372 Romance of Insect Life. — Russian Mode of making Butter. Vol. IX. 



source not merely of pleasant luxury, but in 

 many parts of our country of very conside- 

 rable profit." In this neighbourhood, Cin- 

 cinnati, and on the Kentucky side of the 

 river, both natives and Germans are plant- 

 ing- the vine in very considerable numbers, 

 and we doubt not that we shall see good 

 wine, equalling in flavor, and generally ex- 

 celling in richness the medium choice wines 

 of Germany. — Western Farmer and Gar- 

 dener. 



The Romauce of Insect Life. 



We take the following beautiful extract 

 from an Historical Lecture by Judge Charl- 

 ton, of Georgia : 



"The earth teems with mysteries — the 

 sky shines with them — they float in the air 

 — they swim in the deep — they flash from 

 the dark robed clouds — they whisper in the 

 gentle tones of the summer wind — they 

 speak in trumpet tongues, in the voice of the 

 tempest and the thunder. Cease thy long- 

 ings for the ancient days, oh, dreamer ! 

 Close thy book and look about thee upon the 

 volume of Nature. See there, before thee, 

 is a tiny insect that thou canst scarce distin- 

 guish from the grains of sand that surround 

 it — watch it — it moves on with an energy 

 and an instinct that enable it to overcome 

 or avoid all obstacles. See — it has seized 

 some object larger than itself, and still it 

 goes bravely on — nothing daunts it — nothing 

 stops it — tread it under foot, — if thou canst 

 have the heart to attempt such a murder — 

 and it will rise up again beneath the ocean 

 of sand and turn once more to its labour. 

 Dost thou know it] It is the ant, that lion- 

 hearted ant, toiling amid tlie heat of sum- 

 mer; and though the season's brightness and 

 its warmth are bringing up and producing 

 ten thousand enjoyments for the little tra- 

 veller, he is busy gathering together his 

 provender for the long winter time, when 

 frost and snow and cold shall have locked 

 up the granaries of nature. 



"Thou wilt tell me that I am mocking 

 thee; that thou canst see this daily and 

 hourly ; and is this a mystery therefore "? If 

 thou hadst read in those ancient legends be- 

 fore thee, of an insect so courageous, that it 

 ^ould attack an animal of ten thousand times 

 its magnitude ; of industry so indefatigable, 

 that it would climb house-tops and moun- 

 tains to pursue its course ; of perseverance 

 so unflagging, that though repulsed a thou- 

 sand times, it would still return and over- 

 come the obstacle that impeded it — thy 

 eyes would have sparkled with interest and 

 amazement; it is because it is constantly 

 before thee — because it belongs to the pre- 



sent time — that thou lookest so disdainfully 

 upon it. When did the Knight Errants of 

 thy heart do half so much] VVhen did their 

 bosoms beat as high with valor and determi- 

 nation as this poor insect ] ' But it has no 

 loves — no burning jealousies — no blood-stain- 

 ed victories!' How knowest thou that? I 

 warrant thee, even that tiny breast has 

 grown gentler for some fond one that lived 

 within its little world ; that its blood has 

 flowed quicker when some Adonis ant has 

 flirted around the little coquette; that its 

 path has been stained by the trophies of its 

 mimic battles. 



" But thou wilt say why dost thou lure 

 me from my glowing page, to point me to 

 this moving atom ] Why not show me the 

 majestic mysteries of nature"? Why waste 

 my time with a topic so insignificant? I 

 answer because it is insignificant. I point 

 iliee there to one of the smallest of earth's 

 creatures, to ask thee if the atoms contain 

 such wonders, how much more the noble 

 and lofty works of Nature ? Follow me, if 

 thou wilt. Let us dive into the caverns of 

 tlie earth, and mark the sculptured halls — 

 the rocky avenues stretching miles and miles 

 below the busy haunts of men. Let us plunge 

 into the deep, and see the huge leviathan 

 sporting amid the waters; or, the rainbow- 

 hued dolphin, as she flings back bright rays 

 of the glorious sun. Let us climb into the 

 air, and behold the eagle with his untiring 

 wing, and his unflinching eye, the noble 

 image of indomitable perseverance and of 

 brilliant genius, soaring proudly and gazing 

 fixedly toward Heaven's brightest luminary ! 

 Oh, dreamer! if the moments of thy life 

 were multiplied by the sands of the desert, 

 they would be all too short to unravel these 

 mysteries that are around thee and above 

 thee." 



Russian Mode of Making Butter. 



I HAVE for several years had the entire 

 care of the milk department in my father's 

 family, I therefore read, with great inte- 

 rest, whatever related to making butter and 

 cheese, and I found much that was diflferent 

 from what I had been in the habit of prac- 

 ticing. One case of this kind was, direc- 

 tions for making butter in winter, according 

 to what is called the Russian method, by 

 which it was said butter could be made in 

 winter as sweet, and with as little churning, 

 as in summer. So I set about trying the 

 experiment, and the result exceeded my ex- 

 pectations. My new practice is as follows : 



Before I go out to milk, I put a kettle, 

 say one-third full of water, and large enough 

 to let the milk pail into it, on to the stove, 



