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After it is onceoplanted rhubarb requires little cultivation, but it must have atall times deep, rich soil, the richer the better. In field culture the roots are planted about four feet apart each way, and cultivated like any hoed crop. In the family garden they should be planted two to three feet apart, in a single row, at least four feet distant fIOm other plants. I I- , 'l L_L -_ LL..-“ Rhubarb Culture. Rhubarb, like currant bushes, will grow almost anywhere and under any treatment, and consequently receives more ill usage than any other “green thing growing.” But for this reason it should not be suppoaed that when growing under neglect and abuse It will do its best and produce as abundant crops and of equally good quality as when good treatment in given. of the roots is the inethod of propagation usually adopted. Any piece of root with a bud or crown will grow if planted about two inches (he in mellow soil firmly pressed around it. oots may be planted in autumn or early spring. Plantations are usually re- newed every four or five years. yet when a. liberal dressing of manure is given every fall the roots will produce a. crop for an alumni indefinite period. Heavy manuring, clean cultivation, and liberal space are the essential requisites for raising large, sum culent rhubarb. The varieties best known are :â€" In'nnwus, grown extensively for market as well as home use. It is early, very produc- tive, and ofa brisk, spicy flavor. Its princi- pal fault is that it needs no freely that Im- ]ess all flower stalks are cut off as soon as they appear the crop deteriorates rapidly. â€"â€"7 . - . . . . . , _ J InvicIt-grriQW-isvh‘figeâ€"g,‘ hie} riaiger leaQes 'and stalks, and requires very rich, rather heavy gro_und for itsm§ga§ developement. :J... _......_-; b'““â€"_ ‘V' "" "" ' n Paragon. This is a. new variety, originat« ed in England, and now introduced here. The stalks are bright red, heavy. and pro- duced in quick succession and eat.abund‘ 31106. It is earlier, of more de icate flavor, and decidedly less acid than any other variety we are acquamted with. But its most remarkable and most valuable qualifi- cations is that it does not produce flower stalks, to which fact its great productiveness is mainly attributable, all the strength of the plant being used for the development of its leaves. A great many little things are constantly passing before our eyes that most of us fail to notice: Every one who eats apples knows that they contain seeds, but not everyone who eats apples can tell whether the seeds of the apples as they lie in their little seed cases or “hulls,” lie with their small end or large end towards the stem of the apple. We have heard the question asked repeated- ly in large congregations of apple eaters, without bringing out half a dozen correct answers, the large majority appearing among the number who did not pretend to know, while of those who thought they knew, more usually voted wrong than right. Most persons, probably, know as much about milk as they do about apples, and perhaps one ought not to be surprised that in a mixed gathering there might be a cliff- erence of Opinion concernin so simple a thing as milk. Yet we are giardly prepar- ed to find, upon a recent occasion, where a. number of farmers were discussing the milk question, that scarcely one could tell for a certainty which of the two liquids, milk or water, was the heaviest, while of those who thought they knew, the larger number were in the wrong. Because milk contains fat, which is lighter than either water or milk, many think that the milk itself must be lighter than water. Probably very few farmers ever took the trouble to weigh a gal- lon of either water or milk to ascertain their weights or diflerence. The difference is com- paratively slight, though varying according as the milk is rich or poor in 't'he several milk solids. Take avessel that will hold exactly 100 pounds 01 pure water. and fill it with pure milk of average quality, and the weight will be found to be about 103 pounds. In other words milk is 3 per cent. heavier than water. It.n:z;;ul; raised from seed, but as there is little reliance in the seedinga being of the sgmg varietygs t‘he parent plants, division ,, ".uA- Mr. 0. S. Bliss, who is good authority on dairy matters, gives, in a. recent letter to the Rural New Yorker, the specific gravity of pure milk, as found by many tests, to be, 1 032. The standard gallon of pure milk, taken at a temperature of 60 ° , is now genv erain understood to weigh 8.6 pounds, or 2.15 pounds per quart. By this rule ten quarts of pure milk at a temperature of 60 ° will weigh just 21% pounds, which are easy figures to remember,andfrom which itis easy to reckon the number of quarts given by a cow after finding the number of pounds by weighing. A good many owners of large milkers have come to reckon two pounds of milk as a quart, which is wrong and very misleading. A correspondent of the Rural New Yorker gives the following experience :â€" From my own long experience with barbed- wire fencing and still longer experience with hedges, I can find no weighty objections to the former. I have heard some complaints and some expressed fears of possible danger to stock ; but these objections have been few in comparison with the commendations given wire fencing. its advantages as to durability, low cost and capability of resist- ing wind storms, are certainly evident. Eco- nomically considered, there is no fence that can compare with it. We do not in this vi- cinity, as a general rule, build fences of Wire alone. preferring to use two six-inch pine boards at the bottom, with three wires above. ’ The principal objection urged against barbed-wire fencing, is that stock is liable to serious injury from‘ running violently against the herbs. So far as my observa- tion has extended, this objection arises only from an apprehension of danger, and is not based on actual facts. Of course, one can conceive of such a thing, and shudder at the thought of a favorite animal being Inalnled ; and at once the objection theoretically be- comes a. potent one ; but I think very few persons have suffered loss in this manner. I have not heard of such an instance in this part of the country, and there are hundreds of miles of barbed-wire fence Within a very few miles of this place, I notice that stock generally acquaint themselves with the na- ture of the fence, and after that leave it severely alone. The difficulty is largely WB THE FARMER- Barbed Wire Fencing. Weight of Milk. uuuncs, cAbvyu .u. uyvv-u- rmrvuvn .0.-- .n a pig fence or a top wire on a board fence. when I should prefer the close set barb. I use chestnut posts threeiinches square, sharp- ened and driven down from 16 to 20 feet apart, and at every ninth and tenth post an eight-inch chestnut or oak straining post is planted three feet, and well rammed. The end straining posts only are braced. I find the best way to brace is to plant a stout ost eight feet from the and post; put a _ race from near the top of one to the bottom of the other. at the surface of the ground ; then nail a thick’eight-inch board from the top of one post to the top of the other. Put up in this way the straining-post will not "give." Without the board, it is apt to push the second post over when cold weather arrives. I have not found wire fences dangerous to stock so far. I first used three strands of wire, but now use four one foot apart. and the first one foot from the gronnd. This makes a good fence. and is about the right height. Cattle will put their heads through to reach grass outside the fence, but do not get hurt in doing so. I have never had an animal attempt to break through except an old boarI and in this case the fence was too low and he jump- ed it, and in doing so pulled the wire from the post. Why is love like a potato shoots from the eyes. It is said that girls who sing “Baby mine" neldom get married. Leap year adviceâ€"Be sure your victim is rich before you jump at him. aity. obviated by the board and wire fence. for bones running towards the fence, see the board and turn away: Another correspondent in the same paper writes {shunâ€"AA to wire fences, I have about 400 yards of the barbed and more of the buckthom, and like the Iatcer much better! except fog special purposes, such as Patience {s thé panacea. ; but where does it grow, or who can swallow it? She that has never known adversity is but half acquainted with others or with herself. Constant success shows us but one half of the world. â€" Tbbse sentiments of love which flow from the heart cannot be frozen by adver- z‘Ye pays no more attention to me, ’ said Patrick to his children, “than if I was a dumb haste talking to yez.” A health journal say: that you ought to take threequarbers of an hour for your din- ner. It is well also to add a few vegetables and a piece of meat. Many people economize the wrong way. They will worry the pennies and waste the pounds. A fortune, or so much saved and put away, is not made this way, but by a careful outlook all the way round. Lady of the house (to cook)â€"”Ma gie, I want you to be sure Ind haste the uck you are cooking.” Cookâ€""0h, yes, mim, I will. And ye see I was iist aftber comin' for a nadle and a. thrid to do it wid." A ge 1tleman once asked Abernathy if he thought the moderate use of anti would “injure the brain.” "No, air," was the doc- tor‘s prompt reply ; “for no man with a Iingée ounce of brains would think of taking snu ." A bookkeeper riding through a. street in the West End of London, and seeing "Dr." on every other house, remarked that it would look a little more regular if there was an occasional "Cr." on the other side of the street. What a lovely example of domestic sim- plicity is set by that sweet animal, the do- mestic cat, which rises at three in the morning, washes its face with its right hand, gives its tall three quick jerks, and is ready tor the day’s cares and pleasures. “If your wife falnbs, do not Spoil her dress by dashing a pitcher of water over her. Loudly kiss the back of your hand. She will immediately revive and want to know whom you are kisalng. Do not tell her, and she will not faint any more. "Any good shooting on your farm 2" ask- ed a. hunter of a. farmer. “Splendid,” said the agricuhurist ; “there's the tax-gatherer in the parlor. and my mother-in-law in the kitchen. Climb over the fence, young man, load both barrels, and shoot the lot.” Distinguish exactly what one is, when he stands alone, and acts for himself, and when he is led by others. We know many who act always honestly, often with deli- cacy. when left to themselves ; and like knaves when influenced by some overbearing characters, whom they slavishly submitted to follow. An Ayrshire farmer who had been out in the late boisterous weather and got himself very wet went into a public-house in a coun- try village and ordered a. glass of whiskey. After taking off the contents neat without an effort he said. “Man, that whusky's un- common mild ; it’s a. wee like mysel’ ; I think it’s been 001: in the rain I" A minister, when visiting a. farm-house observed one of the inmates begin to a large cog of porridge without having first asked a. blessing on the food. Desirous of teaching the lad his duty in this respect, he said to him, “Without asking a blessing, are you not afraid the porridge will choke you 2” “No.” said the youth instantly ; “there's nae fear 0' that; they’re no see thick.” A gentleman who considered himself a crack shot with a. rifle “at a mark” took a deer-forest last autumn. The first day s stalking. says a. Northern contemporary, seemed to him “a day bewitched," for he missed every chance and several of them were good ones. He asked the headkeeper if he could account for his missing so often. Like a true Scot, the keeper replied bv ask in g another question. “Are your rifle and cartridges ude ?” “Yes, quite goodâ€"West- ley Richer s, you know.” “Then youre no gude yoursel.m Andrew Douglas, author of “The History of Ferryden," used to keep an evening school during the winter for the benefit of the fisher lads who were engaged with their fathers during the summer. One of his pu- pils had got as far advanced as cloth mea- sure, in reduction, when going up one day to the master with his slate, the master (who had an impediment in his speech), after look- ing it over, told him his answer was wrong. “Fat’s the matter wi’ the coon't. maister ‘2” says the scholar. "W’wy, d’don’t you s-soe that you h-h-have'got h-h-half a yard t-t~too m-m-much in your answer 2” “0h l" says the scholar, "that’s nae faut ave, maister, for it will a’ be needit, for there’s a great big hole i' my breeks.” WIT AND WISDOM. Because it Sport that Is no Child's Play-Dangerous Ground and Reckless Riders. The Romans as a rule do not “go in ” for manly sport much. There is something in the soft southern air which predisposes them to inaction. They are quite content with the mild exercise of a drive on the Pinoio, varied, perhaps, from time to time, b a day’s shooting over the Albsu hills.‘ gut one sport, and that one ol all others the most exciting, dms flourish hereâ€"fox hunting. The hunt meets two or three times weekly throughout the season. and there is general- ly a good muster. On some mornings as many as forty or fifty riders may be seen on the trail of poor reynard, and not unfrequent- 1y there are twice as many people go out “ on wheels,” as cinlly if the meet happens to be at Cecilia etella, by the Via. Appia, or at the Tre Fontaneâ€"the two most pop- ulsr rendezvous in the Csmnsgus. It is the fashion among many smart sportsmen who never saw a meet to sneer st Roman for hunting sud Roman foxes. But they would find, it they condescended to try it, that the sport is perhaps often more exhilarating than would suit their fancy. The foxes are bona fide, “natural " foxes. They are not, as an Englishman insinuated the other day, “ shaken out of a bag,” or " numbered," or “ put down ” a couple of hours before they are “ sighted.” The bounds are kept at a farm outside the Porta Salaria, about three miles from Rome. It is chiefly supported by the subscriptions of the Roman nobles, though a. dozen foreign era are members of the hunt and contribute their quota. Duca Grazioli, the M. F. H., is a. great favorite. To look at his delicate face and figure in a. drawing room you would never credit him with the dash and endur- ance he really has in him. But put him in the saddle and he is a. changed being. He is a. splendid riderâ€"takes the stiffest rails and we. ls as though they were kitchen-fenders. His only rivals are Reynolds, the huntsman (who hails from Izaicestershire). Count Zuc- chini, a hard but rather unlucky rider, and a. gentleman in the Italian foreign office named Simonetta, who usually bestrides a superb chestnut steeplechase mare, which has played him several ugly tricks lately, and, indeed. nearly broke his neck the other day. Count Zucchini, hy the by, also had a narrow escape a short time ago. While hunting a, particularly knowing fox at Conto Celli one morning his horse stumbled into a hole, and he came a regular “ neck and cropper.” He was picked up with a broken shoulder-blade and a. damaged collar-bone, which obliged him to go into hospital for over a. fortnight. Among the other patrons of the noble sport Prince Odescalchi (Mario’s great friend) is one of the most constant. He is the only men in Rome who wears an ulster, and he wears it ostentatioualy, even going the length of riding to meet in it. Very often Prince Rossano Borghese and his brothers also join the “ pink ’uns.” Duca. Magrignano and Prince Dora have been less sssiduous of late, and we have too often missed Princess Doria, the dashing daughter of his grace of Newcastle. But though one fair huntress has thought fit to desert us the field has rarely been quite deprived of feminine attractions. Only very important engagements orillnens would induceCountess Bo insky, for instance, to forego her eriodic run with the Roman hounds. untess Celeri, a go-ahead Roman lady, has been out pretty often during the last two or three winters. She has five English hunters in her stableâ€"regular “flyers” some of them â€"and will ride at anything when her blood is up. Tue low, rolling plain between Rome and the mountain is rather ticklish ground for a novice or a stranger to hunt over. The 3011 is treacherous, pitfalls are plentiful, and the ruins strewn about in the grass constitute awkward stumbling blocksâ€"especially if you alight on them after taking a flyer over a four-foot rail ora good hedge. Near the city the land is comparatively levell how- ever. The danger begins about Rama Vec- chia. where the relics of the dead past lie so thick together that you have to pick your way as it you were riding through the ceme- tery. And, indeed, the Campagna is a cemetery, the greatest, grandest, and most crowded in the world. Besides natural obstacles, you have to reckon with artificial obstacles in the shspe of rough stone walls (very like those in the English lake country), fragments of tombs, and forgotten chips of fallen temples. There was some exciting, though rather disappointing sport out toward the Roman race-course the other morning. We muster- ed about thirty strong, among the number being, of course, Duca. Grazioli, Prince Odescalchi (in pink, like many of the men, but unlike the rest, disguised in the inevit- able ulster). M. Simonette, etc.. and last, but not least, one ladyâ€"Countess Celeri. The fox was sighted shortly after 11, and away we swept, over the brow of a. rather high hillock and down again into a. deep dip, the hounds owning the scent faithfully for some time. After a. sharp run of twenty minutes, however. they were seen to be at fault, and after all reynard succeeded in get- ting away with his brush, to the intense dis- gust of Reynolds, the huntsman, and the hunt generally. ‘ Entertaining, even when it is simply done, if carried to exces, will make great inroads on a. limited property, and in Virginia hos- pitality was literally unbounded. Even to this day, to ask a. Virginian to come and stay from Monday till Friday. or from Wed- nesday till Saturday, mentioning, that is to say, a limit for his visrt, wonld be consider- ed a. moat barbarous outrage. There is something almost ludicrous, if it were not so pathetic, in the picture of poor Mr. Jef- ferson's declining years at Monticello. His property, which had amounted to something over £40,000 when he left office, was literal- ly eaten up by the swarms of visitors of all kinds, whom his ideas of hospitality forbade him to close his doors to, and when he died, the sale of his property failed to cover his debts. There was a musical entertainment in Denver 3 short tima ago, and a local publi- cation thus describes it : “ Sweet strains of music floated out upon the gentle breeze of the quiet night with that enchanting melody which lifts the soul of man from the narrow limits of human enjoyments to pleasant an- ticxpations of those seraphio pleasures in which the angels are wont to engage.” Time once passed never returns ; the mo. ment which is lost is lost for ever. ROMAN FOX HUNTING. Lavish Hospitalitv. The true and orthodox terrestrial para- dise of the Middle Ages lay, not across the mysterious Western ocean, but in the equal- ly mysterious lands of the sun-rising. It was usually identified with the Garden of Eden, in which Adam and Eve had been placed ; and it was therefore imp' Siible to seek it in any other quarter than the East. Now, in medieeval times the limits of the known world were shrunken far within the boundaries known to the Inter Roman gec- aphers, Ptolemy, Strabo, and their fel- ows. In the twelfth or thirteenth century the Western world knew almost exactly as much, or rather as little, of Asia, 3. H~ r.~ dotus had known 1,600 years before. ’l‘ue very stories which the father of history re- lated of Indians and gold-producing ants, of griffius and Arimas i, had returned to their old localities in ntral Asia, though in Roman days the had for some time con tinually receded urther and further into the unknown North east. Now, again, as in the fifth century before Christ, men be- lieved that beyond an India of no great ex- tent there lay no more inhabited lands, but only desert and sea. But, unlike the an- cient, the mediaavals placed in the furthest part of this regicn the earthly paradise, either as an oasis in an expanse of rocks and sands or as an island in an unnavigable Ocean. Sometimes we read of it as inaccess- ible by reason of lands of mist and darkness, or Insurmountable precipices ; sometimes it is (empatuous seas or rivers which bar the ay. But beyond them, if a man could rut penetrate, he would find the Eden where our that father had dwelt, where rise the four mysterious rivers, and where grows every tree that is pleasant to the sight or good for food. "There," says Neckam, “is a beautifull, and where whole tracks are overgrown with the noble vine; there are clear springs and groves watered with plea- sant streams. Glorious is the fruit which enriches its gardens, and no sterile trees ean grow in its soil. Never do storms come near it, nor violent winds, but there al- waysfiblows a gentle breeze. ’l‘nither ne ver came the waters of the allâ€"destroying flood.” ELEGANT NEW CARPETS. We are showing an immense variety of Magnificent Wilton, Aubusson,Axminster, Brussels, and Tapestry Carpets, and at Astonishineg Low Prices. Best Axminster Carpets only $1.40 per yard. Best Wilton Carpets only $1.60 per y’d. Best Brussels Carpets only $1.00 per y’ d. Tapestry Carpets at 300., 350,, 400., 450., 500., 550., and 600. per y’d and up. No housekeeper or intending buyer should make a purchase without paying a visit to ' PETLEY & PETLEY THE LEADING (moon DEALERS, 128 to 132 King Stroot East, Toronto. BIKER GEES Gm 3m We are showing extraordinary value in Black Gros Grain Silks. Gros Grains 750. per y'd, Regular priceiin the City $1 for the same Goods. THE LEADING HOUSE FOR BLACK SILKS, CASHMERES AND MOURNING GOODS. PETLEY & PETLEY See Our Heavy The Orthodox Paradise. Gros Grains $1 pâ€"er*yard Regular price in the City$l.35 for the same Goods. See Our Extra, Heavy Demonsmng Fences and Breaking Into a. Houseâ€"The Inmates Flying. An elephant belonging to a. circus at pres- ent located in Coventry broke loose early one recent morning, and went in the dark- ness toward sevenl detached cottages. Finding his progres barred by a fence and a. gate, he smashed the gets into fragments, and carried a. portion or it with him. Hav- ing gained access to the gardens which sur- rounded the cottages he discovered a. tub containing food for pg), of which he made a. meal. and then, lu'uuutlnulng his explore.- tix m, he became wedged betWeen atree and the wall of one of the neuses. In his etforts to turn round he burst open the door of the house, the noise alarming the inmates to such an extent that they dared not leave the upper rooms. Proceeding to the next house, the elephant broke open the door With his trunk. which he pushed into the room, and when the man of the house came down stairs to ascertain the cause of the noise he was struck with consternation, and quickly re- treated to the upper roong. The man threw first a flower pot and then a board at the intruder. who manifested the utmost indid‘ereuce, and eventually quietly walked away. He was followed through the girden by several of the alarmed house- nolders, one of whom was despatched for the keeper. Meanwhile the elephant reached the street, and was met by a policeman, who turned on his bull’s-eye, the flash of light drawing from the elephant a. con- temptions grunt as he moved onward. Be- fore he haa proceeded very far his keeper got within hailing distance, and at thesonnd of his voice the elephant turned about and marched quietly back to his quantumâ€"Pall Mall Gazette. Rye will grow an. a low temperature. and cominue to grow later and start earlier than most other grains, Put a. few ears of corn into the oven and let them remain untll reducei to charcoal. Feed this to the fowl; and notice the in- creased egg production AN ELEPHANT AT LARGE. ‘“4~.‘>« See Our Rich Heavy [lord Gros Grains $1.25 pery’d Regular price in the City$l.75 for the same Goods.