The Usual Fats

"Where is the dashing boarder who used to be the life of the table when I was here before, Mrs. Liver-more?" asked an old patron of the house, addressing the landlady.

"I married him," was the quiet reply.

"Indeed! He was one of the sprightliest fellows I ever met, always bubbling over with spirits and chock full of stories. He's away from home, I suppose; I haven't seen him since I returned".

"He's at home; he has never been away".

"Indeed! Where is he, then?"

"He's in the kitchen washing dishes." - Boston Courier.

The Utility Of Bamboo

Large quantities of Bamboo are at present brought to England as ballast. The large firm pieces are used in cabinet work, while the slender pieces are sold so cheaply that they are taking the place of the ordinary wooden supports for plants. Their hard silicious covering renders them much more durable, and they remain in the ground a very long time without decaying. - Wiener Illustr. Gart. Zeitung.

Varieties Of Native Plums

The varieties of native plums are promising, especially the offspring of Prunus Americana in the northwest. - H. E. Van Deman, before Nurserymen'j Association.

Varieties Of Plums And Black-Knot

Secretary Woodward says that Lombard, in western New York, is particularly liable to black-knot, and he has cut out his Lombards for this reason. Bradshaw is an excellent plum. The Niagara is the same ; it is liable to overbear. The Richlond is one of the most profuse bearers ; it always needs thinning. The Washington is one of the finest plums grown, but is especially liable to rot in some years ; it escapes black-knot to a large extent.

Propagating Case.

Variety Tests With Strawberries

The strawberry is coming to be an important fruit in Virginia. It was found last season that mulching the vines is decidedly beneficial, even in Virginia, where such protection has been supposed to be unnecessary. Tables are inserted giving the salient points of many varieties, and descriptive notes are made of the leading sorts. Of the new kinds, Bubach No. 5, Crawford, Eureka, Haverland, • Miami and Parry are considered the most promising for commercial purposes. A selection of any three or four varieties of the following list are "recommended for home growers": Belmont, Bomba, Bubach No. 5, Crawford, First Season, Haverland, Jessie, Parry and Sharpless.

Strawberries in Maryland.

Vegetable Mixing. M. C. A

Late and early corn would not mix; such varieties only mix that bloom at the same time, so that the pollen as carried by winds, bees or any other agency would effect other sorts at that time in a receptive condition. The row of peas between two rows of corn in blossom at the same time, would by no means prevent mixing unless the carrying agent, the wind, were accommodating enough to carry the pollen over and beyond the blossom that might be affected.

Vegetable Notes

Some Sorts of Gardening appear to be rapidly passing from intense culture into extensive culture. Many crops which we ordinarily call garden crops are now more properly field crops or farm crops. Cabbages, tomatoes, peas, string beans and melons are examples. The advent of canning establishments has been largely instrumental in bringing about these results.