&l)c .farmer's ittcmtljlw bieitor. 



not been over six cents per pound, and is now 

 two and one-hull' cents. The consumption of 

 ice in Boston mid vicinity for 1847 was 27,000 

 tons, costing the consumer $72,900, and yielding 

 a profit to seven houses which supply the mar- 

 ket of §18,135. The capacity of the storehouses 

 for ice was in 1847 equal to 141,332 tons, ex- 

 clusive of those at Charhstown and East Boston, 

 where temporary deposits are made. The sea- 

 son for gathering ice is very short, not over 

 twenty days in a good season, when the ponds 

 have the active appearance of a harvest field. 

 In 1847, ahotit $1)50 was paid daily for the ser- 

 vices of men, and §230 for that of horses em- 

 ployed to secure the crop. In the infancy of the 

 trade, common agricultural implements were 

 used to gather the ice, hut the progress of the 

 trade has brought into use machines as closely 

 adapted to ice as the spinning machines for cot- 

 tiTti. Horse power and machinery are now used 

 to scrape the accumulations of snow from the 

 tops of the ponds, to allow the ice to freeze thick 

 and solid. Machinery is also used to cut it into 

 blocks, to draw it to the ice house, and to slow 

 it nlien there. The trade is no small one, as is 

 shown by the statistics, and illustrates, in the 

 most striking manner how profitable a trade can 

 be created by the ingenuity of commerce from 

 materials that in themselves are without the 

 least value, hut rather an obstruction to ordinary 

 business. 



Among the shipments from New York in Sep- 

 tember last, as an experiment, were a basket of 

 peacb.es packed in ice. They were as fresh and 

 as highly flavored when they reached London as 

 when they left New York, and this little experi- 

 ment, we predict will prove the beginning of a 

 trade by which American fruit will be sold as 

 readily in Paris and London as at home. Honor 

 to the "universal Yankee nation," who com- 

 menced and pushed this enterprise to its present 

 profit and success. — .Veic York Express. 



America i.n England. — The following extract, 

 from a London letter in the National Intelligen- 

 cer, has matter in it qualified to set one a-think- 



ing :— 



London, Dec. 15, 1848. 



It is curious to observe, on a ramble through 

 a lew of the principal streets of London, how 

 many more articles are advertised of "American" 

 origin than were to be met with even two years 

 ago. American Newtown pippins and other va- 

 rieties of American apples are exhibited in the 

 fruit-shops; every shoe shop has a display of 

 ■^American over-shoes;" " Philadelphia, Albany 

 and other American ales " are advertised at the 

 taverns and eating houses; "American biscuits" 

 are found in every cake shop ; "American cheese" 

 in the appropriate places, and "American rock- 

 ing chairs," "American wooden clocks," and 

 "American baby jumpers" have their various pla- 

 ces of sale. Once I saw " mint juleps and other 

 American drinks" advertised in a window; 

 there are regular agencies for the sale of" Wen- 

 ham ice;" there are two, if not more, regular 

 importers of American books, and the Ameiican 

 star-spangled banner floats from many a tall 

 mast in the crowded docks and river. This is 

 truly the best imaginable mode of fraternizing. 

 It is a profitable and pleasant exhibition to the 

 Old World of the rich plenty, the industry, and 

 the ingenuity of the New. These are the fair, 

 Ueligbtful flints of peace and commercial inter- 

 course ; the means by which civilization is 

 thread over the earth ; the heart of man made 

 better, and the head made wiser, and the human 

 race taught the blessings of individual freedom 

 and national independence. 



The annual sweepings of the streets of Paris 

 sell for §700,000, after they are collected in the 

 depot for manure. 



Natural Curiosity. — At the Liverpool Mer- 

 cury office may be seen an American clam, a 

 species of shell-fish similar to the English mus- 

 cle. Its history is singular — "Mr. Scott, a gen- 

 tleman residing at Huytongate, about four years 

 ago had some rough stones carted from the quay 

 at Liverpool to his garden, to form n rockery 

 round his fish-pond. Upon these stones several 

 clams have grown. The stones were brought 

 from Lake Ontario, and had been used for some 

 time as liallast in an American vessel ; they 

 were lying on the quay four months previous to 

 removal to Huyton, and remained there in a 

 heap for some time previous to being used. How 

 they obtained the moisture necessary to the 

 growth and nourishment of shell-fish, is a mys- 

 tery. There are eight or ten of the kind, and 

 they are in a healthy condition." — Liverpool Mer. 



The Golden Ringlet. 



Here is a little golden tress, 



Of 90ft unbraided hair, 

 The all that's left of loveliness 



That once was thought so fair; 

 And yet, though time hath dimm'd its sheen, 



Though all beside hath fled, 

 I hold it here, a link between 

 My spirit and the dead. 



Yes, from tills shining r'nglel still 



A mournful inerftory springs, 

 That melts my heart and sends a thrill 



Through all its trembling strings, 

 I think of her, the loved, the wept, 



Upon whose forehead fair, 

 For eighteen years, like sunshine, slept 



This golden curt of hair. 



Oh, sunny Iress the joyous brow 



Where thou didst lightly wave 

 With all thy sister tresses, now 



Lies cold within the grave, — 

 That cheek is of its bloom bereft; 



That eye no more is gay ; 

 Of all hei beauties thou art left 



A solitary ray. 



Four years have passed, this very moon 



Since last we ftndly mel ; 

 Four years, and yet it seems too soon 



To let the heait forget- 

 Too soon to let lhal lovely face 



From our sad thoughts depart, 

 And to another give the place 



She held within the heart. 



Her memory still rviihin my mind 



Retains its sweetest power; 

 It is the perfume left behind, 



To whisper of the flower ; 

 Each blossom, that in moments gone 



Bound up this sunny curl, 

 Recalls the form, the look, the tone 



Of that enchanting girl. 



Her step was like an atrial rain 



O'er beds of violets flung ; 

 Her voice the prelude to a strain, 



Before the song is sung ; 



Her life, 'twas like a half-blown flower, 



Cosed ere the shades of even, 

 Her death the dawn, the blushing hour 



That opes the gates of Heaven. 



A single tress ! how slight a thing 



To sway such magic art, 

 And bid each soft remembrance spring 



Like blossoms in the heart. 

 It leads me back to days of old — 



To her 1 loved so long. 

 Whose locks outshone pellucid gold, 



Whose lips o'eiflowed with song. 



Since then, I've heard a thousand lays 



From lips as sweet as hers ; 

 Yet when I strove to give them praise, 



1 only gave the. n teats; 

 I could not bear, amid the throng 



Where jest and laughter rung, 

 To hear another sing the song 



That trembled on her tongue. 



A single shining tress of hair 



Tn bid such memories start! 

 But, tears are on its lustre— there 



I lay it on my heart. 

 Oil ! when in Death's cold arms 1 sink, 



Who then, with gentle enre, 

 Will keep for me a dark blown link— 



A ringlet of my hair ? 

 — Louisville, Ky. Journal. Amelia. 



— -^5»- 



Time.— Every day is a year to a silk worm, 

 and has in it the four seasons. The morning is 

 Spring, the middle of the day Summer, the eve- 

 ning Autumn, the night Winter. To man, life is 

 a year, and a year is a day— past scenes are 

 generally recollected with a solemn sadness, caus- 

 ed by the thought that the time is gone which 

 will never return. Our days must be well and 

 profitably spent, if we would remember them 

 with pleasure. 



From the California Star. 

 The City of San Francisco. 



Yerba Buena, (San Francisco) the name of our 

 town, which means "good herb," is situated on 

 the sout-west side of the principal arm of San 

 Francisco bay, about five miles from the ocean, 

 on a narrow neck of land, varying from four to 

 ten miles in width — the narrowest place being 

 sixteen miles south-west of the town. It is in 

 latitude 37 45 N. This narrow strip of land is 

 about sixty miles in length, extending from the 

 point formed by the bay and the ocean, to the 

 valley of San Jose. The site of the town is 

 handsome and commanding — being an inclined 

 plane of about a mile in extent from the water's 

 edge, to the hills in the rear. Two points of 

 land — one on each side, extending into the bay 

 form a crescent, or small bay, in the shape of a 

 crescent, in front, which bears the name of the 

 town. These points afford a fine view of the 

 surrounding country — the snow-capped moun- 

 tains in the distance — the green valleys beneath 

 them — the beautiful smooth and unruffled bay 

 in front and on either side, at once burst upon 

 the eye. There is in front of the town a small 

 island, rising high above the surface of the bay, 

 about two miles long, and one wide, which is 

 covered the greater part of the year with the 

 most exuberant herbage of untrodden freshness. 

 This little island is about three miles from the 

 shore. Between it and the town is the principal 

 anchorage. .Here vessels of all nations rest in 

 safety and peace, and their flags are displayed 

 by the aromatic breeze. Two hundred yards 

 from the 6hore, there is twenty-four feet water, 

 and a short distance beyond that as many fath- 

 oms. The beach immediately in front of the 

 now business part of the town is shelving, but it 

 will no doubt in a short time be filled up and 

 become the most valuable part of the place. 



The climate here is, in the winter, which is 

 the rainy season, damp and chilly. During the 

 balance of the year it is dry, but chilly, in conse- 

 quence of the continual strong winds from the 

 north and north-west. There is but little varia- 

 tion in the atmosphere throughout the year : the 

 thermometer ranging from fifty-five to seventy 

 degrees Fahrenheit. Yerba Buenai so ne of the 

 most healthy places on the whole coast of the 

 Pacific. Sickness of any kind is rarely known 

 among us. The salubritry of the climate — beau- 

 ty of the site of the town — its contiguity to the 

 mouth of the bay — the finest harbor on the 

 whole coast in front — the rich and beautiful 

 country around it, all conspire to render it one 

 of the best commercial points in the world. The 

 town is new, having been laid off in 1839, by 

 Capt. John Vioget; and notwithstanding all ihe 

 troubles in the country, has gradually increased 

 in size and importance. It now contains a pop- 

 ulation of about five hundred permanent citi- 

 zens. Two years ago there were but about two 

 hundred. Three miles south is the Mission Dol- 

 ores on Mission creek, surrounded by a small 

 valley of rich and beautiful land. The water 

 from this creek can easily he brought by means 

 of aqueducts to any point to supply vessels. For 

 the supply of the citizens the best of well water 

 is obtained in every part of the town, by boring 

 the distance of forty feet. In going south from 

 Yerba Buena, the traveller passes over this nar- 

 row neck of land ; a most delightful region, in- 

 terspersed with hills, \alleys and mountains— 

 the valleys rich and beautiful— the hills covered 

 with tall pines, red-wood and cedar, that have 

 withstood the tempests and whirlwinds of a cen- 



