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^\)t iTarmcr'fi iUoiitl)!!} biriitnr. 



73 



hold a liirge quantity. As soon as tFio hlooniing 

 spason is past, tlie leaves slionlil lie put into tlie 

 pot for distillation, covered with water; tlic still 

 head then is to be )int on, and the business is 

 effected over a steady fire. The first running 

 from the still is the strongest, and it should he 

 continued so long as it is good. The whole 

 should then be mixed, corked close in bottles, 

 and put in the cellar — the cooler the belter. It 

 freezes readily in winter, and this should be 

 guarded against. It is at once ready (or use, anil 

 imparts a flavor to ap[)le i)ies, puiniikin pics, cus- 

 tards, &v. that has no erjual. 



It has another use as a perfuine. There is an 

 intensity in the "otto of rose" that to most per- 

 sons is disagreeable, and to many it causes ner- 

 vous headache. This is the oil of the rose; the 

 concentrated essence, and is too powerful for the 

 nerves. Not so with rose water, which has a 

 sort of diluted freshness about it that renders it 

 ever agreeable. Asan article of the toilet, there- 

 fore, and we believe we may use the attractive 

 word cosmetic, it is recommended, and has no 

 quackery about it. 



CouuMon every day corn meal is one of the 

 best things to soften the skin, and give it a good 

 appearance, that can be used. There is a great 

 deal of oil in corn, and it is just in the light 

 state when ground to impart softness and smooth- 

 ness. This article was once sold in England as 

 a cosmetic, at a guinea a pound, and no doubt 

 sustained its reputation so long as it was recom- 

 mended by a high price. This, to be sure, is a 

 menial use for Indian corn, which as a grain has 

 been thought to have no equal. It makes the 

 best beef, the best pork, the best mutton ; affords 

 the vvliolesoiupst bread, and we now have the 

 pleasure of adiliug to its merits, that it may be 

 advantageously used to improve the unequalled 

 excellence of our country-women. 



JOHN SMITH. 



as close on the Iireast of the garment as the feast- 

 ers at a crowded publii' festival. His waist was 

 remarkably slender; so slender that, as he stood 

 with his arms akimbo, ho could easily, as 1 

 thought, with his long bony fingers have spanned 

 it. Around him his coat, whichjwas very tight, 

 was held together by one button, and in conse- 

 quence, an inch or more of tape, to which it was 

 attached, was perceptible where it was pulled 

 through the cloili. About his neck lie wore a 

 large white cravat, in wlii' h his chin was occa- 

 sionally burierlas he moved his head in coiiver- 

 salion ; no shirt collar was perceptible; every 

 otlier (lerson seemed to pride himself ujion the 

 size of his, as they were then worn large. Mr. 

 Randolph's conii)le.\ioii was precisely that of a 

 muinniy, withered, saffron, dry and bloodless; 

 you could not have placed a pin's point on his 

 face, where you would not have touched a wrink- 

 le. His lips were thin, compressed and co'o|■h'S^; 

 Ihe chin, beardless as a boy's, was broad for the 

 size of his f ice, which was small ; his nose was 

 straight, with nolliing remarkable in it, except 

 it was too short. He wore a fur cap, which he 

 took off, standing a few minutes uncovered. 1 

 observed that his head was quite small; a char- 

 acteristic which is said to have marked many 

 men of talent. Byron arid Chief Justice Mar- 

 shall, for instance. 



From a Volume of Sketclits. 

 John Randolph. 



I remember some years since to have suku 

 John Randolph in Raltitnore. I had frequcnlly 

 read and heard descriptions of liim.andouc day, 

 as I was standing in Market, runv Baltimore 

 street, I remarked a tall, thin, unique looking 

 being hurrying toward me with a tpfick iiiqia- 

 lient ste|i, evidently much annoyed by a crowd 

 of boys who were following close to his lieels. 

 not in the obstreperous mirth with which they 

 would have tlillnweil a crazy or drunken man or 

 an organ grinder, and his monkey, but in the si- 

 lent, curious wonder with which they would 

 have haunted a Chinese bedecked in full coslumc. 

 I instantly knew the individual to be Randolph 

 ti'om the descriptions. I therefore advanced 

 toward him that I might make a full observation 

 of his person without violating the rules of court- 

 esy in stopping to gaze at him. As he ap()roach- 

 ed, he occasionally turned toward the boys with 

 an angry glance, but without saying aiiUhing, 

 and then hurried on as if to outstrip them, but 

 it would not do. They followed close behind 

 the orator, each one observing him so intently 

 that each one said nothing to his compiuiions. — 

 Just before 1 met him he slopped a filr. C, a 

 I'asbier of one of the banks, said to be as odd a 

 tish as John himself I loitered in a store close 

 by, an<I, unnoticed, remarked the Roanoke ora- 

 tor titv a considerable time, and really he was the 

 strangest looking being I ever beheld. 



His long thin legs, about as tliicic as a strong 

 walking cane, and of much such a shape, were 

 encased in a pair of tight small clothes, so tight 

 that they seemed jiart and parcel of the limbs of 

 the wearer. Handsmue white stockings were 

 tiistened with great tidiness at the knees by a 

 small gold buckle, and over them, cuniing abnul 

 half way up Ihe calf, were a pair of what, 1 be- 

 lieve are called hose, coarse, and country knit. 

 He wore shoes. They were old fiishioned, and 

 fastened only with buckles — huge ones. He 

 trod like an Indian, without turning his toes onl, 

 but planking them ilowii strai'.'ht ahead. It wasi 

 the tiishion in those days to wear a fan-tailed 

 coat, with a small collar and buttons fiir a|inrt 

 behind, and a lew on the breast. Mr Randolph's 

 were the reverse of all this, and, instead of his 

 coat being t;m-tailed, it was what we believe, the 

 knights of the needle call swallow-tailed; the 

 collar was immensely large, the buttons behind 

 were in kipsing pro.vimiiy, and Ihey sat t"gcthcr 



For the Farmer's Monthly Visitor. 

 Fencing. 



The writer of the article upon summer cut 

 rails, has barely given the facts as for ihe general 

 stock of information. He has too often used an 

 axe not to know that it is more agreeable to 

 A'ield it ill January than July ; but he has done 

 this with no view to controversy. Many, very 

 many farmers cannot command cliesimt rails: 

 they have only oak, and h;ive to Uf^e it. Some 

 have leisure in the summer, and at that time cut 

 and rive their rail limbers, uhen the days are 

 twice the length they are in winter; and it is a 

 matter for calculation, taking tlie durability into 

 the account, if they are not the cheapest. 



In agriculture, as in patent rights, a great deal 

 is found that is not |)raclical, but useful hints 

 may be derived (i'oiii fiiiilty articles, as well as 

 delt'ctive inventions. P. 



For the Farmer's Monthly Visitor. 



How things used to be dcne.-'A faiinei- of 



the olden time. 



The time was when nirming here in Francps- 

 lown was not what it is now, and those were the 

 limes fiir me. A nam need not be constantly on 

 ilie alert, \i\> early and late, with every thing in 

 order to get .■iloiig, fin- ilicii |Moiluce commanded 

 high prices. The French and Russians and ail 

 Europe "ere at loggerheads: they left Iheir 

 fields of cultivation lor fields of battle, and we 

 led them with our products. That was a time 

 when a man could got along with liis hands half 

 of the time in his breeches pockets, instead oi' 

 holding on to the plough haiulles — when it was 

 just as well to gel up after breakfast as before. 

 1 well remember that time, and instead of the 

 stir and preaching aliont temperance and culling 

 down the good old apple orchards to preverit 

 hot heads' mischief, we had muddled cider and 

 good generous fiip with a lie:il(-d (loker in it to 

 take ihe "air off." Iiislcud of iliat quiet, steady, 

 noiseless indiislry which we have now a days, 

 which comes of cold water and h.ard limes, wo 

 had music and frolic, and ofien figliis in the hay 

 field. The ovMier of a farm c.iine regularly 

 forth twice a day at all seasons, wilh his pitche:' 

 <d' loddy, generous and sweet, will; a bumping 

 toast in it. It was a pleasure to behold b;;n 

 coming forth from the good old hciise at 11, and 

 4 o'clock, with the exhilarating beverage; every 

 arm was nerved, and every mouth became dry 

 as he approched wilh the cheering potation. I 

 well remember one of Ihos'. days, and we had 

 many such, wlien the man wilh whom I worked 

 c;ime fiirth about two in llie afternoon with a 

 bucket fiill of loddy — refreshing name — now set- 

 ling out of use and obsolete. Yva, he was a 

 good hale fellow that had just waked up fi-om 

 his usual two hour nap at iionn, being aroused 

 by the thunder that rumbled away in the norlli- 

 west. The clouds were lifling in heavy black 

 columns; the sun was whitening their edges, 

 and ihe cpfick lighlning darted from cloud to 

 cloud ; and presently came the heavy echo of 



(1 severely, and said that the reason of his taking 

 is shirt oft" was that his torn skin would ineiiil 



the trembling ihiinder. We had a number of 

 acres of hay down, part of it (it to go in the 

 next half ilay, which we were he.-iping up as fast 

 as we could. Every n)aii drank a double ilose, 

 and our emjiloyer among the re^t, and cried out', 

 "to it boys;" and to it we went, hooping and 

 halluoing in ihe most approved style. The big 

 cloud meanwhile kept lifling iqi higher and 

 higher, widening at the boltoin, and the cic'ar 

 deep blue at Ihe bas(! of the cloud showed that 

 it was not all wind. This hay was soon in heaps, 

 and then came the tun teams, a yoke! of oxen in 

 each, to get in llie porlions already dried beloro 

 the rain, if possible. The worlhyowner, a man 

 of some flirty-five, mounted one of llie wagcms ; 

 and all lianils, taking another pull at the toddy, 

 (ell to it merrily. He called for two of the best 

 hands to pitch to him, and as it went up first one 

 side and then the other, he kept crying out, 

 "more hay I" When it got a liitlc above the 

 cart ladders, about one half of it fell back agifm ; 

 but our spirit was up, and we did not mind tri- 

 fles. 



An Irishman named Kenedy, who was at the 

 other cart,.liaving been accidentally hit wi;h a 

 lake's tail by his companion, stripped off his 

 shin, and went at him for the outrage. They 

 were in that generous slate that it was lather a 

 cufFlhan a bruising affair. Kenedy was seralch- 

 e 



I _. . „ 



without cost, but his shirt would not. 



All this time the storm was as busy as we 

 were, in the distant wooils. We began to hear 

 the roar of ihe wind that was driving it forward, 

 and the big drops began to fiill here and there. 

 It was not more than nvo or three hundred yards 

 to thebarn. We were now loaded, and went ofT 

 in fine style. Our hero, (or such was every man 

 who in those generous days was bountiliil in the 

 cheering beverage, called for a piichfork and 

 told Ihe man to "run the oxen," (iir the slorin 

 came fasler and Custer. He forked the animals 

 (i-oiii ihe lo[) of the load, and the man used the 

 rake's tail below. Over Ihe ground they went, 

 shaking off nearly half the load, and at length 

 over went the cart, hay, owner and all together. 



Down came the rain ; the catile were left to 

 take their pay (or having overturned the hay; 

 and we all went to the barn wet as drowned 

 rats, and while the storm was passing, .we had a 

 very cheerfid round at wrestling. 



There are no such times now, Sir. Editor; the 

 limes are sadly changed, aye, sad and sober, and 

 this effect, or rather defect, comes in my opinion 

 from this substilulinn of cold water. All the 

 men no\v-a-days look so pale and sober-like, and 

 when they ride a horse, they are as lifeless and 

 heavy upon the po(U' animal's back as a bag go- 

 ing to the mill, inslcud of rising iii the stirrups 

 as they used to do at every bound, and striking 

 out their legs stiff and graceful as horsemen 

 should do. 



Depend upon it we ;ire not half the men we 

 should be on account of llie.=e palc-faced socie- 

 ties, which have induced our people to tak(j 

 driwn l!ie cheerful old signs of " If. I. Goods' 

 and where under their auspices our ancestors 

 spent so many happy days — generally rainy 

 ones. Who can deny llie depreciating effects of 

 this change? Our pco]i!e are becoming cow- 

 ardly ; liir we used to have ten fights where we 

 have one now ; and as to intellect, we are be- 

 (•(Hiiiiig so fallow, as lo be even insensible to our 

 flepressioii. Huw many of our great men of in- 

 tellect required a stimulant to achie\ e their great- 

 ness, who of course wdiild have been only ordi- 

 nary tncii without it? 



When we availed ourselves of this convenient 

 hanilmtiid to mind and metal, we were wise and 

 brave. We looked like men, and could fiico any 

 thing; now, forsooth, we ilo nothing but plod 

 on, keep our farms it is true in better order, our 

 coats whole, and go to meeting witii our wives 

 tmd children. 



A FRANCESTOWN FARMER of ]70a 



WiiALTii. — One of ilic licst and most satisfac- 

 tory uses of wiMJih, my dear boy, (says Pniicli in 

 his letters lo his son.) is to dazzle with our riches 

 the eyes of our neighbors. Your mother once 

 hit this point to a nicely. We had long ex|)ecled 

 the payment of a small legacy bci]ueatlied to her 

 by a distant relation, whose exact degree of 

 kiivflred 1 cared not much to inquire into. Ji v. as 



