288 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



MARCH 10, 1841. 



MISCELLANEOUS 



INTEMPERANCK. 



that men slioukl put ;\n cn.'Biy into ihcir mouths to steal 



away their brains. — Shakspcai e 



The fallowing extracts of a letter liciii a father 

 to his only son, in which he portrays the detestable 

 crime of drunkenness and its shocking conseriuen- 

 ces, in striking colors, are taken from an old book : 

 " Dkar Tom — It is with the greatest concern I 

 hear you have lately (more than once) been guilty 

 of getting fuddled in company with some of your 

 youthful companions ; you can scarce think what 

 a shock this account gave me. I know, niy dear 

 boy, you have a great flow of spirits, a lively iiuagi- 

 nation, and great good nature; but those qualities, 

 instead of guarding you against that odious fault, 

 are, I am afraid, most likely to hurry you into it. 

 Other vices generally have their rise and take deep- 

 est root in the meanest dispositions : drunkenness, 

 on the contrary, is often, too often observed to 

 flourish in the richest and most promising soils : 

 this, Tom, is a principal reason why I feel for you. 

 A social, good-natured youth, is drawn in by de- 

 grees : if he is lively, smart, and witty, his compa- 

 ny is sought for by others: if wit in another capti- 

 vates him, the company he doats on draws him to 

 the tavern, and though he steps cautiously at first, 

 he soon, from habit and exainple, loses all sense of 

 what he is doing; the sense of danger daily wears 

 off: fondness of company by degrees draws on 

 fondness for liquor; he becomes more sottish, and 

 consequently more stupid, till at last his under- 

 standing, (an understanding that might have done 

 honor to his country, and benefited his fellow crea- 

 tures,) becomes clouded and muddled, and instead 

 of the promising expectations that his youth afford- 

 ed, he becomes a burden to himself, and despicable 

 to all the world. 



Drunkenness, Tom, stupifies the senses, destroys 

 the meinnry, blunts the understanding, fills men 

 with diseases, and inakes them incapable of busi- 

 ness of any kind. That this is the consequence of 

 habitual drunkenness, too many instances will evi- 

 dence. What a despicable character that of a sot 

 is, I need not describe toyou ; and depend upon it, 

 every person who is fond of the company of topers, 

 is in a fair way of becoming a sot. If your incli- 

 nation tends that way, check it inmiediately, nor 

 deceive yourself with the hopes of having the pow- 

 er to conquer it whenever you please ; in such a 

 case habit daily adds new strength to the vicious 

 bent: the brute part of us (appetite) soon possesses 

 the whole man, ami reason, which may be called 

 the angelic part, becomes quite smothered and de- 

 stroyed. You know, Tom, it is a common expres- 

 sion to say. He is as drunk as a beast. We do 

 not suppose that beasts get drunk : we mean by it 

 that man by inebriation drowns his understanding; 

 and wlicii his reason is gone, he is upon a level 

 with, nay, really far beneath the brute, irrational 

 creation. Brutes ore certainly equally rational 

 with such a wretch, if not more so, with the supe- 

 rior advantage of a sound body and an instinct to 

 guide them. 



I know the world is apt to laugh at the appro- 

 hension of any danger accruing from getting fud- 

 dled now and then ; they think the consequence 

 innocent and trifling — but they soon find them- 

 selves woefully mistaken. Getting fuddled is the 

 high road to habitual drunkenness — the oftencr 

 you are guilty of it, the more you prejudice your 



health and understanding, and the less capable you 

 are to guard against that abominable vice: it steals 

 upon you insensibly, and you are seldom conscious 

 of the danger till you arc incapable of resisting it. 

 Consider, my dear lad, the first deviation trom 

 the level paths of virtue, is the gradual, impercepti- 

 ble descent: the entrance is bewitching, as it lies 

 through the flowery regions of pleasure ; but as 

 you advance, the way soon becomes rougher and 

 less pleasing ; the prospect by degrees grows dreary, 

 gloomy and frightful : each step you advance grows 

 steeper and steeper ; your power of resistance 

 grows fainter and fainter, and you are hurried 

 down, in spite of the feeble efforts you are then ca- 

 pable of making, into the gulph of shame and ever- 

 lasting destruction. 



A drunkard is the worst of suicides : he is a de- 

 liberate, determined self-murderer; he hurries him- 

 self out of the world ; and for the short time he 

 crawls on the earth, he makes himself miserable by 

 loading himself wi;h racking distempers. Compa- 

 ny, which he was so fond of, avoid and despise him, 

 when he can no longer contribute to their irrational 

 mirth; (for you must never trust to fiiendship com- 

 menced over a bottle,) and the only faint glimmer- 

 ing of pleasure he then enjoys, is when he is pour- 

 iniT down that liquid poison which first occasioned, 

 and still increases his disorder. 



As to the ridiculouF. custom of drinking healths, 

 nothing certainly can be a greater enemy to health 

 than it is. 



I am far, Tom, from being one of that rigid class 

 of mortals, who decry cheerfulness and mirth: I 

 love mirth, you know I do; and cheerfulness (as 

 the Spectator says,) is the very health of the soul; 

 to preserve which, i« one great reason why I would 

 have you avoid drinking; for drinking is in reality 

 an enemy to cheerfulness, good nature and mirth. 

 In drinking, it is hard, nay it is almost impossible, 

 to stop at a certain mark ; and when you once go 

 beyond it, you are hurried you know not whither; 

 quarrelling, gaming, debauchery of all kinds, nay 

 often murder, are the dreadful fruits of drinking; 

 and in regard to conversation, Tom, [ would appeal 

 to yourself, whether, from the little you have seen 

 of drinking, (I sincerely hope it is but little,) wheth- 

 er in your cool moments you would not have been 

 ashamed of the words and actions which you ap- 

 plauded when warm with liquor. In a word, unless 

 you most carefully guard against drunkenness in 

 your youth, it will insensibly steal on you ; it will 

 make you miserable both in body and mind ; it 

 will prove an insuperable bar to your becoming 

 eminent in any profession ; it will make you odious 

 to yourself, and despicable to others ; and indeed, 

 and in truth, I would rather hear of your being no 

 more, than your becoming a drunkard. I shall 

 conclude my letter with a little story I have some- 

 where re.;d, and which I think much to the purpose. 

 A certain young fellow had been drawn into a 

 contract with the devil, that in consideration of 

 some important services from his diabolical majes 

 ty, the young fellow was to comply with one of 

 three requests the devil should think proper to 

 make him. It is to be observed, the devil had be- 

 fore tempted him in vain to commit sc\eral crimes ; 

 but the young fellow had hitherto withstood his 

 temptations, and was still determined to refuse 

 him in every thing but the one request he was 

 obliged by his contract to comply with. When it 

 came to Beelzebub's turn to command, he left it to 

 the youth's choice either to murder liis father, de- 

 bauch his own sister, or get drunk. The young 



man chose the last, as by far ths least shocking; 

 but when he had got drunk, the devil took that op- 

 portunity ()' tempting him (which till he was drunk 

 he never could cfffc:ual!y do) to commit both the 

 other crimes. Thus he was drawn in to commit 

 all the devil wanted ; whereas if either of the other 

 had been his choice, he would probably have es- 

 caped so complicated a guilt," 



GREEK'S PATEIXT STRAW CUTTER. 



JOSEPH BRECK & UO. at the New England Agricul- 

 tural Warebouse and Seed Store Nos. 51 andS2l\'orlh Mar- 

 ket Street, have for sale, Green's Patent Straw, Hay and 

 Stalk Cutter, operating on a mechanical principle not before 

 applied to aay implement for this purpose. The most prom- 

 inent eifecls of this application, and some of the consequent 

 peculiarities of the machine are: 



1. So great a reduction of the quantum of power requisite 

 to use it, that the strength of a half ^rown boy is sutficient 

 to work it efficiently. 



2. With even this moderate power, it easily cuts two bush- 

 els a minute, which is full twice as fast as has beon claimed 

 by any olher machine even when worked by horse or steam 

 power. 



3. The knives, owing to the peculiar manner in which they 

 cut, require sharpening less often than those of any other 

 straw cutter. 



4. The machine is simple in its construction, made and put 

 together very strongly. It is therefore not so liable as the 

 complicated maubiiies in general use to get out of order. 



BONE MANURE. 



The subscriber informs his friends and the puhli-,, that 

 after ten years experience, he is fully convinced that grouiui 

 hones form the most powerful sliniulant that can be applia.l 

 to the earth as a manure- 

 Orders for Bone Manure or Oyster Shell Lime, left at thj 

 Bone Mill, near Tremont road, in Itoxbury, at the l\tw 

 England Agricultural Warehouse and Seed Store, No 6i 

 North ,'\!arket Street, or through the Post Office will irfet 

 with prompt attention. 

 March 4' 1840. NAHUM WAR1> 



BONli: NIL.! S. 



The subscriber oflers for sale Bone Mills on a new and 

 improved plan, whicli will grind 20ti bushels per day, and 

 make it of the proper fineness They can he put up with 

 small expense, and require but little room. They can be 

 easily kept in repair and are not liable to break with the 

 roughest usage. 



'1 hey may he used for grinding Barilla, and will do the 

 work in the best manner. Oyster shells, plaster, soap stone, 

 bricks, bark, &c. may be ground by them. 



Price S2c0. They require about as much power as a 

 small run of mill stones, to be used to advantage, and can, 

 if necessary, be driven by horse power. 



Those w'ho wish to purchase can direct to William Aplin, 

 No. 14 1-2 Westminster street, Providence, R. I., or to the 

 subscriber. 



Ground bones constantly on hand tor sali-. 



WILLIAM CHASE. 



Providence, R. L, Feb. 9, 1841. 



NEAV FLOWER SEEDS. 

 The subscribers have received from Lou .ion a choice col- 

 lection of Flower Seeds, which, with those raised by them- 

 selves, constitute all worthy of cuitivaiion. Price from 6 1-4 ■ 

 to 23 cents per paper. Assortment of those marked 6 1-4 

 cents 20 papers for one dollar, and others in the same pro- 



portion. 



.lOS. BRECK & CO. 



NEW F. NGLANU FARMER. 



A WEKKl.Y PAPER. 



Tlie Editorial department o( this paper having come 

 inio the hands of the sobs, rib, r, he is now authorized! 

 hv ihe Dublishers to inlorin lln- public that the price of 

 ihe paper is reduced, 

 per year in 

 days. 



In future ihe terms will be $3 

 'in advance, or $2 50 if not paid within thirty 



ALLEN PUTNAM. 

 N. B.—Postinasters arc required by law to frank all 

 subscriptions and remittances for newspapers, without 

 expense to subscribers. 



