California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



.perpetuate its name and honor. I* 

 [was a wouderftilly marked family in tliis ro" 

 [spect. The uncle of Soi^hia Smith was the 

 founder of the Smith's Charities, which, with 

 la large fund, extends a helping hand to the 

 indigent and worth}' boys and girls, young 

 women and widows of the vicinity. From 

 him also is a fund, at present accumulating, 

 for the establishment and working of au agri- 

 cultural college at Northampton. 



The Smiths were industrious and frugal 

 farmers, with strong, upright characters, who 

 by sra.ill gains and prudent investments, ac- 

 cumulated the fortune which was the nucleus 

 of their charities. Oliver Smith, who estab- 

 lished the Smith's Charities, started when 

 twenty-one j'ears old with a patrimony of 

 $500. At his death his estate inventoried 

 $.'}70,000. Sophia Smith acquired the bulk 

 of her estate from her brother, Austin Smith. 

 At his death in ISCl, she had in her own 

 right about $30,000, and received from him 

 the sum of .$200,000. This property she im- 

 mediately placed in the hands of the late Hon. 

 Osnij'n Baker, who was the active manager 

 of the Smith's Charity fund, and at her death 

 in 1871 it had accumulated to the sum of 

 $1GH,813, while in the meantime she had given 

 to Andover Seminary $30,000, and made oth- 

 er charitable gifts. 



THE BEQUEST. 



The larger p.art of this sum was left by the 

 will of Miss Smith for the establishment of 

 this college. $75,000 was given for the build- 

 ing of Hatfield Academy in her native town. 

 Some $1*1,000 were given away in various 

 ways, in her will, including the Hatfield 

 Academy fund, and adding to this expense of 

 I)robate, it left for the chief bequest, in round 

 numbers, the sum of $350,000. And to this 

 was added $25,000, which the will required 

 should be given by the town of Northampton. 

 This fund has been invested and accumulat- 

 ing since her death, so that at the present 

 time it inventories at par value a little more 

 than that amount, beside what has already 

 been exijended for building. By the will no 

 more than one-half of the bequest can be ap- 

 propriated to buildings and grounds, the other 

 half or more to be invested as a permanent 

 fund, the interest of which, alone, shall bo 

 used forever for furnishing teachers, lib- 

 rary and apparatus, and for general purposes 

 of the institution. 



THE BUILDINGS 



of the college are pleasantly located on an 

 eminence ne.ir the center of Northampton, 

 commanding a view of the town, and the val- 

 ley and mountains beyond. They seem na- 

 turally at home in a town around which are 

 grouped so many important educational insti- 

 tutions, and which has itself long been a 

 center of educational, social and intellectual 

 advantages. 



The College is now fairly started on its 

 career. There are none but wish it the success 

 which it is the high aim of its officers to 

 achieve. "I would have it," said the found- 

 er, "a perennial blessing to the country and 

 the world." That it will be such we feel cer- 

 tain. 



A Response from "Jewell." 



Eds. AciiiicuLTUHiST: I was very much 

 amused at your correspondence signed 

 "•Sara Toga," in which "Jewell" was 

 bandied without gloves because she was 

 honest enough to admit that .she did not 

 know everything and her husband did (to 

 lier) . Before coming to the first iieriod I 

 bad discovered ' ' Sara Toga's" sex. No 

 •woman ever flaunts her social and moral 

 superiority in the face and eyes of hus- 

 bands and brothers so recklessly. Nor is 

 a woman to bo disenfranchised in her own 

 eyes because she does not know how to 

 make good broad— a mau would perhaps 



believe her iucai)able of voting for such a 

 reason — while it would be in order to 

 marry one who did not have that know- 

 ledge. "Sara" could perhaps be able to 

 Jjrove to your readers that he kne iv every- 

 thing, and therefore was qualified to vote. 

 How I wish the same test were applied to 

 the men! Thanks to "Sara" for the re- 

 ceipt for making yeast and bread, but if 

 he will drop into our little " shady 

 slianty" some day this embryo farmer's 

 "Jewell" will give him a taste of her 

 bread, and see is his wife can beat it — for 

 I'll be bound he don't always make bis 

 own bread. 



PROPER WHEAT. 



The History and Valuable ^nalitieg of 

 this Cereal. 



Last month we made mention of this 

 wheat as having yielded one-third more 

 to the acre on Mr. A. Woodham's farm 

 than the beardless wheat. The following 

 letter, written by A. D. Starr, of fhe Starr 

 Mills of South Vallejo, gives a correct 

 history of the Proper wheat, and sets 

 forth its v.aluable qualities as a variety 

 for cultivation in this State. It also gives 

 its relative value for flour making: 



Editors Sonoma De7nocrat — SiEs: Your 

 letter of inquiry relative to Proper wheat 

 is at hand. I now give you in brief such 

 information as I possess. This wheat was 

 first grown in this State on the f.arm of 

 Mr. Proper, in Sutter county, which ac- 

 counts for the name "Proper," no other 

 being positively known for it. It was 

 found growing in one bunch, or stool, 

 from one kernel, if I am correctly in- 

 formed, in a field sown with imported 

 Chili seed barley which I furnished. This 

 first handful of heads of wheat was shown 

 to me. I liked its appearance and ad- 

 vised its being propagated with care, with 

 the request that as soou as enough could 

 be spared in the future I wanted it to 

 make a test of its good qualities for flour 

 by grinding. In due time I got the wheat, 

 made the test, and found it superior to 

 any wheat I had ever ground. The wheat 

 is particulai'ly well adapted to short sea- 

 sons, in dry, hot climates; it being a 

 bearded wheat the hot, dry winds and 

 sun do not blight or burn the upper end 

 of the head, as often happens with bald 

 wheat; the beards protect it. For early 

 sowing on rich loam or summer fallow 

 land I do not so particularly advise it, 

 being informed that it does not give so 

 large a yield as some other varieties. It 

 seems to be paiticularly adapted to late 

 sowing, giving a large yield of very su- 

 perior grain, which makes also a large 

 yield of suijerior flour, giving but a small 

 quantity of offal. We have been able to 

 purchase enough of it so as to keep it 

 constantly on hand for daily mixing in 

 wheat we grind, more or less, for the past 

 two years. Sutter, Yuba, Colusa, Butte 

 and Solano counties must have raised 

 some 20,000 tons the past season. It 

 value is certainly worth fifty cents per ton 

 more than any other wheat for milling, of 

 the same cleanliness, etc. — yes, or shij]- 

 piug either. I have seen a good crop 

 raised of Pro])er wheat, sown late in 

 March, upon which no rain fell after sow- 

 ing, yet it matured some ten to fifteen 

 days sooner (and was ready for harvest- 

 ing) than other earlier sown wheat. 

 Yours, truly, A. D, Stakr. 



Little strokes fell great oaks. 



Stick to the Farm, 



Within the last year or two, we can 

 number a half dozen of our farmer ac- 

 quaintance who have been lured to finan- 

 cial destruction by the glamour of specu- 

 lation. And going back ten years, and 

 carefully looldng up the history of the 

 men we know, who have left the farm to 

 engage in trade, we find that not one in 

 ten has succeeded. A recent case has 

 come to our knowledge that is full of in- 

 struction to those who are tempted to 

 leave the farm. By his own exertions 

 alone this farmer had accumulated a 

 handsome competence, and at the age of 

 fifty could look with pride over his broad 

 acres of rich land, his fine herds and 

 flocks, and comfortable buildings. He 

 was out of debt, and had a handsome sur- 

 plus in the bank. Two years ago, in evil 

 hour, he was induced to invest in a dry 

 goods store. Last fall his fai-m and stock 

 were sold for debt, and he is reduced to 

 the necessity of day labor to suj^port his 

 large and yet dependent family. All the 

 .accumulations of over thirty years of hard 

 toil — many of them years of privation, 

 hardships and the closest economy — were 

 swept away in a few months by this de- 

 mon, sjieculation. And this is not a sol- 

 itary case. Every reader can count simi- 

 lar ones in his own list of acquaintances. 

 They all teach one great lesson — stick to 

 your legitimate business, the business in 

 which you have succeeded. " Let well 

 enough alone." A man who has lived all 

 his life on a farm stands but little chance 

 to compete successfully with the men who 

 have been educated and trained for spec- 

 ulative pursuits. The two occupations 

 are extremes — honest toil at one end, and 

 the tricks of tnade at the other. If you 

 have a good farm, keep it, improve it, 

 adorn it, be proud of it, and when you 

 are done with it, band it down to your 

 children; the best inheritance, with a 

 good name and education, that you could 

 leave them. — Ohio Farmer. 



The Kind She Did Not Want. 



As one of our census takers was gather- 

 ing the census particulars at a house in 

 this town a girl who had li.stened with 

 much attention .and apparent curiosity to 

 the questions, finally asked: 



"Why do you wish to know the age of 

 every one, and whether they are married 

 or not ?" 



The head of the family replied: " This 

 mau provides a'l unmarried persons with 

 husbands and wives." 



This answer was apparently received 

 with credulity by the girl; but she asked: 

 "How docs be make out to suit each per- 

 son ?" 



"Oh, I can tell pretty well," replied 

 the enumerator. "You, a country girl on 

 a farm, will not want a dandy from tlic 

 village, nor a village flirt a country boy." 



At this the girl dropped the sul)ject 

 until tlie enumerator loft the room, when 

 she followed him out doors and addressed 

 him thus: 



" I hardly believe what you say, but I 

 wish to toll you one thing, if you send mo 

 a man, I don't want one that uses whisky 

 or tobacco. I will die an old maid before 

 I will have such a man." 



She was assured that such a candidate 

 would not be presented. — EllenriUe Press. 



It's strange but true, that the larger 

 the income, the harder it is to live within 

 it. 



Jokes are like nuts — the drier they are the 

 better they crack. 



