484 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Athletic sports and out of door exercise, of every 

 description, are no less conducive to the morals, 

 and happiness, than they are necessary to the per- 

 fect health of the young of both sexes. Wher- 

 ever there is physical depression, there must be a 

 disposition to resort to mental, moral, or injurious 

 physical stimulants. We wish we could say of the 

 American youth, what Goldsmith, in his "Desert- 

 ed Village," said of the youth of his native place : 



"How often have I blessed the coming day, 

 When toil remittant lent its turn to play; 

 And all thp village train, from labor free, 

 Set up their sports beneath the spreading tree; 

 Still many a pastime erected in the shade, 

 The young contending, as the old surveyed." 



But we cannot expect this for the youth of our 

 day and country ; we must allow the dull machin- 

 ery of acquisition, without a wholesome pause of 

 joyous check, to go on year after year, paralyzing 

 the limbs cramping the natural energies, deaden 

 ing the affections, and darkening the happiness of 

 our toiling citizens. This is the real cause why ev- 

 ery city is a pasture field for a host of gamblers, 

 grbggeries, prostitutes, and quack doctors ! — Far- 

 mer and Mechanic. 



MUD HOUSES. 



A late number of the Maine Farmer has an in- 

 teresting editorial upon the subject of the con- 

 struction of mud houses. He speaks of the bricks 

 for the walls as being fifteen inches long, one foot 

 wide and six inches deep, and composed of clay 

 and sand. We have no doubt that houses may be 

 made cheap and durable of such materials, but al- 

 lude to the article to say that we have seen houses 

 constructed of common soil, where it was of a 

 clayey tendency, erected by preparing a strong 

 plank mould the length of a side or end, resting 

 its edges upon the ground and filling it with the 

 surface soil in its immediate neighborhood. This 

 was moistened, pounded thoroughly and left a 

 day or two to dry, while another mould was filled 

 for another part of the building, and in this man- 

 ner the walls were raised. How the corners were 

 dovetailed or connected with each other, we do 

 not know. One or two of the houses constructed 

 in this manner were recently standing, and proba- 

 bly are now, and have been occupied and made a 

 fine appearance for nearly twenty years. 



Why do not our people build more of stone ? — 

 This material is excellent and in abundance over 

 most of New England, and properly laid up would 

 last for several generations with trifling repairs 

 compared with those required by wood. All kinds 

 of lumber are becoming scarce and high, and we 

 hope more attention will be turned to the import- 

 ance of erecting our dwellings and barns of stone. 

 In proper architectural proportions they look 

 well — far better than the glaring white which so 

 universally prevails. Buildings in the country look 

 better constructed of small stones than of large 

 blocks, and where large stones are used, uncut is 

 more pleasant to our eye than cut, excepting the 

 usual dressing at the corners. Will brother 

 Holmes give the world a jog in this matter ! 



THE PLAIN WHY AND BECAUSE. 



Why do birds fly ? Because they have the 

 largest bones of all animals, in proportion to their 

 weight ; and their bones are more hollow than 

 those of animals that do not fly. Air vessels, also, 

 enable them to blow out the hollow parts of their 

 bodies, when they wish to make their descent 

 slower, rise more swiftly or float in the air. The 

 muscles that move the wings of birds downward, 

 in many instances, are a sixth part of the weight 

 of the whole body ; whereas, those of a man are 

 not in proportion one-hundredth part so. 



Why have all animals more or less fat? Because 

 it may serve as a store of nourishment ; being 

 most abundant when the animal is well furnished 

 with a copious supply of food, and gradually dimin- 

 ishing in quantity as the food become scarcer, and 

 disappearing when, from want, a lingering death 

 has been produced. — Fleming's Zoology. 



Why does the scorpion carry its young on the 

 back ? Because they are there protected and de- 

 fended by the tail, at the extremity of which is the 

 sting. Scorpions have frequent battles with ants, 

 which may sometimes be seen dragging from the 

 field one of their vanquished foes. — Lir Scott. 



Why are scorpions killed by covering them with 

 oil 1 Becuuse their respiration is thus prevented. 



Why have birds that do not fly, wings? Be- 

 cause they assist in balancing the body as they 

 run. 



Why is a blue flame so often seen upon the sur- 

 face of a charcoal fire 1 Because the combustion 

 of the carbonic oxide is formed in this way ; the 

 air entering at bottom, forms carbonic acid, which 

 passing through the red hot charcoal, becomes 

 converted into carbonic oxide. Hence arises the 

 danger of burning charcoal in ill-ventilated cham- 

 bers. 



THE SHIP OF DEATH. 



We believe it is some German poet who, walking "silent 

 und thoughtful by the solemn shore of the vast ocean we must 

 sail so soon," thus speaks of 'TAf Ship of Death." 



By the shore of Time now lying, 



On the inky flood beneath, 

 Patiently, thou Soul undying, 



Waits for thee the Ship of Death! 



He who on that vessel stai teth, 



Sailing from the sons of men, 

 To the friends from whom he parteth, 



Never more returns again; 



From her mast no flag is flying, 



To denote from whence she came; 

 She is known unto the dying — 



Azrael is her captain's name. 



Not a word was ever spoken, 



On that dark, unfathomed sea; 

 Silence there is so unbroken, 



She herself seems not to be. 



Silent thus, in darkness lonely, 



Doth the Soul put forth alone, 

 While the wings of angels only 



Waft her to a Land Unknown. 



Threshing Machine. — Anew threshing machine 

 is said to have been invented by a Mr. Palmer, of N. 

 Carolina, which, with four men to feed it, will take 

 a hundred cart loads of wheat in the morning, ly- 

 ing in the sheaf, pass it through the thresher, sep- 

 arate every kernel from the straw, winnow, clean, 

 and put into bags 1500 bushels before sunset. 



