106 



^\)c Jarmcr'5 iilontl)tij faigitor. 



From dullness — and piisscss the fire 



That men and mules derive I'roni sire ; 



For buth. the dam, loo, i,hould he good, 



And to be that, she most have " blood." 



Forsneed, one miijht be well content, 



And on that point, shmikl not relent, 



II", by the hour, tliej boih possess 



Foot to go six miles in harness. 



In breaking them, it's well agreed, 



They must be mated with a steed 



Brisk of action and well mettled. 



Until you have their habits sellled, 



For these once fixed, lor good or bad, 



No others can you give instead ; 



III no case more than this we find 



As " twig is bent, the tree's inclin'd." 



]Vow will you see, and let me know 



If you can get tliem, and how low ? 



Such a pair of mules for Skinner. 



That hij no more may play the sinner. 



Like those who daily write and preach, 



But never jjrariicc, what they leach! 



For twice ten vears, his theme has been 



The mule from obloquy to screen ; 



That so, -no longer men should fail, 



His value in creation's scale 



To know; and fairly recognize 



And give at cattle-show the prize. 



That's due to beast, that works the most. 



And most doth earn, at the least cost. 



Thus equipped, you understand, 



He swears he will take oft' the brand 



That's on him stamp'd ; and in the street 



Publicly show the mule is fleet 



Enough, for any man of reason, 



Who only wishes, that in season, 



(When he drives hiin there in traces) 



He may arrive, at cluirch or races. 



And Skinner says, too, if he's treated 



Kindly, when on his hack one's seated 



More "sure he is tlius under saddle 



Than any nag that man can straddle. 



On mountain sides where roads are rough. 



What so sure of foot— says lie— ir tough ? 



And then what one so little eats. 



Or with so little rest, repeats 



His task 1 — and for longevUy f 



Compare it with the brevity 



Of life, that niiketh up the spafi 



Of other beasts, th it work for man ! 



Quoth reader — this is very fine 



In Skinner — but why then decline 



The mule to drive ? Let iis behold 



Him prove what he has often told. 



I'hat what we deem of no account. 



And quite unfit to drive or mount, 



Is not that soiteful, dev'lish thing. 



That, if you mount, will surely fling 



You down — and there to make you stick. 



Quicker than lightning, he will kick 



You on the head, or on the back ; 



Then switch his tail, ar.d — let a — 



As Sterne's, when drove by nuns religious 



Did, in their face, let one prodigious ! 



The story's told, if it concern ye. 



Somewhere in " Sentimental .lourney." 



It states how, on the road henighled. 



Two pious nuns became affrighted, 



.■\nd then, how on the mules they lavish 'rf 



\'ain blows. •' in dread of being r.ivish'd." 



The old mule stood, and shook her head. 



Then her tall, and then— as Sterne l:as said ! 



The nuns at last both recollect 



That blows on mules have no effect. 



They have two words of magic force 



'iMong parlez vons, in cf>minon use ; 



The hr^t of these is — ^acre bu-;re ! 



Then the curse is — sacre /litre ! ! 



Such shocking words ! how could nuns bring 



Themselves to say — for any thing ? 



So ill the innuntains, there they stood 



While thought of robbers chlli'd their blood. 



Till finally. Sterne says they hit 



On tills pi in — ifo.-rfs and sin to split 



In two — ^\\t} one of 'em slid bu 



And t'other jf(?r — ind t'otlier, /«, 



And t'other sister then said ter. 



And then their stubborn mules mov'd on 



As well as fir Postillion. 



To priest that night tliese nun.s— confess'd ! 



But oh ! dear sirs, how I've digress'd ! 



Men here say mules may work In cart 



Or plough — tho' In 'em both they'll start. 



Pray sec then, sirs, and let me hear 



If you can help to make it clear. 



This hy-brld Is' not worth the less. 



Because he's neither — Horse nor Ass! 

 To Youatt's celebrated work on the Housr. published 

 under the auspices of the Society in London for the Uif- 

 fu:ilon of L'seful Knowledge, .Mr. Skinner has prepared 

 an Introduction at the instance of Messrs. Lea and Blan- 

 rhartl, the American publisherB. 



The introduction relates principally to the training, 

 jockeying and perfor^nanccs of the .American trotting 

 horse. 



He has also appended to the same work just published 

 an elaborate essay on the Natural History and value of 

 the Ass and the ilULE, with this appropriate motto from 

 Shakspeare — 



"_ He would 



Have made them muies, wh^o [lave their provender 

 Only for bearing burdens and sore blows 

 For sinking under them.'' 

 Both these performances of Mr. Skinner are very high- 



ly spoken of for their research, novelty and force of il- 

 lustration. 



We copy from the JNew York " Spirit of the Times" 

 the following extract from a notice of the work in a letter 

 which, from the allusion of the Editor, is obviously from 

 Nicholas Binni.E, Esq., President of the Pennsylvania 

 Agricultural Society : " 1 open my letter to tell you how 

 much I am delighted with Skinner's edition of Yoiiutl on 

 the Horse. The serious part is full of Instruction, and 

 the gossip about old M.aryland horses, and Maryland peo- 

 ple, chariojng. It made me regret his present occupa- 

 tions, so far as they wean him it'rom such delightful and 

 useful pursuits." 



Agriculture. 



Tiie first thing a farmer thinks of is a good 

 soil. To that he loolis as his mine, froii) wliich 

 he is to derive his gold and silver, transmuted 

 from its dust by the sweat of Ids brow. Not- 

 witlistaiiding (lie Geologists have a vniiety of 

 names for very simple siib.«taiices, yet, as regards 

 agriculture, four primitive earths, with simple 

 names, are all we need trouble ourselves about. 

 No matter where the farm may lie — whether at 

 the foot of mountains, whose crumbling frag- 

 ments fill the valleys beneath ; or on the banks 

 of some river, which has rolled its sediment 

 along for ages, we look always to find either 

 CLAY or SAND Or MAGNESIA. It is the mixture of 

 tliesr wliich gives fertility. 



Now let us ask ourselves what the.^e substan- 

 ces are. Clay, or, as some preti^r calling it, alu- 

 miue,. or argillaceous earth, is a " compact sub- 

 stance, absorbing water slowly, and when moist- 

 ened lliroughont, is soft, pliant, and exceedingly 

 tough or tenacious. In its ordinary condition, 

 it is loo compact to permit the penetration of 

 the ifiots of plants, and it is an enemy of veg- 

 etaiiuu in this form." Clay, says oiir authority, 

 and our experience tells us the same thing, is 

 the worst kind of soil upon which we can ex- 

 pend our time and lobor. Jf it has beneath it a 

 gravel or friable rock, or saud, it is manageable, 

 and may be hiought under control. In this way, 

 some portions of Albany county, which are all 

 clay and saud, have been made, by judicious 

 commingling, to produce crops. If, however, 

 the substance is the darker and more compact 

 clay, which is greasy and tenacious enough to 

 prevent water sinking through it, the chances of 

 ameliorating the upper soil are slim enough. 

 VVIiat then is the best mode of trealing such 

 soil ? asks our reader. The priuci|de of treat- 

 ment, is to mix it with sami, or some other light 

 substance, which will make it easy to coinmiu- 

 nte or pulverise, and keep its particles separate. 

 Thus, we are told by experienced f;irmer.«, Ibey 

 have found calcareous or lime manme.s, ashes, 

 the sweeping of the streets, peat (a valuable ar- 

 ticle, of which immense quantities have recently 

 been discovered in Hamilton couiily in tnis State,) 

 and farm-yard manure are useful and efiicacions 

 in bringing such ii soil into coiuliiiou. Plough- 

 ing before the winter sets in is also advisable, in 

 order that the frost may mellow the turned np 

 furrows. When thus improved, clay lands may 

 be brought to bear very good crops of beans, 

 wheat, oat.s, clover, and Swedish tuniijis. 



S;ind, aiiollier primitive conslituenl ol the soil, 

 is sonieiiiiifs colled silex, silica, silicious matter, 

 or earth of flints tiie terms being synonymous 

 in cniiinion usage. "It has little or no cohesion 

 among its parts, retains moisture, promotes pn- 

 trefaclion, but permits the gasses to escape." It 

 is therelbi'e a very proper substance to mix with 

 clay. 



Sir Hum|)lirey Davy, the great chemical ngii- 

 cnlturist, says, no soil should be cdled sandy un- 

 less it contains seven-eights of sand; and we 

 coidf'ss tliat whenever we have Icxiiid that pro- 

 portion, we found the other eight uiili it loo. Il 

 genei'ally composes one-half of the hulk of every 

 soil. Wlieii it effervesces wilh acid.«, it should 

 be called a calcareous instead of a silicious soil. 



The game high authority informs us that the 

 best counteracting agents for saud are a mixture 

 of clay, marl, warp, (the sediment of navigable 

 rivers,) sea ooze, sea shells, and peat or vegeta- 

 ble earth. The farmers of I\'orfork, in England, 

 have entirely changed the ))ro(lnctive character 

 of their county by this method. Jesse BiiePs cel- 

 ebrated farm, near Albany, was originally a se- 

 ries of sand hills, mixed with bog laud of a cold 

 and sour nature, ',v|iich he entirely reclaimed. — 

 Sandy soils have latterly grown into favor, be- 

 cause they are .so easily worked. When properly 

 (ireparcd they produce good crops of Uunips, po- 



tatoes, carrots, barley, rye, buckwheat, pens, clo- 

 ver, and various other grasses. They are not 

 strong enough lor wheat, beans, or flax. 



As one great ditticiilty is the exposure to 

 drought, this should be remedied by deep plough- 

 ing, to retain some moisture in the substratum a.s 

 a reservoir for the roots of the plants. Gravelly 

 soils are similar to the sandy in requiring addi- 

 tions to give tenacity, and in particular what are 

 called compost manures. "Both these soils re- 

 quire frequent returns of grass crops." — JY. Y. 

 True Sun. 



Divorces, Courtship, Marriage, Ill-assorted 

 Matches. 



Applications fqr divorces seem to be very fre- 

 quent of late, in certam parts of this country. 

 Matrimony is a most sacred contract. It should 

 not be entered into without due deliberation, and 

 the knot once tied, and sanctified as well by the 

 laws of God as of man, the husband should not 

 he permitted to put awiiy bis wife, or the wife 

 her husband, for any but the most important con- 

 siderations. Nothing, as it seems to us is more 

 calculated to unhinge society, to corrupt the 

 heart, and to weaken the obligations between pa- 

 rent and child, than discontent and discord iu 

 wedded life, and as a consequence, efforts at dis- 

 tiuion and divorce. Perhaps a great error may 

 be attributed in the first place to hasty marriages, 

 and iu the second, to an indis|iosition after mar- 

 riage ill the parlies to amend their faults of tem- 

 per, and to overlook imperfectipns of character 

 in each oiher. How many ill-assorted matches 

 are theie in the world ! How many couples euler 

 into a contract for life, who know little or nothing 

 of each other's character, mind or infirmities. 

 How many, moreover, are there, who, imperfect 

 themselves cannot overlook or forgive the imper- 

 fections of others! What rashness, what impro- 

 priety, what wrong, characterize the system of 

 courtship, as too generally carried on in this 

 country! How frequently do we discover that 

 matches made in a moment of haste, and influ- 

 enced altogether by mercenary motives, terminate 

 in the most frightful family chaos, 'i'oung peo- 

 ple are too apt to look at the world through a 

 iiilse medium. Young ti^males es|)ecially are 

 taught in many cases to believe that an early mar- 

 riage is the great aim of woinau's ambition. A 

 lover is a darling object of their dre.im.', long be- 

 fore they have passed their teens, ftlere lads are 

 sometimes |)ermilted to address them for years, 

 without the ability in the first place to decide as 

 to the nature of tlieirown feelings, as to the trials 

 and vicissitudes of the world, or as to their pros- 

 pect for discharging the duties which devolve on 

 the head of a tamily. Parents are ofien to blame 

 in these cases. They permit their daughters to 

 associate with those whom they would not choose 

 as husbands for their children, and yet are sur- 

 prised when, under such circumstance.^, attach- 

 ments are formed, and runaway matches take 

 place. They subject the young and inexperien- 

 ced to influences, which are calcnhited to touch 

 the hearts and bewilder the minds of such, and 

 yet ar^i horrified when the res;;!t is a love-scrajje 

 and an ill-advised marriage. 



But older heads are frequenliy involved ill 

 matrimony, wiihont due cousiileralion. Too few 

 seek for a reciprociiy of taste, ilisjiosition, morals 

 and manners in the partners of their matrimonial 

 engagements. Impulse, momentary feeling, has- 

 ty fancy, or mercenary motives govern and con- 

 trol too many courtships in this coiinirj'. Some 

 one has said that "ill-assorted malches are gen- 

 erally early ones, and that courtships carried on 

 under the sanction of friends, are seldom broken 

 oft', except it be wise they sliouhl.'' There is 

 truili and force iu this. We see it re:ilized al- 

 most ev»iy day. Sometimes, we admit, |)arents 

 are loo obstinate, and consult ambiiinn, rank in 

 life, and pecuniary considerations, rather than 

 the real welfare and true lia|ipiuess of their chil- 

 dren. But thesp instances are rare, very rare. 

 The happiest marriages iu the vast majority of 

 cases, are those which secure the brightness of a 

 parenfs approving smile. Having lived longer 

 and seen more of the world than llieir childien, 

 and feeling too, ^liat iu the joys and sorrows of 

 those children ihey will deeply participate, and 

 live over, as it were, a second life, the (iiilier and 

 mother are seldom apt to form an erioneous 

 judgment. 



We would not have mammon to enter too 



