112 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



OCT. 4, 1S13. 



MISCELLANEOUS 



Beggars in Ireland. — I intended to Bay a word. 



in onotlicr place, about tlie Irish poor-house system. 

 Each cour.ty has its spacious and expensive poor- 

 house, for the erection and support of which, the 

 property of Ireland is heavily taxed. But I am 

 told tliat the system docs not work well. The 

 poor, unless driven to the direst extremity, will not 

 go to the pocr-houses. Women evince the strong- 

 est aversion to these places, mainly, it is said, be- 

 cause they arc ihere deprived of the chances of 

 occasionally tasting- tea and tobacco. There is 

 another objection, which some speak of with hor- 

 ror. They are not only scrubbed clean when they 

 go there, but are required to perform daily ablu- 

 tions in cold water ! This they do not like. "It 

 is bad enough," said one of them, "to be compell- 

 ed to ilrink their ugly cold water, bad luck to them, 

 without having the life frozen out of you with 

 washing in it every morning." 



The coach, at several of the first changes out of 

 Dublin, was beset by an unusual number of very 

 importunate beggar women, whose claims upon our 

 charity were urged sometimes in the most piteous 

 accents, and at others with an adroitness and hu- 

 mor quite amusing. At Drogheda.the beggars be- 

 sieged us in a way which, though embarrassing to 

 a young lady, was quite amusing to the other pas- 

 sengers. In handing this lady into the coach after 

 dinner, a woman approached us, saying, " Your 

 honor will sure give something to a poor, starving 

 widow for the sake of the sweet lady that owns 

 you." To get rid of this mode of attack, I gave 

 her a penny. This encouraged another, who ex- 

 claimed, " Your honor's a happy man, with such a 

 beautiful lady by your side. Do n't forget a poor 

 creature with eight starving childers." She got 

 her penny, and departed only to give place to a 

 third, who began, " Long life to your honor and 

 your honor'8 beautiful lady. May you find the 

 sweet little ones quite well when you get home." 

 This one gave place to another, who commenced, 

 "God liless your honor and long, long life to your 

 honor's jewel of a lady. It was a lucky day she 

 made choice of your honor, who is so good to the 

 poor widows." This, to use a cant phrase, was 

 "coming it too strong," and the lady exclaimed, 

 "Go away, you jade — I am not married at all." 

 But, nothing daunted, the hag continued — "Well, 

 if not married already, it 's soon you will be, for 

 you're too good and sweet a lady to let his honor 

 be breaking his heart for you." My small coin 

 was exhausted, and rather than stand such fire, the 

 lady gave the "jade" a penny herself, when n-e 

 were spared farther annoyance by the starting of 

 the coach, which dashed the hopes of half a score 

 of other " »vidows" who were gathering for the 

 onset. — WeeiCa Letters. 



An act of Edward VI. made it a capital felony 

 to steal horses : it was doubtful if this included 

 the stealing of a single horse, and an explanatory 

 act was accordingly passed to remove the doubt. 

 In one session, there was a law made subjecting 

 hackney coachmen to a penalty, if they had not a 

 check rein ; and the next session another law was 

 passHd, requiring the coachman to hold the rein in 

 his hand. 



Lord Rochester, the wit of Charles's days, is 

 said to have complied with the directions of an act 

 of parliament requiring a lamp to be placed over 

 every door; but he would not suffer it to be light- 

 ed, the act containing no words to that effect. 



Sheridan used to compare the numerous acts 

 amending the errors nf preceding acts, to the story 

 of "the house that Jack built." ■" First comes a 

 bill imposing a tax ; then comes a bill to amend a 

 bill imposing a tax ; then a bill to explain the bill 

 for amending the bill imposing the tax ; followed 

 by another bill for remedying tlie defects of the 

 bill to explain the bill for amending a bill for im- 

 posing the tax ; and so on ad ivftnitum." 



We could scarcely expect to find food for mirth 

 in the solemn records of Parliament ; but rarely 

 can we read them, at least such as relate to our 

 early ages, without meeting with some absurdity 

 rendering the maintenance of gravity a difficult 

 matter. While a bill for the improvement of the 

 London police, brought into the House of Commons 

 in George III.'s reign, was going through Commit- 

 tee, a clause was read which enacted that the 

 watchman should be compelled to sleep in the day- 

 time. An old baronet rose and proposed that the 

 clause should be extended to embrace members of 

 the House of Commons, for gout had many nights 

 past prevented his sleep, and he doubted not that 

 others as well as himself, would be glad to be Kov\- 

 pelled to sleep '." — English pap. 



HOWARD'S IIVIPROVED EASY DRAUGHT PLOUGH 



Great improvements have been maile the past year in tl 

 form and workmanship of these Ploughs; tlie nioulil Ik ai 

 has lieen so formed as to lay the furroie coinplclely one 

 turning in ercry particle of grass or slut'ble, and leaving tl 

 ground in the best possible manner. The lenpih of ll 

 mould hoard has he n tery much increased, >o that il 

 Plough works with the greatest ease, both wiih respect i 

 the holding and the team. The Committee at the late trt 

 of Ploughs at Woreester, say, 



" Should our opinion be asked as to whirh of the Ploui,'! 

 we should prefer for use on a farm, we miglit perhaps say 

 the inquirer, if your land is mostly light'and easy to wnr 

 try Prouty & Mears, butif vour land is heavy, hard orrock 



BEGIN WITH Me. HowABD'3.'' 



At the above mentioned trial the Howard Plough ;/; 

 more work, icitk the same power nf team, than ami otlh 

 plough exhibited. No other tunieil more thiin twenivse/i 

 and one half inches, to the 112 llis. draught, while ll 

 Howard Plough turned ticentt/nine and one half ini:hes, 

 the same power of team ! All acknowledge that Howord 

 Ploughs are much the strongest and most substantial 

 made. 



There has i'een quite an improvement made on the shd 

 or laud side of this Plough, which can be renewed wulio 

 having to furnish a new landside; this shoe likewise secui 

 the mould board and landside together, and strengthens tl 

 Plough very much. 



The price of the Ploughs is from S6 toSlS. A Plniii; 

 sufficient for breaking up with four catile, will cost abo 

 SiO 60, and with ciiller 4l, with wheel and cutter, S2 i 

 extra. 



The above Ploughs are for sale, wholesale and retail, 

 the New England Agricultural Warehouse and Seed Stun 

 Nos. 51 & 52 North Market Street, liv 



JOSKPH BRECK & CO. 



Parliamentary Wisdom. — Legislative blunders 

 are not less amusing than instructive. An Eng- 

 lish paper states that so carelessly have act.s of 

 Parliament been framed, that one, in prohibiting 

 the doing of a certain act under pain of transpor- 

 tation, contained a clause dividing the penalty be- 

 tween the King and the informer! 



The (iih of George HI., passed for the protec- 

 tion of limber trees, enumerates all the trees which 

 it was supposed would come under the denomina- 

 tion. Seven years afterwards, it was necessary to 

 pass another act, adding to the enumeration poplar, 

 alder, larch, maple, and hornbeam trees. 



Calico Printing. — A correspondent of the Roch- 

 ester Democrat, who writes from Providence, R. I., 

 gives a brief and interesting history of calico print- 

 ing in the United States. The first effort of the 

 art was made in Taunton, Mass., in 1825, when 

 calicoes were from three to six times their present 

 price. This pioneer enterprise failed, but other 

 manufactories started up. 



The gradual decline of duties on foreign prints 

 1832, affected the prosperity of the American 

 works, but they took a fresh start under the last 

 tariff. The revival of business has given them 

 new vigor, and the number of machines now in 

 operation is one hundred and twenty. In 1836, 

 over l.")0,000,000 yards of calicoes were imported. 

 Last year the importations fell off to 1,5,000,000 

 yards, while the American prints made in 1842, 

 reached the enormous amount of 1.58,028,000 yards, 

 worth $14,000,000. The capital employed in all 

 brancjies of the business, is not far from $8,000,000. 

 The tables are now turned, and instead of import- 

 ing, the United States are beginning to export cal- 

 icoes. In quality, the domestic article will fully 

 compete with the foreign. — Salevi Gaz. 



-WIIiLiIS'S I.ATEST 13IPROVED VEGETABLE 

 CUTTKK. 



This machine surpasses all others for the purpose of cu 

 ting Ruta Baga. Mangel Wurtzel, and oilier roots. Tl 

 great objection to other machines, is their cutting the roo 

 into slices, which makes it almost impossible for the call 

 to get hold of them : this machine with a little alteratic 

 cuts them into large or small pieces, of such shape as 

 most convenient for ihe cattle to eat- It will cut with ea: 

 from one to two bushels of roots per minute. 



Kor sale by JOSEPH BRECK & CO., No. 52 Nor 

 Market st. 



To diminish envy, let us consider not what oth- 

 ers possess, but what they enjoy : mere riches may 

 be the gift of lucky accideiit or blind chance, but 

 happiness must be the result of prudent preference 

 and rational design ; the highest happiness, then, 

 con have no other foundation than the deepest 

 wisdom ; and the happiest fool is only as happy as 

 he knows how to be. — Lacon. 



GRINDSTONES ON FRICTION ROLLERS. 



Grindstones of different sizes, hung on friction roller? ai 

 moved with a foot treader, is found to be a great improv 

 ment on the old mode of hanging grindslones. Stones hui 

 in this manner are becoming daily more in use, and whereV' 

 used, give universal satisfaction. The rollers can be aitac: 

 ed to stones hung in the common way. Kor sale liy , 

 BRECK & Co., No. 51 North Market street. 



LACTOMETERS— a simple instrument for tesiir 

 the quality of milk. For sale by J. BRECK & CO. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



A WEKKLT PAPER. 



Terms, $2 per year in advance, or $2 50 if not pa 

 within Bixty days. 



N. B. — Postmasters are permitted by law to frank i 

 subscriptions and remittances for newspapers, wiiho 

 expense to subscribers. 



arUTTLK AND DEWKtTT. PRinTEKSi 



21 School Street. 



