1858. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



543 



things. It is but once in an age that occasion is 

 offered for doing a good deed. True greatness 

 consists in being great in little things. How arc 

 railroads built? By one shovel of dirt after 

 another ; one shovel at a time. Thus, drops make 

 the ocean. Hence, we should be^willing to do a 

 little good at a time, and never wait to do a great 

 deal of good at once. If we would do much good 

 in the world, we must be willing to do good in 

 little things, little acts one after another ; speak- 

 ing a word hei-e, giving a tract there, and setting 

 a good example all the time. We must do the 

 first thing we can, and the next, and then the 

 next, and so keep on doing good. This is the 

 way to accomplish anything. Thus only shall we 

 do all the good in our power." 



HOW TO GET SICK. 



R. H. M. wi'ites, "I slept in a room one night 

 which had been washed out during the day, and 

 was not quite dry. I awoke in the morning with 

 a sore throat, which has continued ever since," 

 The result is he has had to abandon his theolog- 

 ical studies, and place himself under treatment, 

 after having lost two years' time. 



H. M. writes, "I went to sleep, in a warm day, 

 on the top of an ice-box, and have never been 

 well since." He shortly after died of consump- 

 tion. 



T. H. took a very severe cold, conversation 

 was laborious, but he had an appointment to 

 preach, and felt as if he must fulfil it. He made 

 the attempt, but utterance was attended with a 

 pricking pain in the throat, and then a dull hurt- 

 ing came on in the throat, with subsequent "hem- 

 ming" and fruitless "clearing." He was perma- 

 nently disabled. 



A modest man walked until quite fatigued, 

 and perspiring freely, entered an omnibus, and 

 sat next a lady who opened a window to get 

 some fresh air for herself. He soon became 

 chilled, and was ill for three weeks. 



H. P, got up at night and hoisted the window 

 to look at a burning house ; the cold air darted 

 in on the unprotected body, just from a warm 

 bed. A twelve-months' illness resulted in dropsy. 



A strong, hearty man came in on a hot sum- 

 mer's day, immediately took off his coat and hat, 

 and sat in the open window, looking out upon a 

 beautiful garden, over which the ocean Jjreezes 

 came to fan him. Before he was aware of it he 

 was chilled, was attacked with inflammation of 

 the lungs, and died within a week. 



A delicate young lady, an invalid, a patient of 

 ours, in an excursion with several others, was 

 "overtaken" by nightfall, and by a young gentle- 

 man. They were in a boat, and the boat was in 

 the mud, the tide having gone out on a visit to the 

 sea, and "there they were," a mile from shore, 

 and several miles from home, that mile was ex- 

 traordinarily long and short. Only think of it! 

 A whole mile over a Jersey flat ! covered with 

 water, mud and bulrushes, carrying in the arms, 

 a young eighteen, with one of the sweetest voices, 

 faces and forms, to be in or out of Jersey. Be- 

 spattered with mud, dripping with fog, and dew, 

 and slush, steaming with perspiration, and wea- 

 ned with hunger, thirst, and fatigue, delighted 

 and excited by the novelty of the thing, they 

 reached home at midnight. The next day she 



"didn't have anything the matter with her at 

 all !" Why ? She had taken lessons of us. In- 

 stead of pulling off her bonnet and shawl, afid sit- 

 ting in a cool place, or instead of undressing at 

 once, and thus letting the air check the perspira- 

 tioK, she went into a warm room, closed the doors 

 and windows, sat some moments, laid aside the 

 garments one by one, at intervals, and Avhen 

 cooled off, in the course of half an hour, re- 

 tired to sound sleep and a healthful awaking. 



Another man rode three miles with a little 

 child sleeping in his lap, which, pressing against 

 his stomach, caused unusual warmth there. It 

 was a chill, raw November evening. In Avalking 

 a hundred yards to the house, the child moving 

 slowly and wind blowing, the whole abdomen 

 was chilled in a moment. The next morning he 

 awoke with the ominous pains of peritoneal in- 

 flammation, which is often fatal in three or four 

 days. 



A man had some accounts to draw off in mid- 

 winter. It was a cold night. He was greatly in- 

 terested ; time went, and the fire too. He'felt a 

 little chilly, but thought he would soon be done, 

 and that it was not worth while to rebuild the 

 fire. It was near one o'clock before he left for 

 home, and he reached it most thoroughly chilled. 

 Next morning he had pneumonia, and never got 

 well. 



Remaining at rest for hours in a cold room, in 

 raw, cold, damp weather, is enough to kill three 

 men out of four by bringing on congestion of the 

 lungs, lung fever, or inflammation of the lungs. 

 Clergymen and lawyers often sacrifice their lives 

 by speaking in warm rooms ; the body debilita- 

 ted by the effort ; the skin in a state of perspira- 

 tion ; the lungs all heated up ; and thus hungry, 

 tired and depressed in body and mind, go out in- 

 to the cold air to ride or walk home — and to die 

 in the very bloom of health and manhood. And 

 yet, to know these little things, there are multi- 

 tudes who hesitate to give a dollar a year, when 

 on the knowledge of them, human life is daily 

 hung, and for want of it daily lost. — IlaU'sJgur- 

 tial of Health. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 POTATOES. 



Mr. Editor : — As much has been said of late 

 about the destruction of the potato, I thought I 

 would call attention for a moment to the means 

 coming into use for increasing them. At the 

 late fair at Syracuse "Potato Planters" were ex- 

 hibited, which are said to save three-fourths of 

 the labor of planting; — and I have seen in the 

 field "Potato Diggers," the same that was pictured 

 in your paper a few weeks since. I liked the 

 plan of this implement very much — but it was 

 either deficient in strength ; or the laborer who 

 guided it was deficient in skill, in the use of it. 

 He permitted it to settle so deep in the earth, 

 that it would not support the burden that accu- 

 mulated upon it ; and twice it had to be taken 

 away for repair. When it did work, it threw out 

 the potatoes as fast as half a dozen hands would 

 gather them up. The maker informs me, that 

 he is about to prepare castings, that will obviate 

 the difliculty complained of; but I fear they will 

 not come to hand, until after the potatoes should 

 be in the cellar. P. 



Oct. 15th, 1858. 



