98 



®l)c iFarmcr's illontf}iij bisitor. 



How DO TOU SPEND YOUR EVENINGS ! — How, 



when the labors of the day are over, do you 

 spend your evenings? This is a question of 

 grave importance to the young'. If you are so 

 unhappy as to have no regular employment — no 

 fixed pursuit to engross your attention, and ope- 

 rate as a stimulus to the mind when unemploy- 

 ed, you must of necessity experience many in- 

 tervals when time will hang heavily on your 

 hands, and suggest the necessity of some means 

 to relieve it of its weight. The very time which 

 is dissipated in idleness, would, if devoted to 

 study, enable many a young man to attain dis- 

 tinction in some honorable profession or useful 

 art. A sexton's son became an astronomer, by 

 devoting a few hours every evening to the study 

 of the stars, after ringing the bell for nine 

 o'clock. Gilford, whose name is hailed with hon- 

 or wherever literature has found a place among 

 mankind, was in early life, an apprentice to a 

 shoe-maker, and spent all his leisure hours in stu- 

 dy. His destitution was at that time so great, that 

 lie was unable to procure the convenience of 

 paper, and he was compelled to work out his 

 problems on leather, by means of a blunted awl. 

 David Rittenhouse was a plough boy, and cover- 

 ed his plough-beam and the fences with bis 

 juvenile calculations. James Ferguson was a 

 shepherd's boy, and acquired a knowledge of the 

 arts of reading anil writing, while engaged in 

 the lonely occupation of watching his flocks in 

 the fields by night and with no other light than 

 that supplied by the moon and stars. Most 

 young men reason admirably on this subject ; 

 but unfortunately, the great error is, they do not 

 act in conformity with their teaching. Of such 

 it may be said in the language of the poet, — 



" They know the right and they approve it, too, 

 Condemn the wrong, and yet the wrong pursue." 



Dr. Channing has observed that " the vast ac- 

 tivity of this age is too much confined to the 

 sensual and material, to gain pleasure and show. 

 Could this activity be swayed and purified by a 

 noble aim, not a single comfort of life would be 

 retrenched, whilst its beauty ami grace and use- 

 fulness would be unspeakably increased." 



Looking Glass for Birds. — A correspondent 

 of the Gardener's Chronicle says: — "The fol- 

 lowing plan is perfectly efficacious for scaring 

 biids from fruit and other produce. One of my 

 servants having by chance broken a looking 

 glass, it occurred to me that the luoken pieces 

 suspended by a string so as to turn freely in eve- 

 ry direction, would give the appearance of some- 

 tiling moving about, which would alarm the 

 birds. I accordingly tried the plan, and find 

 that no bird, not even the most fool-hardy of 

 them, dares come near. They had attacked my 

 pens; on suspending a few bits of the looking 

 glass amongst them, the marauders left the 

 place. The tomtits attacked my Seckel pears, to 

 which they seem very partial. A bit of looking 

 glass suspended in front of the tree put a stop 

 to 1 lie mischief. My grapes were then much 

 damaged before they were ripe, by thrushes and 

 starlings; a piece of the glass drove these away, 

 and not a grape was touched afterwards. 1 have 

 before tried many plans, but never found any so 

 effectual as the above." 



Longevity of Animals. — The average age of 

 cats is 15 years ; a squirrel and bare, 7 or 8 

 years ; rabbits, 7 ; a bear rarely exceeds 20 years ; 

 a log lives 20 yeai s ; a wolf, 20 ; a fox, 14 to 10 ; 

 lions are long lived, the one known by the name 

 of Pompey, lived lo the age of 70: elephants 

 have been known, it is asserted, to live to the 

 Mi at age of 400 years. When Alexander the 

 I had conquered Poms, King of India, he 

 took a great elephant which bad fought very 

 valiantly for the King, ami named him Ajax, 

 dedicated him to the sun, and let him go with 

 this inscription: — "Alexander, the son of Jupi- 

 ter, hath dedicated Aj-ix lu the sun." The ele- 

 phant was found with this inscription three hun- 

 dred and filly years after. Pigs have been 

 known to live to tin- age of 30 ; the rhinoceros 

 to 20; a horse has been known to live lo the age 

 of 62, but averages 25 to 30 ; camels sometimes 

 live to the age of 100 : stags are very long lived ; 

 sheep seldom exceed ihc age of ten ; cows live 

 about 15 years. Cuvier considers it probable 

 that whales sometimes live 1000 years; the dol- 



phin and porpoise attain the age of 30 ; an eagle 

 died at Vienna at the age of 104 years ; ravens 

 frequently reach the age of 100; swans have 

 been known to live 300 years. A swan attained 

 the age of 200. Pelicans are long lived ; a tor- 

 toise has been known to live to the age of 107. 



From the Washington Union. 

 A Song for the Million. 



Written at the request of, and dedicated to the true friend 

 ot all mankind, the Hon Zadock Pratt, of New 

 York, hy his friend, 



B. B. FRENCH. 



Air — The Hunters of Ke?itiu:ky. 



The noblemen of Nature are 



The hardy working classes, 



The tillers of the yielding soil. 



The blouses and the masses 



The stalwart farmer drives his team, 



And while he turns the sod, sir, 



He sings his song of happiness, 



And puis his trust in God, sir! 



Oh, the Farmer, the independent Fanner — 

 Oh, the Farmer, the independent Fanner! 



He to the soil commits the seed, 

 The fruits spring forth and thrive, sir; 

 He gathers in the harvest, and 

 He keeps the world alive, sir. 

 Then hless the Farmer in your prayers, 

 And neither thwart nor flout him ; 

 Be grateful to him always, for 

 You cannot live without him ! 

 Oh, the Farmer, &.c. 



The Blacksmith — now beneath his sledge 



The sounding anvils ring, sir; 



Amid the flying sparks he stands 



More sovereign than a king, sir : 



The heated mass assumes a shape 



Beneath his swinging biovv, sir — 



The coulter, and the scythe, and spade, 



Within his furnace glow, sir. 



Oh, the hammer, the anvil and the hammer — 

 Oil. the hammer, the anvil and the hammer! 



Blacksmiths are men — "aye, every inch" — 

 Their sinewy arms behold, sir; 

 They, solid as their anvils, are 

 Of Nature's purest mould, sir. 

 The Blacksmith lakes ihe precedence — 

 Of trades it is the trade, sir — 

 Tne halt is worthless till it holds 

 The keen and glittering blade, sir! 

 Oh, the hammer, ecc. 



Next in the scale of workingmen 



The hardy Tanner see, sir, 



Delving amid his hides and bark, 



As busy as a bee, sir : 



His art converts the unseemly hide 



Into the polished leather, 



Which sparkles in the mazy dance 



Or brushes through the heather. 



Oh, the Tanner, the busy bustling Tanner — 

 Oil. the Tanner, the busy bustling Tanner! 



Should enemies invade our soil, 

 Their force we would repel, sir, 

 By calling ail our Tinners out, 

 T»> tan the rascals well, sir; 

 They'd stripe them off, and star ihem o'er, 

 And curry them, no doubt, sir ; 

 So that ''ibeir anxious maims would guess 

 Their children had been out," sir ! 

 Oh, the Tanner, &c. 



spin a sons, 



A niche for good Saint C 



Of quiet life and manner 



The world were; bootless but for them — 



They second well the Tanner j 



Well are they styled "Ihc gentle craft, M 



O er Beauty's foot they how, sir; 



And oft, I ween, they steal a kiss 



From Beauty's placid brow, sir! 



Oh, Saint Crispin — the gentle sons of Crispin ! 



Oh, Saint Crispin — the gentle sons of Crispin! 



But, should we name each working-class 

 In this our working song, sir, 

 Ferchance it never would be sung, 

 Fur it. would be too long, sir j 

 Then here's lo all who use tin 1 plane — 

 The axe, the saw, the crow, sir — 

 The soldering iron, the turning lathe, 

 The shovel, spade, or hoe, sir. 



Oh, the masses — the independent masses! 



Oh, the masses — the independent masses i 



The days of monarchy are o'er — 

 All men are uinnarchs now, sir; 

 The people rule, and mon arclis may 

 Before their sovereigns bow, sir! 

 The jewelled crown, the jvurplc robe, 

 M tu far away shall fling, sir ; 

 And sccplrcs shall be working-tools — 

 The printing press the King sir! 



Oil, tiie people — the independent people! 



"i. the people — '.he independent people! 

 May, 1843. 



Profitable Garden-. — We see it stated, in 

 some of our exchanges, that the editor of the 

 Maine Farmer, [Quere, Go=pel Banner?] by 

 judicious and skilful management, raises from 

 a single acre of land sufficient produce 

 to support his family, cows, several pigs, 

 and a stock of poultry. Of course this can 

 he done only by a systematic course of treat- 

 ment. His success, however, is no greater than 

 that of one of our citizens, illr. Charles A. Pot- 

 ter, who has a small garden attached to his resi- 

 dence which measures only 32 by 28 feet. This 

 small strip of land was set out some ten or 

 twelve years ago with quince bushes, pear and 

 |ilum trees. The last year, Mr. P. gathered from 

 his trees more than a bushel of plums, a good 

 crop of pears, and soltl forty-five dollars worth of 

 quinces, and fifty dollars worth of young quince 

 trees raised by turning under the limbs of the 

 old bushes. Mr. Potter's treatment of the land 

 is very simple and cheap. The only manure he 

 uses is salt mud, rotten leaves and urine. His 

 success is wonderful, and if others desire the 

 same they must take the same course to ensure 

 it. — Danvers Courier. 



Thorough Cultivation is the only sure 

 means of success in farming operations. To a 

 want of this, more than to any other cause, is to 

 he attributed the failure of farmers to realize the 

 hopes with which they commence their opera- 

 tions. A good deal of laud poorly cultivated 

 will keep any man poor, while a much more 

 limited quantity, made highly productive, if pro- 

 perly managed, is sure to be profitable. There 

 are cases lo be found, when single acres are 

 made to give a greater income than wholo farms 

 in their vicinity. But, it is objected by some, 

 that they must do as they do, because they have 

 not the means for high culture. Let such try an 

 experiment, beginning with a .-mall piece of 

 ground, such as they have the means of bringing 

 up, and put it into a state of high productiveness. 

 Let them aim, each successive year to add some- 

 thing to the extent of ground which they have 

 in this productive slate. Patience and persever- 

 ance will effect wonders. In a few years they 

 will realize the benefits of Ibis system, and each 

 successive year the profits of it will enable them 

 to extend it more and more. Try it and see. — JV. 

 E. Farmer. 



Igl 



Soap as a Manure. — T. Dalton, a silk dyer, 

 says, in the London Agricultural Gazette, that he 

 u.-^es 15 cwt. of soap weekly to discharge ihe 

 oily matter from the milk, and forming of itself 

 a kind of soap, the whole of which yields from 

 four to six thousand gallons of strong soap-suds 

 per week. This he has lately applied to bis 

 farm, and "its effects are most extraordinary." It 

 has been used only one season, and its results 

 cannot be accurately given ; but he considers it 

 more powerful than any other manure.— Southern 

 Planter. 



Many barrels of strong soap-suds are annually 

 thrown into the gutter and run to waste from 

 every farmer's laundry. Could not these be 

 -(loured on the manure-heap, or otherwise saved 

 to increase his "hank," and thus help to obviate 

 the necessity of purchasing foreign manures? — 

 Farmcrs , Cabinet. 



Names in Boston 200 tears ago. — J\]r. Editor: 

 Last Saturday I was at ihe City Clerk's office, 

 looking over the records of births in the town of 

 Boston, which occurred about the year 1040; 

 and was so struck with the singularity of some 

 of the names that 1 met with, lhat 1 was induced 

 to copy a few as specimens fur the amusement of 

 your numerous and intelligent readers: Grace 

 Beamsly; Mercy Beamsly ; Deliverance Beck; 

 Strange Beck; Free Grace liendall; Ilope-for 

 Bendall ; Reform Bendall ; Seaborne Cntton ; 

 Fathergone Oinely; Return Gridly; Believe 

 Gridly; Tremble Gridly; Hope Hawkins; Con- 

 stance Milan; Patience Bice; Hope-sliil Vicall ; 

 VYaitstill Winthrop; Posthumus Dulchfield ; 

 Honour Mahone ; Faith Munt; Joylifte Huilock ; 

 Temperance Sweet; NewG'rare Wilson; Satis- 

 faction Belcher; Redemption Scoit; Exercise 

 Shattur.k ; Christian Stoddard ; Remembrance 

 Auictv; Desire the Trtn h Akcrs; Purchase Gib- 

 son ; Zwzishaddi Browne ; Pedajah Pormot, Ta- 

 bilha Bell. — Boston Transcript. 



