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California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



loctvin 



For the Agbicultitrist. 



Grasshoppers. 



BY WA.LTEK. 



c^ 



<r^HOU curse of Western emigration— 

 A scourge, in fact, to all the uaticn, 

 And we may say, to all creatioa; 

 U As great an evil as inflation. 



Or slavery, ere emancipation; 

 But one from which there's no salvation 

 For one whose helpless situation, 

 ■With farming for his occupation, 

 Anil little under cultivation. 

 Who raises on his smuU plantation 

 Just food enough fur Winter ration. 

 Indulging the anticipation, 

 And in the self-congratulation 

 That he has overcome starvation. 

 While thus iu contemplation, 

 Lends wings to his iniaginatiou, 

 And feels he's under obligation 

 To the great Author of creation. 

 His neighbor comes with information 

 That this four-winged abomination 

 Is eating up his vegetation, 

 And comes without an iuvation, 

 And yet with a determination 

 To leave behind him devastation- 

 Alas! complete annihilation! 

 Long Lake, Minnesota. 



Some One's Servant Girl. 



She stood there leaning wearily 



Against the window franie, 

 Hei face was patient, sad and sweet, 



Her garments coarse and plain; 

 *'Who is abv, pray '? " I asked a friend; 



The red lip gave a curl— 

 "Really. I don't know her name; 



She's some one's servant girl." 



Again I saw her on the street, 



"With burden trudged along: 

 Her face was 8Wi;et and patient still, 



Amid the jostling throng. 

 Slowly but cheerfully she moved, 



Guarding with watchful care, | 

 A niarki-rt basket much too large 



For her slight hands to bear. 



A man I'd thought a gentleman. 



Went pushing rudely by. 

 Sweeping the basket from her hands, 



Bui turning not his eye. 

 For there was no necessity. 



Amid that busy whirl, 

 For him to be a gentleman 



To some one's servant girl. 



Ah! well it is that God above 



Looks n upon the heart. 

 And never judges any one 



By just tlie oiiter part. 

 For, if the soul be pure and good, 



He will not mind the rest, 

 Nor question what the garments were 



In which the forms wure dressed. 



And many a man and woman fair. 



By fortune reared and fed, 

 Who will not mingle here below 



With those who earn their bread. 

 When they have ijassed away from life, 



Bi^yond the gates of pearl, 

 Will meet before their Father's throne 



With many a servant girl. 



Come, Lovely Spring. 



Come, lovely Lpring, with all thy tlowers, 

 Primrose and violet, come; 



Sweet verdure clotlie again the bowers- 

 Bee, let us hear thy hum! 



And hearts shall leap, and tongues shall sing 



And welcome forth the new-born Spring. 



Thus, e'en as Winter stern departs. 



Shall all our sorrows go; 

 There is the spring-time of the heart, 



The spirit's genial glow; 

 The sun of Hope, with glorious ray. 

 Drive all the clouds of core away. 



Two Simple Rules. 



Two simple rules should all observe, 



If they would truly live; 

 Deal justly with each one they serve. 



Aud when they're wronged, forgive. 



If by these rules theirlife they'll guide, 



Efich heart with love aglow, 

 Thiur days on earth will smoothly glide. 



True happiness thcy'i know. 



Christian Advertising. 



I'm a poor, hard-working farmer, that's never done no 

 harm, 



But have labored bard for fifty years to clear my little 

 farm; 



And my dear wife has churned, and spun, and toiled 

 with all her might, 



From long before the break of day till after candle- 

 light. 



We read our Bible, Sundays, and the Christian paper, 

 too; 



As our paper recommended some bonds at ten per 

 cent, 



I called ray woman to me to see if fhe'd consent 



To Belling ofiF our homestead, that we might thus in- 

 vest. 



And, living on the ten per cent., to end our days in 

 resi, 



Our pastor came to see ns. and approved of the idee; 



"I U put live thousand dollars in, 'tis all I have," says 

 he— 



"The savings of my three score years, for I am grow- 

 ing old. 



And 'twill make mo independent while I watch my 

 little fold." 



I'm stopping at the poor-houso now; somehow my 



bonds dou't pay. 

 Thank Gud! my darling did not live to see this dreary 



day; 

 For when she heard the neighbors say we'd come upon 



the town, 

 It somehow broke her noble heart! she hinder wilted 



down. 



But most of all I pity them who put the notice in; 



For how their homeless children must now be suffer- 

 in'! 



Their wives must take in washing, and must scrimp 

 in every way. 



As the bonds they had such faith in dou't somehow 

 seem to pay. 



When I heard the old man's story, a vision rose to 

 view 



Of splendid brown-stone mansions on a spacious ave- 

 nue, 



And how their pious owners must enjoy the text to 

 see: 



'•As to the very least of these you did it untn me." 

 — [G. B. Bartlett.in Christian Register. 



The Temperance Picket. 



Out on the edge of the cold curb-stone. 



In front of a whisky saloon. 

 She calmly sits in her small earap chair 



By the light of the lising moon. 



She pays no heed to the passers-by. 



As they hurry adown the street; 

 Some smile, some jeer, some pitying look, 



But she patiently keeps her seat. 



No breastplate of steel protects her form. 



Neither weapons of modern fame; 

 "Good will to men" is her only shield, 



Aud her watchword is Jesus' name. 



She uses no force tn keep men back 

 From those dreadful pitfalls of sin. 



But quietly touching him on the arm, ' 



Says, " Please, sir, I would not go in. 



" You have a good wife, and children, two, 

 Who are watching for you to-night;' 



Just pass along and gladden their hearts 

 By turning again to the right." 



He stops, he listens, and, with a sigh, 



He says in a faltering tone. 

 " Too true, alas! I will promise henceforth 



To let the accursed drink alone." 



** Your name, if you please, just write it here;" 

 And he stoops, in tlie ijale moonlight. 



To sign the pledge, then proudly declares 

 He will be a new man from that night. 



One brand is snatched out from the burning, 



Tolife and liberty given- 

 One Soul turned from darkness to light. 



And scHt on the straiglit way to heaven. 



And still at her post she calmly sits, 



As the long, weary hours go by. 

 The cold March winds blow over her cheek. 



And the stars look down from the sky. 



The crowd has gone and the street is still, 



Savu the creaking of a wicket, 

 Aud thus till midnight she watches on— 



God bless the temperance picket! 



H. M. A. 



Love. 



'Tis never winter in the heart 



So long as love remains; 

 Let snow and sleet around us dart, 



A radiant summer reigns. 



We brave the cold and have no fear, 

 We fai-i^ the storm with glee. 



For love is life and summer- cheer, 

 A paradise to me. 



Not the First Ciass. 



[Read at the Mad River Valley Grange, Moreto^u, 

 March llth.] 



" I thought of the Grange, of the use it would be 

 To even a foiehandecl farmer like me; 

 But I found out in Season to let it all pass 

 That the order of Patrons ia not the first class. 



•* I know it is social to meet once a week; 



It is good for the farmers, for there each may speak 



Of what is his interest, what he huB learned. 



Or talk of low prices that merchants have spumed. 



" I know all of this, but still I dou't dare 

 To send iu my V aud bi;corue a uu-mber there. 

 Now I am looked up to; 'tis caste I regret. 

 For I u:ight lose in favor with the popular set," 



Now these are the words of a farmer I've seen, 

 Who counts on his acres and does not once dream 

 That riches take wings; if his shovild not last 

 He'd then be no longer one uf the hrst class. 



It matters not now whether (Jranger or not, 

 Thi: tradi-'rs may flourish, it harms not his stock. 

 For whc'ii he has purchased, wherever h's been, 

 Because he is wealthy they'd discount fur hiiu. 



He takes this advantage to add to his store — 

 Thinks less of the Grangers than ever liefore; 

 HiH neiglibors mvist sufli r, whose pndits are less, 

 No Wonder they're seeking to gain bome redressl 



Wu know that the farmers have so much to do; 

 Their time for improVL-ment is very slmrt too; 

 They must work un the farm not an hour let pass; 

 This must b^ the reason they're not the flr^t elass. 



As they gei fair returns for their labor, 'tis plain 

 They'll have more time to read and knowledge obtain; 

 While here at the Grange we may also exccll, 

 BtiCome better informed, and tin.l pleasure a« well. 



The day is fast coming when farmers will be, 



Ah a class, as re8pect<»d as any \Vb see; 



While the few who by influence their calling disgrace 



I think in the Grange would be out of their j>laoe. 



Let the shrewd politipians, lawyers, traders and all. 

 Scorn us now if they will, pride will yet have a fall. 

 We'll be upright and Iionest.phun monop()lieseu uiabso 

 And liraugers ere long will be calk-d the first cl.iss. 



H. M. MoNTliOMKUT. 



Physiology, 



If yoTi are about eij^hteen years of age, yon 

 have IGU boues, aud 500 muscles; 25 pouutls 

 of blood; your heart is 5 inches loug aud 3 

 broad; it beats 70 times a miuute, 4,200 times 

 au hour, 100, SOO times a day, aud 30,722,200 

 a year. About 2 ounces of blood are thrown 

 out of it at every beat; so that it disburses 

 about seven tons of that life uourishiug ele- 

 ment every daj*. Your luugs will contain a 

 gallon of air, and you inhale 21,000 gallons a 

 day. The weight of your brain is something 

 over three pounds, aud the uuuiber of nerves 

 upward of 10,000,000. Your skiu is composed 

 of three layers, aud varies from oue-eighth to 

 one-fourth of au inch in thickness, and is 

 subject to a pressure of 15 pounds to the 

 square inch. Each square inch cont-aius 

 3,500 pores, each about one-fourth of au inch 

 in length, making au aggregate length of 

 the entire surface of your body of 201,166 

 feet. A tile-ditch fordraiuiag the body, al- 

 most 40 miles long. 



We are sorry to learu that the supposed 

 strong firm of St. John. Abbott Sc Co., ex- 

 tensive dealers iu stock, have failed, with lia- 

 bilities exceeding :?250, 000. A meeting of the 

 creditors of the lirm was to have been held iu 

 San Fraucifco on Monday. We understand 

 that the firm states that if au extension of 

 time is granted by the creditors, they will be 

 able to meet all demands. The firm has been 

 largely engaged in buying and selUing cattle 

 in Fresno, Tulare, Kern, Monterey, San Luis 

 Obispo aud San Francisco counties for years, 

 their transactions yearly ranging in the mil- 

 lions. In this county they were noted as the 

 lessees of the Laguua de Tache grant, near 

 Kin£;stou. Amou2 the heaviest losers in this 

 county are Justin" Esery aud Gilroy & Co., 

 but a large number of others are in for smal- 

 ler amounts. It is to be hoped that the firm 

 will be able to relieve itself from its present 

 financial embarrassment. The heaviest cred- 

 itors of the firm, we are informed, reside in 

 Sau Francisco. — Fresno Expositor. 



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