P a A C T I C A L FARMER. 



155 



profitai)!e business which is pursued under exist- 

 ing circumstance?, yet many farmers are complain- 

 ing about hard times. They claiui that tlte j)res- 

 ent high prices afford them no facilities for the 

 acquisition of wealth, and assign as a princi[)ai 

 reason the higli price of labor — but lli'-'y forget 

 that their labor is an important part of their capi- 

 tal, atid that as it advances in value iheir capital 

 is increased in amount. This remark, it is true, 

 IS more peculiarly apj)!icabie to practical farmers 

 — men who labor with their own hands, and such 

 are ordinarily the only men who accumulate wealth 

 by agriculture. 



As highly as we estimate the profession of an 

 agriculturist, and as profitable as we believe the 

 business to be at the present time, we would ad- 

 vise no man to engage in it whose hands ari; too 

 delicate to handle the hoe without gloves. To 

 insure the farmer success he must labor, more or 

 less, with his own hands, and be capable of judg- 

 ing whether his work is well or ill done. He 

 must also know whether his hired help perform 

 that amount of labor which they are in duty bound 

 to render him, and whether the results of it will 

 leave him a profit after their wages are deducted. 

 Gentlemen who have acquired fortunes by com- 

 raerciul and professional business, and who may 

 be disposed to retire to rural life, will find much 

 amusement in agriculture: but they must not be 

 disapjiointed if they find but little |)rofit. The 

 profits of a farm are in [)ro|)ortion to the amount 

 of labor bestowed upon it : and the farmer who 

 performs it principally with his own hands and 

 those of his family, generally grows richer and 

 richer, while one whpse hands are too tender to 

 endure the rays of the sun, and whose children 

 are too good to work, almost invariably grows 

 poorer and poorer. — Silk Cult. 



DoMKSTic Medicine. — The castors on a din- 

 ner table, are said, by a late London work, to be 

 a kind of medicine chest containing drugs of 

 great virtues. 1. Salt. — This is a decided cath- 

 artic in the dose of half an ounce. It is also a 

 vermifuge in large doses. Criminals in Holland 

 were formerly sentenced to live without salt, and 

 became terribly afl^iicted with worms. 2. Vinegar. 

 — This is refrigerent and diaphoretic, and applied 

 externally, is moderately stimulant. If an over- 

 dose of soda has been taken, or if any other al- 

 kali, it is a certain antidote. 3. Mustard. — Mus- 

 tard emetic is said to be infallible in the cholera ; 

 a mustard poultice is almost equal to a blister 

 plaster. 4. Olive Oil. — This says the dispensa- 

 ries, is "demulcent, relaxant and laxative." It is 

 an antidote against acrid poisons, and seems to be 

 obnoxious to worms, killing them it is supposed, 

 by stopping some of their breathing holes. Be- 



sides, it relieves the pain occasioned by the appli- 

 cation of pungent acrid substances to the skin. 

 5. Pep|)er. — This relieves diarrhcea and the re- 

 laxed sore throat. Peperin, the alkaloid extract 

 from the pepper, has cured the ague in the hands 

 of Dr Meli and others. 



Experiments tried in a well or drill hole, 800 

 feet deep, at Montpelier, Vt., have shown that the 

 increase of heat in descending, is at the rate of 

 one degree for every 80 feet. Such an increase 

 would indicate that in descending towards the 

 earth's centre, at no very great distance from its 

 surface, the heat must be such as to hold in a 

 state of fusion, any body with which we are ac- 

 quainted, and would seem to prove that the globe 

 is in fact in the depths of its interior, a large mass 

 of materials, heated to melting. How far the 

 above experiment nay go to account for the exis- 

 tence of the hot springs which are found in va- 

 rious countries, we leave it to the scientific to de- 

 cide ; one thing is certain, that whatever may be 

 the state of things at the centre of our ball, peo- 

 ple on its outside, are too often a[)t to get into hot 

 water. 



ExTRAORDiiVARY OPERATION. — Last Week a 

 young lady, the only daughter of one of our most 

 opuient citizens, in endeavoring to pick a knot out 

 of a thri^ad with a fine needle, it broke and the 

 pointed part flew with violence into her eye, 

 where it penetrated to some depth, causing incon- 

 ceivable agony. The most eminent physicians 

 were immediately sent for, who essnyed in vain to 

 extract tlie needle, and finally gave it up. Dr. 

 Scudder was then sent for, who first made an in- 

 cision with a delicate instrument, and then, by 

 means of a powerful magnet, drew the needle so 

 far out that he grasped it v/ith a pair of magnet- 

 ised forceps, and in an instant it was out. The 

 young lady, we are happy to learn, is now as heal- 

 thy and happy as if nothing had occurred. — Sim- 

 day JVetvs. 



Vermont Mangenf.se. — A gentleman of Chit- 

 'tenden, Vermont, writes to the Editor of a Wind- 

 sor paper, that Mangenese is found very plentifully 

 in Chittenden, and that this is the only bed in 

 Ameiica from whicii it is obtained at present. — 

 The owner of the bed has supplied the New York 

 Market for two or three years past, and is furnish- 

 ing several hundred tons for exportation to Eng- 

 land this winter. Geologists, who have seen only 

 such specimens of Mangenese as are generally 

 found in cabinets of minerals, are invited to take 

 a ride up to the mountains and supply them- 

 selves. 



