MOURNING. Mourning is worn six months for brother or sister. children as long as they feel so disposed. Parents wear mourning for their A widow should wear mourning two years. She will not enter society for twelve months. Returning cards of thanks after a death for visits of condolence implies that the bereaved are prepared to receive visitors. It is a matter of feeling as to how soon it is done. MUSIC. If asked to sing do not affect to refuse, but accede at once. Let your position at the piano be graceful. Endeavor to adapt your music to the taste of your listeners. Never converse while singing or playing is going on. Do not occupy too much time at the piano, no matter how fine a performer you may be, unless pressed to remain; others may wish to perform also. FRENCH TERMS USED IN SOCIETY. R. S. V. P. Repondez, s'il vous plait; answer, if En Ville (E. V.); in the town or city. Soiree dansante; dancing party. you please. OFFICIAL ETIQUETTE. The President of the United States may be addressed in writing as the "President of the United States," or "His Excellency, the President of the United States." Members of the cabinet are addressed in writing as "The Honorable, the Secretary of State." "The Honorable, the Secretary of the Treasury." "The Honorable, the Secretary of the Navy." " The Honorable, the Secretary of War." "The Honorable, the Secretary of the Interior." "The Honorable, the Postmaster-General." Cabinet officers are addressed as "Mr. Secretary." The Chief Justice as "Mr. Chief Justice," and the Vice-President as "Mr. Vice-President." Senators are addressed as "Mr. Senator;" Members of the House of Representatives as the "Honorable Mr. " when introduced, but simply "Mr." when spoken to. The Attorney General is addressed in writing as "The Honorable Attorney General," but when spoken to "Mr." is simply the prefix used. An invitation of a social character from the President of the United States must be considered, by courtesy, as both an honor and command. In such cases no offence is taken if all other engagements, no matter how binding, are waived to accept the invitation of the President. Should sickness prevent an acceptance of the President's invitation, a note of regret explaining non-acceptance should be sent, similar to that required for all dinner regrets. Never abbreviate words or titles in sending a ceremonious note. Should the official title be very long, give a portion of the prefix entire, and add "etc.," "etc." The President holds the highest position in the land. He has precedence over all. To whom the second place in social precedence belongs is a matter of discussion. The VicePresident and Chief Justice both claim the position, and with equal good reason. The official duties of the Chief Justice are of such a nature that the second place, it is considered by many, should be given to him. He holds his office for life, and in him is vested great power and great dignity of position. The other Justices of the Supreme Court hold their positions for life. They take precedence, usually, over Cabinet Ministers and Senators. The geologists say the earth is at least 21,000,000 years old; that is, it is that long since the soil first formed; it is also estimated that man first appeared 100,000 years ago. It is computed that it required 6,700,000 years for the primordial formations; 6,400,000 for the primary age; 2,300,000 for the secondary, and 460,000 for the tertiary period. ON AND ABOUT THE FARM. HOW TO OBTAIN A FARM FROM THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. THE UNITED STATES PUBLIC LAND SYSTEM. The public lands of the United States which are still undisposed of and open to settlement lie in nineteeen States and eight Territories. In each case, except Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, the Indian Territory, and Alaska, land offices are established, in charge of an officer known as Register of the Land Office, where the records of all surveyed lands are kept, and all applications concerning lands in each district are filed and inquiries answered. The public lands are divided into two great classes. The one class have a dollar and a quarter an acre designated as the minimum price, and the other two dollars and a half an acre Titles to these lands may be acquired by private entry or location under the homestead, pre-emption and timber-culture laws; or, as to some classes, by purchase for cash, in the case of lands which may be purchased at private sale, or such as have not been reserved under any law. Such tracts are sold on application to the Land Register, who issues a certificate of purchase, the Receiver giving a receipt for the money paid, subject to the issue of a patent, or complete title, if the proceedings are found regular, by the Commissioner of the General Land Office at Washington. Entries under land warrants (given mostly for military services under acts of Congress) have fallen off very largely by the absorption of such warrants, there having been no military bounty land warrants provided for on account of services in the late civil war. Entries under the pre-emption law are restricted to heads of families, or citizens over twenty-one, who may settle upon any quarter-section (or 160 acres) and have the right of prior claim to purchase on complying with certain regulations. The homestead laws give the right to one hundred and sixty acres of a dollar and a quarter lands, or to eighty acres of two dollar and a half lands, to any citizen or applicant for citizenship over twenty-one who will actually settle upon and cultivate the land. This privilege extends only to surveyed lands, and the title is perfected by the issue of a patent after five years of actual settlement. The only charges in the case of homestead entries are fees and commissions, varying from a minimum of $7 to a maximum of $22 for the whole tract entered, according to the size, value or place of record. Another large class of free entries of public lands is that provided for under the timberculture acts of 1873-78. The purpose of these laws is to promote the growth of forest trees on the public lands. They give the right to any settler who has cultivated for two years as much as five acres in trees, to an eighty acre homestead, or if ten acres, to a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, and a free patent for his land is given him at the end of three years instead of five. The limitation of the homestead laws to one hundred and sixty acres for each settler is extended in the case of timber-culture so as to grant as many quarter sections of one hundred and sixty acres each as have been improved by the culture for ten years of forty acres of timber thereon, but the quarter sections must not lie immediately contiguous. The following is the complete list of United States land offices: Alabama Huntsville, Montgomery. Arkansas Little Rock, Camden, Harrison, Dardanelle. Arizona Territory: Prescott, Florence. California: San Francisco, Marysville, Humboldt, Stockton, Visalia, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Shasta, Susanville, Bodie. Colorado: Denver City, Fair Play, Central City, Pueblo, Del Norte, Lake City. Dakota Territory: Sioux Falls, Springfield, Fargo, Yankton, Bismarck, Deadwood. Florida: Gainesville. Idaho Territory: Boise City, Lewiston. Iowa: Fort Des Moines. Kansas: Topeka, Salina, Independence, Wichita, Kirwin, Concordia, Larned, Hays City. Louisiana: New Orleans, Monroe, Natchitoches. Michigan: Detroit, East Saginaw, Reed City, Marquette. Minnesota: Taylor's Falls, Saint Cloud, Duluth, Fergus Falls, Worthington, New Ulm, Benson, Detroit, Redwood Falls. Mississippi: Jackson. Missouri: Boonville, Ironton, Springfield. Montana Territory: Helena, Bozeman, Nebraska: Norfolk, Beatrice, Lincoln, Niobrara, Grand Island, North Platte, Bloomington. Nevada Carson City, Eureka. New Mexico Territory: Santa Fe, La Mesilla. Oregon Oregon City, Roseburg, Le Grand, Lakeview, The Dalles. Utah Territory: Salt Lake City. Washington Territory: Olympia, Vancouver, Walla Walla, Colfax. Wisconsin: Menasha, Falls of St. Croix, Wausau, La Crosse, Bayfield, Eau Claire, Wyoming Territory: Cheyenne, Evanston. WHAT TO DO ON THE FARM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR. The following instructions are especially suited to our Northern latitudes, Slight variations will be necessary in the South, owing to the early seasons of that section. JANUARY WORK. There is little particular work for January in cold latitudes, except that which has been left over from December, or which is general work for all winter. When the ground is open, late fall and early spring work of a colder latitude appropriately occupy the farmer more or less during the winter months. Guard against damage by water, during thaws, about buildings and in the field. A Work Shop, provided with the most important carpenters', painters', and metal. workers' tools, is what every farmer should have. Let it contain a bench with vise, nails, screws, a hammer, hatchet and drawing knife, saws, planes, chisels, center bits and stock, and other carpenters' tools. Paints, pots and brushes, of two or three sizes; varnish pot and glue pot; a steel-jawed vise, assortments of files, cold chisels, monkey. wrench and other wrenches, an anvil, or a hard-wood block, which will do for one; strong pincers, a set of round, square-jawed and cutting pliers, and a soldering iron; sheets of tin, wires, rivets, etc.; besides a good stock of boards and timber of various kinds. Add to this a few simple articles of the harness-makers' kit, such as awls, wax, thread, rivets, with "set" punches, and leather. Thus provided, many a profitable day's work may be done. Buildings. On mild days open and air thoroughly, especially the cellars. the protection of roofs, water pipes, etc., against frost. Look to Stock.-Keep no more than can be kept well. Horses, with enough to eat, will bear exposure much better than cows and young cattle. Give good shelter to all; if possible, warm, but well-ventilated stables, which are a great economy of food. Let no stock run down in flesh; "spring poor' "cattle are a burning disgrace. It will be weeks before poor oxen will be able to do a good day's work in the spring. Milk cows, especially young ones, to within five or six weeks of calving, and feed well. Grain or oilcake pays its cost twice over; once in fat or milk, and once in the better quality of the manure, Feed sheep grain, in small, but regular quantities, and see that each gets its share; give all kinds range of a good dry yard, and warm sheds for nights and wet weather. Salt and water are essentials to the well-being of all kinds of domestic animals, summer and winter. Fattening stock should be fed and watered regularly, keep very clean, in warm stables, well ventilated, and abundantly littered; give exercise and air on mild days. Ground and cooked food, except for sheep, perhaps, is a great economy. Corn, Small Grains, Straw or Hay, may be still on hand for sale. If sold, you owe the land a debt which you must repay, or be poorer, for it is a draft on your capital. Watch the markets, calculate probabilities, and sell when a fair price is offered; but get the full market price as near as you can. Never sell hay or straw or grain with out conscientiously returning an equivalent in the purchase of corn-fodder, oilcake, ot grain for feeding, or bones for manure. Permanent Improvements.-It is a good time to plan for building or alteration of Duildings, and for such work as reclaiming swamps, clearing off stumps, moving walls old fences and the accumulated rubbish of neglected parts of the farm. The winter is often open enough to do much labor in the swamps in getting out muck and similar work, and that which has been weathered enough may be hauled to the barn, or to places where you mean to make compost heaps. Ice. The time for gathering the store of ice in cold latitudes may pass quickly. Early in the month, prepare the house; clear out the old stock, if low; see that the drain and air trap work well, that the flooring is level, and the bed at the bottom is shaken up and dried. Cut the ice in blocks to pack evenly in the house; if it is a small one, pack in the coldest weather, when the ice is very cold and dry. FEBRUARY WORK. Buildings.-Guard against damage by water, as advised for last month; clear snow from flat roofs, in case of heavy falls; free eave-troughs and spouts from ice; air cellars, etc., on warm days, and tack fast any loose plank or clapboard. In the Shop (see January work).-Prepare tools for spring work. Make bird boxes for the orchard; add a branding iron, or marking plate and brush, to the stock of tools, and mark barrels, boxes, and baskets, used for marketing produce. Make and paint bee-hives, and prepare surplus boxes and frames, and perhaps also frames and sashes for starting early vegetables. In the Wood Lot, there may be a good deal of work done-Fencing stuff gotten out; bean-poles and pea-brush prepared; timber for sheds or hay barracks, and many such things, besides providing a supply of fire-wood for next winter. Animals.-Change the diet of all animals occasionally. Horses, that are scurfy, and whose hair is full of dirt, which the comb only makes worse, usually need roots. Carrots, in small quantities, with a handful of ginger and one of wood-ashes, daily, are as good as any "condition powder." Charcoal dust, mixed with roots, or meal, is excellent for all kinds of stock. Make the roots last, you will need them for milch-cows that come in early, and for sows, before farrowing. Cows whose calves you mean to raise should be dried off earlier than those kept for milk, and whose calves go for veal. Take early calves from the dam at birth, and bring them up by hand. Milk is worth too much to be given to calves, when gruel will do. Beeves.-Bullocks and dry cows should be in warm, sunny yards, some hours daily, and stalled at night; litter well; feed freely, that they may fatten rapidly. Give all animals sunshine in their stalls, or sheds. Keep young stock warm and growing. If the supply of hay is short, look out in time and buy cornfodder and good, bright straw, which, with a little oil cake, roots, or grain, will do well enough. Swine. Keep hogs at work in the manure. Sows, near farrowing, should be put alone; kept quiet; fed raw roots (potatoes or beets are best), and the pens abundantly littered; do not let them get too fat, and feed no animal food. Sheep.-Provide dry and sheltered yards and sheds. Hemlock, or other evergreen boughs, fed occasionally, are gratefully received. Poultry, in warm quarters, and well fed, wil begin to lay freely. Collect eggs daily, and set several clutches of the eggs of the choicest fowls for early chicks, which, if of pure breeds, and well cared for, may be prize takers at the fall shows. Maple Sugar.-The price will stimulate a large production. Make all ready earlysap-spouts, pails, tubs, moulds. Sorghum evaporators are preferred. Hired Men.-Look out early for really superior hands; these make their engagements first. Later in the season, immigrants are picked up, and set to work almost as fast as they arrive. Pay good wages, and have reliable men. Potatoes for Secd should be secured early, and kept in the coolest part of the cellar; examine others, rub off the sprouts, and separate decayed ones. Roots. Sort over, and save the soundest, feeding out at once those which are wilted, or beginning to decay. Decaying cabbages, turnips, or ruta bagas, will impart their full flavor to milk, and should not be fed to milch-cows. Seeds.-Send for catalogues, and test early the quality of all seeds. MARCH WORK. The weather will regulate out-of-door employments. Mature plans for farm workwhat crops to raise, where to plant them, and exactly what to do as soon as the weather permits of labor in the field. In the Shop, put the final touches to tools and implements of tillage, which need repairs. Wash and oil harrows, and carriage tops; paint implements or vehicles, which are not to be subjected to immediate use. Buildings may be repaired and painted inside or out. During thawing weather, though the wind may blow, the dust will not fly much, and chinks and sun cracks being closed, the paint will form a good smooth coat. As soon as settled spring weather comes. cellars should be cleaned out and white-washed, sinks and drains opened and cleaned, foundations examined and repaired if moved by the frost. Roads, Draining, etc.-March is the month to make and repair farm roads, lay cul. verts of wood or stone, and change the grade of paths, yards, etc., while the ground is loose from the coming out of the frost. Dig underground cisterns also, or wells. Prepare channels for surface water; and if they will wash into gullies, protect them or spread the streams over the surface. Guard against washing in grain-fields or fall plowed ground. The location of springs may be seen by the thawing of snow in spots in the fields, and the places which most need underdraining are easily determined. Much underdraining may be done while the land is still too wet to plow; and much damage by plowing wet soil. Field Work.-Set fences, reset those moved by frost, and repair them wherever they need it. Dip posts in gas tar, and roll in sand before setting. Pick up stones loosened by the frost blast and haul off or bury heavy ones out of the way of the plow. Delay plowing until the ground is dry, but no longer. Crops.-Sow clover on a light snow, or on frost-cracked ground on a still morning. Clear dead furrows and water furrows in winter grain, and sow guano, plaster, ashes, etc., if needed on grain or grass. Roll the same, if moved by frost. Stock. Increase the feed and exercise of farm horses, and groom well, to prepare them for hard spring work. Keep all horses, but especially mares with foal, sharp shod for fear of slipping on ice patches. Turn unused horses loose an hour or two daily, one at a time, lest in play they kick each other. Groom oxen and cows, and feed well, to prepare the oxen for work. Do not tax them too heavily at first; if unused during winter their necks and feet will be tender. Increase the amount of ineal fed to fattening animals, that they may ripen up the faster as soon as they get grass. Throw sods every few days to the hogs and poultry, if confined; if possible, let the latter run. Keep sows with young pigs warmly housed, and protect all young stock from severe weather, rain or wind. Separate breeding ewes and all feeble sheep from the others, and give extra grain, or roots. Give early lambs especial care. Provide abundant water and salt for all animals, and watch the health of all, removing those that are in any way ailing, to comfortable but isolated quarters. Garden Work.-Every farmer needs a good garden—a garden, a hot-bed; for this a sash or two (window sashes will do tolerably), set in a frame of plank, inclined to the sun, set upon a compact mass of manure (either in a shallow pit or in a heap much broader than the frame), covered with a bed of mellow soil within the frame. Do this in time for it to settle, and get over its first active heating and be levelled off before it is sown. Dig over and prepare seed beds in the open ground as early as possible. APRIL WORK. Winter may Like as in March, work in this month depends much upon the season. linger long and spring come suddenly, and thus work will crowd; the importance of being prepared before-hand is most obvious. In plowing, deepen the soil a little; turn sod over flat; move the soil only when dry enough to crumble; prepare the ground thoroughly for crops both by manure and tillage. Working Stock.-It should be the farmer's pride to have his teams of oxen and horses come out ready for spring work in good condition. Horses in shedding their coats are subject to a severe draft upon the vital powers, and need extra feed and carding, and the same is in a less degree true of oxen. Yokes and bows should fit, or be made to, and harness be made to suit each horse. Give animals regular hours of work, long “noons,” and feed regularly and uniformly. Fattening Animals.-There should be a good supply of meal on hand before traveling becomes very bad, and the teams are needed constantly for farm work. Both beeves and sheep will consume grain very profitably at this season; they should not be allowed to fall off in flesh in the least before being turned to grass. Cows near calving should be subject to only the gentlest treatment, regular feeding, and carding. Litter freely; give roomy stalls; a good sunning daily, and some roots if possible. Encourage milk secretion in new milch heifers by milking thrice a day, and feeding succulent food or mashes, as a substitute, if quantity of milk is especially desirable. Garget is a common trouble in spring. Cows take cold and their bags cake, become swollen and very sore, and often the milk of one or more teats is lost. Watch the first symptoms, wash the bag with a sponge and hot water; if very painful, bathe in spirits of arnica, half water and grease with lard. Sheep. Give ewes at yeaning time warm sheds and sunny yards, and be ever on the lookout for chilled or feeble lambs; wrap such in warm sheepskins, give a few spoonfuls of warm milk-punch, and lay them near the kitchen fire. If far gone, give a war bath, with brisk but gentle rubbing until dry, warming by the fire or with hot bricks. those apparently nearly dead will usually revive and do well. |