360 



Weeds. 



Vol. II. 



work of creating a fund to lessen the burden 

 of rebuilding to the unfortunate owner. 



Now, where is the person who would not 

 prefer to this precarious, and, generally, very 

 inadequate relief, to apply to an insurance 

 office for complete indemnity for his loss, and 

 that, not as a matter of charity, but as a fair 

 matter of contract, where a premium had been 

 deposited to cover the contingency. I pre- 

 sume there are none but who would vastly 

 prefer the latter to the former. Why then 

 remain without insurance for a single week? 

 The answer probably would be, that it is at- 

 tended with too great an expense to justify it. 

 Now let us examine this matter of expense, 

 and see what it amounts to. Suppose your 

 barn cost ,^1000 to build it, and you wish it 

 insured for that sum; an insurance office for 

 a barn will require a deposit to be made of 

 three and a-half per cent, on tlie amount in- 

 sured ; that will be $35 to be deposited ; and 

 whenever you wish to discontinue the insu- 

 rance, this sum, with a deduction of five per 

 cent, from it, to compensate for trouble, may 

 be withdrawn. So that the actual cost of the 

 insurance, in the case stated, will be the in- 

 terest of $35 annually, or two dollars and ten 

 cents a year, with the addition, in the first 

 instance, of three or four dollars for making 

 the survey, and preparing the contract or 

 policy. Then the cost of insuring a barn for 

 $1000 for one year, and so on from year to 

 year, as the owner may desire, is two dollars 

 and ten cents, being the interest of the depo- 

 sit money only, for that may be withdrawn if 

 you wish to discontinue the insurance. Can 

 any person expect or desire it done for less 

 than this ] It seems too cheap, and it could 

 not be afforded lor so small a pittance unless 

 an office had a large number of such risks; 

 for the deposites made on a very large num- 

 ber of risks, put to interest, produce a large 

 sum in the form of interest, and this enables 

 the insurers to make good their losses, and 

 save something besides, when they are suc- 

 cessful ia business. 



For insuring a firm house, however, the 

 usual charge is a deposit of three per cent., 

 being a-half per cent, less than for a barn, the 

 risk beingconsidered less. Of course, to insure 

 $1000, a deposit of $30 must be made, the 

 interest of which is $1 80 'cents a year, for 

 insuring a dwelling house in the country. In 

 the city, the amount deposited for an insu- 

 rance is rather less than in the country, on 

 account of the great facilities for extinguish- 

 ing fires, so that a total loss seldom takes place 

 under ordinary circumstances. 



My design being to make this important 

 subject clear to those who do not understand 

 it, I have made my communication longer 

 than some may think necessary; but I hope 

 its prolixity may not discourage those from 



examining it, who are unprotected by insu- 

 rance, and to whom the loss of house or barn 

 would be attended with the most disastrous 

 consequences — when for four dollars per an- 

 num you may be completely protected from 

 loss by fire. 



Where is there a person to be found who 

 would not be willing to pay even a larger 

 sura than that above staled for protection from 

 loss from contingencies by fire? 1 should 

 suppose there were none. Farmers, look at 

 it — consider it — make your own calculations 

 — but be sure and don't be too long in making 

 up your minds to insure your buildings from 

 loss by FIRE. 



Philadelphia Co., July -Jth, 1838. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Tlie presence of an abundance of weeds is a sign of a 

 good soil, and a bad farmer. 



Weeds are noxious herbs, which are neither 

 food for man or beast, and are so well known 

 to farmers as not to require any particular de- 

 scription. It is always desirable to get rid of 

 these loafers, which are continually robbing 

 useful and nutritious plants of the food intend- 

 ed for their sustenance. Of course, the right 

 time to extirpate them is whenever you dis- 

 cover them intruding upon the rights and pri- 

 vileges of their betters. Some think one 

 season of the year is best for this purpose, 

 some another ; but my plan is to attack them 

 whenever and wherever 1 can find them, and 

 treat them as common outlaws, who don't de- 

 serve the protection of the community. 



Those who are so careless and lazy as to 

 suffer St. John's Wort, Daisy, and other per- 

 nicious weeds to encumber their fields, and 

 to perfect, ripen, and scatter their seeds, reap 

 a rich harvest of trouble and vexation, as a 

 just retribution for their indolence. I have 

 lately come into possession of a most valuable 

 little instrument for extirpating weeds, called 

 a spud; it is somewhat like a chisel, about an 

 inch and a-half across the edge, with a sock- 

 et, for the insertion of a handle; and it has a 

 reverse edge near the socket, so that it cuts 

 either by pushing or pulling. The whole 

 concern is not heavier than a common walk- 

 ing stick, for which it is a good substitute on 

 a farm, as it is then always ready for action 

 when any thing presents for removal, when 

 ihe ground is too dry to admit of pulling it up, 

 or, you may be indisposed to stoop for so 

 small a purpose. It is said that good English 

 farmers always carry one of these spuds in 

 their walks over their grounds, and I find that 

 a number of them have been sold at Lan- 

 dreth's, in Chesnut street, this season, at 

 twenty-five cents each, which is a pretty 

 clear indication that there are some farmers, 



