California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



OTir best horses, possessed of brilliant speed, 

 courage and stamiui. are not adapted to hand 

 these qualities, with any degree of certainty, 

 down to their ofifsprfng, unless very carefully 

 examined before they are made beadli/ fat, and 

 their weak points counteracted by being 

 crossed with certain strains of Idood known 

 not to possess their idiosyncrasies — i. e., pe- 

 culiarities of temper, disposition, formation, 

 soundness, etc. — liural Sun. 



MmmMil llciiditig* 



The Cottage. 



BY JEFFREY OIFFOBD. 



( HERE the cosy cottage stsDrtd, 

 By the silver streamlet bright, 

 Graceful hills and meadow lauds 

 ^Jf\fr, Mark a region of delight. 

 \J'^Si On the warm slopes iigiit does stray, 

 Iloey-iooted all the day. 



Rural paths lead here and there, 



Fringed with leafy coloimades, 

 ■While children, free from strife or care. 



Frolic on the velvet glades. 

 Further down the village spire 

 1b all ablaze with crimson lire. 



Still further on, the stream winds round 

 At the foot of yonder wood, 

 And the bordering edge of ground 

 Serenely glows for many a rood. 

 Where the placid brook flows deep. 

 Rich pastures feed large flocks of sheep. 



Milk-white lambs here sport and play. 



Till in gambols weary grown. 

 As slowly fades the waning day 



And the fields look drear and lone; 

 Yet the glens are flecked with foam. 

 Where the dancing waters roam. 



Forever, day and night the same, 

 The babbling spring is bright and clear, 



And prattling child and aged damo 

 Here watch iis ripples year by year. 



Near by, groat oaks in stately pride. 



Stand close together, side by side. 



— [Pen and Plow. 



Chats 



With Farmers' Wives 

 Daughters — No. I O. 



and 



Girls, don't be in a hurry to marry; don't 

 marry for a home, or from fear of being an 

 old maid. While true marriage is the per- 

 fect condition of both sexes, an unsuitable 

 match is sure to be unhappy, and is to be re- 

 gretted by all. Few girls before twenty fuUy 

 know their own minds or hearts; and as mar- 

 riage should be controlled by both, it is very 

 essential that we use our minds first and our 

 hearts afterwards. In choosing our friends, 

 let us be sure they are men of principle rather 

 than of money. And while we cannot intend 

 to marry oM our acquaintances,^ still, if we 

 show a preference for men of good habits, 

 good health and sound principles, we silently 

 place a premium on such qualities: and if all 

 girls did the same, few men would cultivate 

 such filthy, expensive and unhealthy habits 

 as (h-inking, chewing and smoking. 



T.alk about woman's iuHuence! Of what 

 use is it if she does not exert it to elevate the 

 opposite sex? Of what benefit to her or her 

 friend to be thought pretty, lady-like and 

 well-dressed? And yet these are the charms 

 most girls seem to desire, withont a thought 

 of the good she may do in educating, or keep- 

 ing alive and active, the good which is in all; 

 and by trying to beuelit others we are always 

 elevated. 



Then, who more time and ability in beauti- 

 fying our homes than our daughters? They 

 are full of youth and beauty, and ready to 



catch the spirit of beauty wherever seen, and 

 in a thousand ways adorn corners and walls 

 in fancy and useful articles, which we of fam- 

 ily cares and anxieties do not get the time to 

 do, though tbe love is in our hearts all the 

 same. 



I thought to myself the other day, while 

 making a call on a farmer's daughter, that a 

 country life was more prolific of beauty in 

 every way than a city life. Now, girls, take 

 note, and see if you can produce as much 

 beauty out of little as I saw. Outside on the 

 porches were rows of plants of great variety 

 and beauty, many of them rare and expensive 

 to buy, but raised from slips were inexpen- 

 sive and doubly dear. Stepping inside the 

 dining-room, everything was charmingly sim- 

 ple and yet full of use and beauty combined. 

 A substantial paper-holder I especially ad- 

 mired, made of stiff paste-board, covered 

 with fancy dotted paper, with a scroll running 

 around the entire edge which the daughter 

 said she cut from wall-bordering, and two bo- 

 quets pasted on the front quite finished its 

 beauty. A long cord suspended it from a 

 nail, and two screws held it firmly in place. 

 Under it stood the sewing-machine, and a 

 linen cover bound with crimson braid, gave 

 it a tidy look. In the parlor, cool and neat 

 in white matting, stood an open piano, with 

 pretty things upon it. Before one window 

 was a tiny stand with a gold-fish globe filled 

 with trailing water-plants — the variety most 

 charming to behold. In another window was 

 a square aquarium, filled with shells, stones, 

 fish and growing water-plants. Suspended 

 from both ceilings were phantom fly-catchers. 

 The spare room was a marvel of whiteness, 

 and the pretty comb-holder beside the glass 

 was of paste-boar*, bronzed with this shoe- 

 bronzing, and tiny boquets pasted on. Such 

 did this farmer's girl make her surrounding, 

 while she herself, full of health and life, was 

 the joy of her delicate mother, a large circle 

 of friends and the soul of the house. Such 

 a daughter cannot fail to make a wise choice 

 in marrying and be a good wife, no matter 

 what her station in life may be. Why? Be- 

 cause, in the first place, she is making the 

 most of herself now by cultivating the a3B- 

 thetic nature, as well as the practical. Sec- 

 ondly, she is not devoting her entire time and 

 attention to the adornment of her form aud 

 face, as so many girls do. And thirdly, she 

 is healthy and robust from simple habits and 

 early hours, fresh air aud sunshine, instead 

 of giving her freshness and roses to the 

 theatre aud parties, where most of our young 

 people spend too much time and money. 

 Having time for reading and choosing the 

 best, she is capable of mature thought on all 

 subjects, and such I found her to have in 

 conversation. I feel sure there are many 

 such in our country homes, if we only could 

 find them. 



thing so much better thought and said on the 

 subject. However, knowing that my sex is 

 not 80 prolific on this subject as yours, I will 

 venture to send this. If you have a vai-iety 

 to choose from, all the better. 



I recognize an abunpance of truth, both in 

 "Esmeralda's" letter and in your reply; and 

 following your example, "as a text to my 

 chats" on this subject I take the single word, 

 "selfishness." 

 The present usages of society are such, 

 that our sex are the first promoters, in its in- 

 cipient stages, of the conjugal relations, aud 

 it is too much for E. to say, " she has chosen 

 this one man from all the world." With her 

 it is but too often "Hobson's choice "—this ^ 

 or none. No, the choice falls on our sex; 

 hence the responsibility, and doubly so the 

 imperative need and right of the subjugation 

 of self in favor of the wife of his choice. 

 And I appeal to the conscience of every one 

 of my fellow-benedicts, and ask if they were 

 as much or more concerned for the happiness 

 of the one to be chosen, before she was cho- 

 sen, as for their own happiness? Should she 

 not have the approbation of his head and his 

 heart, the one he had in view, of whom he 

 contemplated making choice? Was self rather 

 a secondary consideration, the primary one 

 that of the happiness of the one he is about 

 to draw to himself away from former friends 

 and associates, away, oftentimes, from elegan- 

 cies, or at least great comforts, to a rougher 

 mode of life? Where there is mutual love and 

 heroism enough to start on this foundation in 

 the varying shades of life, the risht begin- 

 ning is made. Now, to keep it up and go on 

 from good to better is the desideratmn, the 

 thing to be really desired, as well as to avoid 

 that degeneracy from bad to worse, as we see 

 is too often the case. For this, also, each 

 party has ample responsibility, but most de- 

 volves on our sex as the stronger party— the 

 formation party. And let us see that we don't 

 repeat the old garden story, and shirk the 

 blame on her, whom in this instance we have 

 chosen. 



To do this we must habitually feel our 

 great responsibility — habitually feel how we 

 should demean ourselves by a hasty, ill-tem- 

 pered word or unkind look— habitually feel 

 the importance of keeping up that suavity of 

 manners, that polite, courteous demeanor so 

 agreeable to all. Are we to suppose it to be 

 less so to her, with whom we have chosen, 

 above all others, to be in daily contact. To 

 some, all this kindness appears to flow forth 

 spontaneously, while to others it requires a 

 good deal of careful and continuous cultiva- 

 tion. I take it we shall be the better for a 

 little timely thought ou the subject. 



There, dear "Jewell" and "Esmeralda," 

 before giving more on your subject in view 

 of making it a success, I submit this for your 

 criticism. Throw it aside, or say yi>u will 

 have more from Gbandfathee. 



CRANDFATHER'S LETTERS— NO. I. 



Something About Married Life. 



Dear Jewell:— I cannot but feel thankful 

 that one has stepped forward to apologize for, 

 and in a measure excuse, that boorishness in 

 husbands of which "Esmeralda" has but 

 too much cause for just complaint. On read- 

 ing " Esmeralda's " letter it brought to mind 

 my earlier days, and with it self-conviction 

 and a wish that I could do something, say 

 something, to make things better in this par- 

 ticular, and your expression, "hoping to hear 

 from the other SOX on this subject," encour- 

 ages me not only to think but to say. Not 

 but that I may expect the editor will cast this 

 into the waste-paper box, from having somo- 



A Contrast. 



Eds. Ar.KicuLTUisT and Live Stock JottR- 

 nal:— I picked up my scrap-book yesterday 

 and saw this piece which 1 thought worthy of 

 reproduction : 



" I was out walking the other day, when I 

 noticed, among other things, one of those pit- 

 iful sights that I am sorry to say are so coui- 

 mon in this State— a jioor, lone bachelor's 

 cabin. Poor, did I say ? He may be rich. 

 Yesterday, perhaps, he picked up a ten-pound 

 nugget. His pocket may bo lined with gold. 

 That fifty-vara lot his shanty stands on may 

 bo worth a fortune, as fmtunes go in this 

 world. Yet see him alone, sweeping his floor, 

 watching his bacon over that fire in the cor- 

 ner, rough aud shaggy are his clothes, and a 

 desolate, homeless look haunts his cabin like 

 a genius of evil, the wind moans through his 



