96 



N E V/ ENGLAND FARMER 



SKPT. US. 1S40. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



THE BLACKBIRD'S 80NG. 



It is not in lli^ wilil vnlley flanked with birch 

 slopes, and stretching far away among the crag-gy 

 hills, that the music of the blackbird floats upon 

 the evening breeze. There you may listen delight- 

 ed to the gentle song of the mavis ; but liere, in 

 this plain, covered with cornfields and skirted with 

 gardens, sit down on the green turf by the gliding 

 brook, and mark the little black speck, stuck as it 

 were upon the top twig of that tall poplar. It is a 

 blackbird; for now the sweet strain, loud but mel- 

 lowed by dit^tance, comes upon the ear, inspiring 

 pleasant thoughts and banishing care and sorrow. 

 The bird hns evidently learned his pnrt by long 

 practice, for he sits sedately and in full conscious- 

 ness of superiority. Ceasing at intervals, he re- 

 news the strain, varying it so that, although yo<i 

 can occasionally trace a repetition of notes, the 

 staves are never precisely the same. You may sit 

 an hour or longer, and yet the song will be contin- 

 ued ; and in the neighboring gardens many rival 

 songsters will sometimes raise their voices at once, 

 or delight you with alternate strains. And now, 

 what is the purpose of all this melody? We can 

 only conjecture that it is the expression of the per- 

 fect happiness which the creature is enjoying, when 

 untouched by care, conscious of security, and a- 

 aware of the presence of his mate, he instinctively 

 pours fourth his soul in joy, and gratitude and love. 

 Ho does not sing to amuse his mate, as many have 

 supposed ; for he often sings in winter, when he is 

 not yet mated ; nor does he sing to beguile his 

 solitude, for now he is not solitary ; but he sings 

 because all his wants are satisfied, his whole frame 

 glowing with health, and because his .Maker has 

 gifted liim with the power of uttering sweet sounds. 

 — Macgitlivray's British Birds. 



well may, by some subterranean communication, 

 be connected with the grand shell marl deposite 

 in the eastern part of the State .'" 



CHINESE FOOD. 

 With nothing more than a few beans, the meal 

 of rice, and corn, and some spices and herbs, the 

 Chinese prepare a variety of savory dishes. Horse 

 flesh, rats and mice are standard articles of food, 

 and sold publicly at the butcher's. l?irds' nests 

 are another article of food, but neither mud nor 

 sticks enter into their composition. The nests are 

 found in the rocks along the coasts of Tonquin, &c. 

 and are built by birds resembling the swallon'. 

 They are constructed, as is supposed, of a small 

 species of sea-fish, cemented by a glutinous matter 

 exuding from the bird itself; and when fully form- 

 ed, resemble the rind of a large candied citron. 

 Bears' paws form another favorite dish. '! hey are 

 ndled in pepper and nutn\eg and dried in the sun. 

 When about to be dressed, they are soaked in lice 

 water to make them soft, and then boiled in the 

 gravy of a kid, and seasoned with various spices. — 

 London fVttkly Revitw. 



A BOTTOiMLES.S LAKE. 



A writer in the Troy (N. Y.) Mail, gives the fol- 

 lowing account of a remarkable pond in Sussex 

 county, in the State of N.ew York. 



"White Lake is situated about one mile west of 

 the Paulius Kill, in the town of Stillwater. It is 

 nearly circular. It has no visible inlet, but its out- 

 let is a never failing stream of considerable mag- 

 nitude. The name is derived from its appearance. 

 Viewed from a little distance it seems of a milky 

 whiteness, except a few rods in the centre, which 

 by the contrast appears perfectly black. 'I'he ap- 

 pearance itself is singular enough, but the cause 

 is still more remarkable. 



From the centre or datk [)ortion of the lake, at 

 stated seasons, innumerable quantities of shells are 

 thrown up, of various sizes and forms, but all per- 

 fectly white. These float to the ehore^ and are 

 thrown upon the beach, or sink into shallow water. 

 Hundreds of bushels might be gathered from the 

 shore after one ofthesf periodical up-risings ; and 

 the whole soil for several rods on every ^^ide <if the 

 lake, is composed of these shells, broken or decom- 

 posed by tfie action of the weather. In the centre 

 of the lake, bottom has never been found, although j 

 it has been sounded to the depth of several hundred , 

 feet. I 



Where then is the grand deposite from whicii ' 

 has been swelling up since the memory of man, 

 these countle.vs myriads of untenanted shells .= Is 

 it pos.sible that though far remote at an elevation 

 of several hundred feet above them, this bo'tomless 



TO APPRENTICES. 



The only way for a young man to prepare for 

 usefulness is to devote himself to study during 

 his leisure hours. First, be industrious in your 

 business. Never complain that you are obliged to 

 work; go to it with alacrity and cheerfulness, and 

 it will become a habit that will make you respec- 

 ted by your employer and the community. Make 

 it your business to see to and promote his interest : 

 by taking care of his you will learn to take care of 

 your own. Second, be industrious in your studies. 

 Few persons can complain of a harder master than 

 Franklin's, yet he had laid the foundations of his 

 greatness while an apprentice. Success depends 

 not on the amount of leisure you may have, but 

 upon the manner in which it is employed. 



In Lambyaque, Peru, are to be seen the stupen- 

 dous graves of the Indian kings, who must have 

 died in the times of Incas. These stupendous 

 mounds of earth are just upon the outside of the 

 city, and are built of sun-dried brick, and are of 

 the most gigantic dimensions: some of them are 

 3(100 feet in circumference and over I.'iO in height, 

 and must have required a long tinie and a deal of 

 labor in their erection. One of theui was opened 

 in Truxillo, and silver and gold taken from it a- 

 mounting to over .$2,000,000. A company of mer- 

 chants have been organized, and are now openino- 

 several others in search of more hidden treasure. — 

 ..V. Y. Express. 



Indian Superstition. — Near Fort Leavenworth, 

 in Platte county, Missouri, is the grave of a dis- 

 tinguished Pottawatamie chief. The editor of the 

 Hannibal Monitor has often st^en members of the 

 tribe standing in .^ad silence before it. In the long 

 summer nights, from nightfall to daybreak, a bird 

 unknown, except by some of the woodsmen, pours 

 out a melancholy strain of music. The Indians 

 say it is the "spirit bird" hanging over the tomb 

 of the chieftain. 



There is a lady near Brooklyn, N. Y. 113 years 

 of age. She says she can milk the cows as readi- 

 ly now as she could 100 years ago. 



GRAIBI CRADLES. 



The Grain Cradle is an article which is comin!; into very 

 general u^e in the New England Slates, wlier<.* they were till 

 ol late hiu liule known, alltiuugii ihey have heen in very 

 general use in ilie southern and western States, tor many 

 years, and w hicli is lountl to tje decidedly the best mode of 

 harvesting grain, as it is supposed one man wtU eradle five 

 acres in a»day when he cannot reap more than one The 

 (lilTerence in gathering a crop is so nmcli in favor of cradling, 

 that we must suppose that it will he the only mode adopted 

 hereafter, and the grain cradle will become of as much use, 

 as an im|)leinent ol hushaiidry, as the plough now is. 



There has heen a very great improvement in the manufac- 

 turing of this article, they are now made on the most im- 

 proved plan ; the scythe is well secured and tiuishetl in a 

 superier manner and made of the hest cast steel. 



Brigliton ISIurseries nnd Gardens. Por ^ale 



A large quantity of superior European and 

 American Ornamental Trees, well calculated 

 for puhlic places, or private grounds, with Fruit 

 Trees embracing a great variety of the most ap- 

 proved kinds and fine sizes. I'he trees, and all 

 other productions can now he se/cc^ed and -martcrf, and will 

 he lor warded to any place as soon as it will answer to re- 

 move the same. 



Also, forty kinds of .Strawberry Plants, of the most ap- 

 proved European and American varieties. 



Orders may he forwartled via. mail, addressed Messrs. 

 WINSHIP, Brighton. Mass., or left wilh Jlessrs. JOSEPH 

 BRECK & CO. 

 Brighton, August 12. 



HY-ACINTHS. 



The subscribers have received a large assortment of Dou- 

 ble and Single Hyacinths of every color and shade. Also, 

 Tulips of mi.^ed sorts, Crown Imperials, and Lilies: they 

 have also at their garden all the fine varieties of Pceonies, 

 which will he furnishetl at o-ie day's notice. Lilies and 

 Pisonies, and Crown Imperials, should he planted in August 

 or the first of Seplemlter. We shall receive a great variety 

 of" Bult'ous Roots, from HoUan^l, in a few weeks, when no- 

 tice will he given. JOSEPH BRECK & CO. 



August 26. 



GARD.J-.NERS' KNIVES. 



JOSEPH BRECK it CO. have this season imported and 

 now offer for sale a lew very superior Garden Knives, for 

 )iruning. &.c. manufactured expressly for Gardeners, and 

 warranted superior to any article of the kmd before import- 

 ed. 



, Also — a large assortment of Budding Knives, Grape 

 Scissors, &c. &c. 



Apnl22. 



TIB UP CHAINS. 



Just received at the New England Xgrienllural Ware- 

 house, a good supply of those celebrated Chains for tying 

 upcatlle. These chains, introduced hy E. H. Perhy, Esq. 

 or Salem, and Col. Jacques, of Charlcstown, for the pur- 

 pose of securing cattle to the stall, are found to lie the safest 

 and most convenient mo le of fastening cows and oxen to the 

 stancfiion. They consist of a chain which passes round the 

 animal's neck', and by a ring attached to the stall, plays free- 

 ly up and down, and leaves the animal ai lilieriy to lie down 

 or rise at pleasure, and keeps him perfectly secure. 



July 15. JOSEPH BRECK & CO. 



THE JSEW K!«Gt,A\D PARMER 



Is puhiished every VVcdnesday Evening, at 33 per anmini 

 linkable at the end of t!ie year — hut those who pay witlim 

 sixlydays from thetimeof subscribing are entitled to a c'e- 

 duclionof 50 cents. 



TITTTLE, DENNETT AND CHISHOLM, PRINTFRS 



17 'CiMi'i, K'rRKK'l'.. ..BOSTON 



