty Mary pushed her coquetry too far. On December 7, 1863, Farmer Barker gave an old-fashioned "sociable" in honor of his daughter's approaching wedding. Craig was there, of course, but his happiness was marred by the presence of a Pittsburg youth—a new comer. Mary allowed this young man to pay her many attentions.
Craig was madly jealous. After all his attention he thought his betrothed showed too much regard for his rival, and as she only laughed at his pleadings he grew angry and threatened to leave. Her seeming indifference made him desperate, and he declared:
"If you dance once more with that fellow you will not see me again for twenty years."
"You couldn't leave me for even twenty hours if you tried ever so hard," she replied, and with a coquettish smile she went off to dance with his rival.
Craig went home alone that night and the next day was missing. The most careful search failed to reveal any trace of him. The old couple continued to till the farm without the aid of the strong-armed son, and at the neighbor's down the road pretty Mary Barker went about her household labors with a demure air that told plainly how she regarded her lover's disappearance. She refused to "keep company" in the old-fashioned way with any of the young farmers who would willingly have taken young Craig's place. She went out very little, kept a cat and grew domestic in her habits. She had an abiding faith that Craig would return, and to all entreaties would only shake her head and say: "I am waiting for Will." The firm contour of the cheek grew somewhat less rounded, the springing step less elastic, but she would not think of marriage.
Friday, December 7, of this month (December) was just twenty years since the disappearance of William Craig. In the twilight a bearded man of forty came up the walk and as Miss Barker opened the door he put out both hands and said:
"Mary, I have come again."
"I am sorry you waited so long Will," was the quiet reply, as she led him into the house, where each told the story of the weary waiting, and Christmas was fixed upon once more as the day for the wedding.
To the eager questions of old friends as to where he spent the time, he told them, as he had already told his wife, how he had at once gone to Philadelphia, enlisted in the army under an assumed name, then, after the war, gone to Nebraska and taken up a tract of valuable land. This he had diligently cultivated until at present he is in more than comfortable circumstances. The Craigs will leave early in January for their Nebraska home.
Will Readers Try It.
The other day, says an exchange, we came across the following recipe for making ink in an English archæological journal. Archæology is the "science of antiquities," and surely this recipe is old enough to be good. It occurred to us that during the summer vacation many of our boys who are longing for something to do, might earn some money by manufacturing some of this ink and selling it in their neighborhood. At any rate the recipe is a good one and worthy of a trial by old folks as well as young people. Here is the recipe, and the way it was discovered, as told by a writer in Notes and Queries:
While examining a large number of MSS. of an old scribe some twenty years ago, I was struck with the clearness and legibility of the writing, owing in a great measure to the permanent quality of the ink, which had not faded in the least, although many of the MSS. were at least two hundred years old. It was remarkable, that the writer must have been celebrated in his day for the excellence of his calligraphy, for I met with a letter or two from his correspondents in which there was a request for the recipe of the ink he used. I found his recipes, which I copied, and from one of them, dated in 1654, I have, during the last fifteen years, made all the ink I have used. The recipe is as follows:
Rain water, one pint; galls, bruised, one and one-half ounces; green copperas, six drachms; gum Arabic, ten drachms. The galls must be coarsely powdered and put in a bottle, and the other ingredients and water added. The bottle securely stoppered, is placed in the light (sun if possible), and its contents are stirred occasionally until the gum and copperas is dissolved; after which it is enough to shake the bottle daily, and in the course of a month or six weeks it will be fit for use. I have ventured to add ten drops of carbolic acid to the contents of the bottle, as it effectually prevents the formation and growth of mold, without any detriment to the quality of the ink, so far as I know.
The Secret of Longevity.
A French medical man who has just died at the age of one hundred and seven, pledged his word to reveal the secret of his longevity, when no more, for the benefit of others. It was stipulated, however, that the precious envelope containing the recipe for long life was not to be opened until he had been buried. The doctor's prescription, now made known, is simple enough; and easy to follow; but whether it is as available as he pretends, the Journal of Chemistry says, is extremely doubtful. He tells his fellow-men, that, if they wish to live for a century or more, they have but to pay attention to the position of their beds. "Let the head of the bed be placed to the north, the foot to the south; and the electric current, which is stronger during the night in the direction of the north, will work wonders on their constitutions, insure them healthier rest, strengthen their nervous system, and prolong their days." It is, he adds, to scrupulous attention to the position of his bed that he ascribes his longevity, the enjoyment of perfect health, and the absence of infirmity.
How the Inventor Plagues His Wife.
A facetious chap connected with one of our daily newspapers give the following amusing burlesque on the trials of an inventor's wife:
"It is all very well to talk about working for the heathen," said one, as the ladies put up their sewing, "but I'd like to have some one tell me what I am to do with my husband." "What is the matter with him?" asked a sympathetic old lady. "William is a good man," continued the first, waving her glasses in an argumentative way, "but William will invent. He goes inventing round from morning till night, and I have no peace or comfort. I didn't object when he invented a fire escape, but I did remonstrate when he wanted me to crawl out of the window one night last winter to see how it worked. Then he originated a lock for the door that would not open from midnight until morning, so as to keep burglars out. The first time he tried it he caught his coat tail in it, and I had to walk around him with a pan of hot coals all night to keep him from freezing." "Why didn't he take his coat off?" "I wanted him to, but he stood around till the thing opened itself, trying to invent some way of unfastening it. That's William's trouble. He will invent. A little while ago he got up a cabinet bedstead that would shut and open without handling. It went by clockwork. William got into it, and up it went. Bless your heart, he staid in there from Saturday afternoon till Sunday night, when it flew open and disclosed William with the plans and specifications of a patent washbowl that would tip over just when it got so full. The result was that I lost all my rings and breastpin down the waste pipe. Then he got up a crutch for a man that could also be used as an opera-glass. Whenever the man leaned on it up it went, and when he put it to his eye to find William, it flew out into a crutch and almost broke the top of his head off. Once he invented a rope ladder to be worn as guard chain and lengthened out with a spring. He put it round his neck, but the spring got loose and turned it into a ladder and almost choked him to death. Then he invented a patent boot heel to crack nuts with, but he mashed his thumb with it and gave it up. Why, he has a washtub full of inventions. One of them is a prayerbook that always opens at the right place. We tried it one morning at church, but the wheels and springs made such a noise that the sexton took William by the collar and told him to leave his fire engines at home when he came to worship. The other day I saw him going up the street with a model of a grain elevator sticking out of his hip pocket, and he is fixing up an improved shot tower in our bed-room."
Recipes.
A hot shovel held over furniture removes white spots.
A paste of equal parts of sifted ashes, clay, salt, and a little water cements cracks in stoves and ovens.
Fried potatoes: Chop fine cold boiled potatoes; heat some butter in a frying pan and put the potatoes in. A few minutes before taking them from the fire stir in some well beaten eggs. Serve hot.
Sardines picked up fine, and mixed with cold boiled ham also minced fine, and all well seasoned with a regular Mayonnaise dressing, make a delicious filling for sandwiches.
Rye Bread: Make sponge as for wheat bread; let it rise over night; then mix up with rye flour, not as stiff as wheat bread. Place in baking pans; let rise, and bake half an hour longer than wheat bread.
One of the best ways to cure sore throat is as follows: Wring a cloth out of salt and cold water, and keeping it quite wet bind tightly about the neck. Cover this with a dry cloth. It is best to use this remedy in the night.
A delicious hot sauce for puddings is made of six tablespoonfuls of sugar, two of butter, and one egg; beat the butter, sugar, and the yolk of the egg together, then add the white beaten to a froth; lastly stir in a tea-cupful of boiling water and a teaspoonful of vanilla.
A Dish for Breakfast: Take six good cooking apples, cut them in slices one-fourth of an inch thick; have a pan of fresh, hot lard ready, drop the slices in and fry till brown; sprinkle a little sugar over them and serve hot.
A little curry-powder in chopped pickle gives a delicious flavor to it. A tablespoonful of the powder to four quarts of pickle is about the right quantity to use, unless you like to use the curry in place of pepper; then at least twice this quantity should be put in.
A good way to extract the juice of beef for an invalid is to broil the beef on a gridiron for a few minutes, and then squeeze the juice from it with a lemon-squeezer. Put a little salt with it. This may be given, as the sick one prefers, cold or hot, or it may be frozen, and given in small lumps.
Rolls: Flour, two quarts; sugar, one tablespoonful; one half cup of yeast; one pint of scalded milk, or water if milk is scarce, and a little salt. Set to rise until light; then knead until hard, and set to rise, and when wanted make in rolls. Place a piece of butter between the folds and bake in a slow oven.
For Earache.—A writer in the Druggists' Circular says: "The remedy which I here offer has, after repeated trials, never failed to afford almost instant relief. It is perfectly simple, easy of application, costs but little, and can be procured at any drug store: Olive oil, 1 ounce; chloroform, 1 drachm. Mix, and shake well together. Then pour twenty-five or thirty drops into the ear, and close it up with a piece of raw cotton to exclude the air and retain the mixture."
The Prairie Farmer
AND
Youth's Companion
One Year, $3 for the two.
It is not required that both papers be sent to one address, nor to the same post-office.
Address Prairie Farmer Pub. Co.,
150 Monroe Street, Chicago.
Pamphlets, Etc., Received.
Gunnison, Colorado's Bonanza County, by John K. Hallowell, Geologist, Denver, Col. Price 50 cents, postpaid.
Midland Florida: The Eden of the South. By "Carl" Webber, New York.
United States Consular Reports, No. 35, for November, 1883.
The Saskatchewan Fife Wheat: Its history, from its first importation from the Saskatchewan Valley, in Manitoba, six years ago, till the present time. By W.J. Abernethy.
Price list of Huntsville nurseries, Huntsville, Ala.
Oscar Close, Greendale. Catalogue of nurseries, Worcester, Mass.
Price list of L.R. Bryant's cider vinegar works, Princeton, Ill.
Vich's Floral Guide. Here it is again, brighter and better than ever; its cover alone, with its delicate tinted background and its dish of gracefully arranged flowers, would entitle it to a permanent place in every household. The 1884 edition is an elegant book of 150 pages, three colored plates of flowers and vegetables, and more than 1,000 illustrations of the choicest plants, flowers, and vegetables, with directions for growing. The price, only 10 cents, can be deducted from the first order sent for goods. Rochester, N.Y.
The Great Rock Island Cook Book, dedicated to the women of America, Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway. This book contains a selection of the most useful recipes and other valuable information in the culinary art. It will be found especially valuable for the young housekeepers, as they can hardly fail to become good cooks with such a guide.
Buist's Almanac and Garden Manual for 1884, Philadelphia. This little book is in its fifty-sixth year, and is one of the best of its kind published. It contains a full descriptive list (with cuts) of all kinds of vegetables, and many kinds of flowers.
Report of the crops of the year, December, 1883. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
The Household Magazine for January comes to us in its usual bright, readable form. It is an unusually good number and will be enjoyed by the ladies.
Catalogue of Clydesdale and Cleveland Bay horses. Imported and bred by the Door Prairie Live Stock Association, Door Village, La Porte, Ind.
Remember that $2.00 pays for The Prairie Farmer from this date to January 1, 1885: For $2.00 you get it for one year and a copy of The Prairie Farmer County Map of the United States, free! This is the most liberal offer ever made by any first-class weekly agricultural paper in this country.
THE CITY CAT.
He is gaunt and thin, with a ragged coat,
A scraggy tail, and a hunted look;
No songs of melody burst from his throat
As he seeks repose in some quiet nook—
A safe retreat from this world of sin,
And all of its boots and stones and that—
For the life of a cat is a life of din,
If he is a city cat.
He is grumpy and stumpy, and old and gray,
With a sleepy look in his lonely eye,
(The other he lost at a matinee—
Knocked out by a boot from a window high.)
Wherever he goes, he never knows—
Quarter or pause in the midnight spree,
For the life of a cat is a life of blows,
If he is a city cat.
He is pelted by boys if he stirs abroad,
He is chased by dogs if he dares to roam.
His grizzled bosom has never thawed
'Neath the kindly blare of the light of home.
His life's a perpetual warfare waged
On balcony, back yard fence, and flat;
For the life of a cat is a life outraged,
If he is a city cat.
The country cat is a different beast.
Petted, well-housed, demure, and sleek;
Three times a day he is called to feast,
And why should he not be quiet and meek?
No dreams of urchins, tin cans, and war,
Disturb his sensuous sleep on the mat;
Ah! cat life is a thing worth living for,
If he isn't a city cat.
And even when dead, the cat
With strident members uneasy lies
In some alley-way, and seems staring at
A coming foe with his wild wide eye,
Nobody owns him and nobody cares—
Another dead "Tom," and who mourns for that,
If he's only a city cat.
—Providence Press.