2 22 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



Jar No. 4 contained apples showing no decay, treated with lime. 

 Decay began in these within fifteen days, and, as before, the rotting 

 places contained spore-cases. 



Jar No. 5 contained decaying apples treated with lime, but the results 

 were no better than with the sulphur, as the lime did not check the regu- 

 lar course of the disease. 



Further comment seems to be unnecessary, as these experiments show 

 that when the disease is already in the apple neither of these substances 

 will have any effect on it. 



By request of the President, Mr. C. W, Murtfeldt, of St. Louis, read 

 the following paper which he had prepared for the occasion : 



HAPPINESS IN RURAL LIFE. 



BY CHAS. W. MURTFELDT, OF KIRKWOOD, MO. 



The palladium of our liberty declares that every man is possessed " of 

 certain inalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty and the pursuit 

 of happiness !" Be not alarmed, my friends; I am not inclined to inflict 

 on you a political harangue, albeit the voice of '■'■the boom'^ is heard in the 

 land, and the Presidential election draweth nigh ! Such meetings as the 

 one in progress here furnish neither the occasion nor the matter for 

 political speeches. The well-known quotation indulged in will furnish the 

 subject, or a sort of motto for a few, I hope not unprofitable, reflections. 



The Pursuit of Happiness. — Happiness we may fancy is here repre- 

 sented as a coy maiden, and, like Atalanta, fleet of foot. If we wish to 

 possess her we must pursue her. Happy for man that, in a certain sense, 

 there are many ways that lead us to her bowers. She dwells in the palaces 

 of the rich — sometimes. In the homes of men in the humbler walks of 

 life more frequently; yea, often even in the rude hut of the pioneer; in 

 woody mountain or on prairie plain or amid rocky cliffs. 



Riches/ — Who is rich ? That depends very much upon the gauge 

 by which we judge. For instance, the standard of riches of the Astors, 

 the Vanderbilts, the Rothschilds and the Goulds differs greatly from the 

 standard of the Browns, the Joneses and the Smiths, who labor perchance 

 in the shop or at the forge or on the farm or in the nursery. That which 

 the physical man can enjoy differs only in kind and degree. The bread 

 of the rich may be a trifle whiter and their butter may be "gilt edge;" 

 their beef nicely marbled and roasted to a turn by a French cook, etc. 

 But cannot every farmer who produces all, have these things equal to the 

 best, enjoy these also ? And then he has this in addition and better than 

 many of the rich : these frequently suffer from surfeit, dyspepsia and 

 indigestion, and are troubled with nightmare and ugly dreams, but "the 

 sleep of the laboring man is sweet, whether he eat much or little." 



In further explanation, allow me to relate a fact : Wm. B. Astor, the 

 son of John Jacob Astor, for many years known as the richest man in New 

 York and in the United States, made the following remarks to a gentleman 

 who congratulated him on his great possessions. Said he: "I come here 



