1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



379 



forming the concentric cii'cles are composed of a 

 silk much more elastic than that of the rays, and 

 are studded over with minute globules of a viscid 

 gum, sufficiently adhesive to retain any unwary 

 fly which comes in contact M'ith it. A net of av- 

 erage dimensions is estimated by Mr. Blackwcll 

 to contain 87,360 of these, and a large net of 14 

 or IG inches in diameter, 120,000 ; and yet such 

 a net will be completed by one species — Eperia 

 apoclica — in about forty minutes, on an average, 

 if no interruption occurs. — Introduction to Zool- 

 ogy- 



For the New England Farmer. 

 A TRIP INTO MISSOUKI. 



We were tired of the quietude of Sumner, and 

 angry at this dry weather, and at the hopelessness 

 of our getting anything to eat this summer, so 

 we have been into Missouri, to see if there could 

 be any prospects of filling our empty stomachs, 

 and if v/e should be sure of apples this fall, for we 

 have a Yankee's voracity for apples. 



Three years ago, this town was the home 

 of a deep forest, but several "Massachusetts Yan- 

 kees," with their speculative principles, and the 

 obstinate, daring, clear-the-track spirit of a Yan- 

 kee, selected this spot as the starting point for 

 '•the greatest city in Kansas or Missouri." At the 

 close of a year, we had nearly 200 houses up, in- 

 cluding a large brick hotel, several smaller ones, 

 stores, steam-mills, &c. We numbered about 1200 

 inhabitants, including 400 voters. We kept 

 school, and performed our own housework in a 

 little, unlathed and unplastered house, or rather 

 room of 16 by 24, for the use of which we paid 

 $10 per month rent. It was surrounded by grand 

 old forest trees, down by the river bank, where, 

 all the pleasant summer nights, the Katy-dids kept 

 up their everlasting information that katy-did-it, 

 did it, did it. Did what ? we would like to know. 

 We liked the fun of teaching 16 year-old boys 

 their a, b, abs, and older boys the multiplication 

 table, and more especially, learning in a rough 

 way to "do housework." We liked it, because 

 we had none of the ceremony and ennui of the 

 city to discourage us. 



13ut Atchison, our rival town, finding that we 

 were going ahead, began to fall into the hands of 

 Free State men, the fighting chai-acters dispersed, 

 and nov/ Atchison is a fine town, rapidly growing, 

 with railroad, telegraph, churches, schools, and is 

 one of the chief starting points for Utah, the Gold 

 Regions, Nebraska, Szc. Sumner is taking a rest- 

 ing spell, after having worked so hard, and in a 

 short time will "pick up its legs" again, and run 

 ahead. But this is not going to Missouri. We 

 crossed the river at Atchison ; they have laid out 

 an embryo city on the opposite side, called Win- 

 throp. All along through the lov/, rich bottom for 

 a mile, are planted the city stakes. 



Coming out of this prespective town, we trav- 

 elled for tvfo miles over a dangerous, muddy road, 

 through a dark, almost impenetrable forest of large 

 trees. Many of the trees are six feet girth, run- 

 ning upward for a hundred feet, Avithout meeting 

 a single twig, or branch. After coming upon the 

 bluff road, we travelled along very pleasantly by 

 pretty farms, but yet very retired and wild. About 

 six miles from the river, we came to Rushville, a 

 town built among the bluffs, but which looks best 



at a distance. It is fifteen years old, built in an 

 unhealthy place, and has a wide creek running 

 through its middle, breeding fever and ague. 



Passing through Rushville, we travelled a good 

 road for another six miles, and then entered 

 Bloomington. What an old, tumble-down place 

 it is. The stores are built in a square, and the 

 dwelling-houses are scattered about, many of them 

 looking like the "last shad." It is tv^-enty years 

 old, has some 1500 inhabitants, has an excellent 

 site, and with the well-settled surrounding coun- 

 try, might make a flourishing town, if a little more 

 energy could be manifested. The inhabitants are 

 lazy Missourians, who prefer to lounge about, and 

 drink whisky, of which the stores sell any quan- 

 tity. Yet they have some respect for religion, for 

 they have built two good churches, an ornament 

 to the town. 



After leaving Bloomington, we stopped at the 



farm of Mr. P . They have a large, cultivated 



farm, a splendid orchard, and plenty of stock, 

 Mr. and ^Irs. P. are a very substantial couple, 

 weighing together 500 pounds. They are great, 

 over-grown persons, with heads as large as water- 

 buckets. They have always lived on the frontiers, 

 worked hard, lived on coarse food, and seem like- 

 ly to live a hundred years. Their children are as 

 proportionably healthy and fat. 



Here we met an immense flock of blackbirds 

 migrating North. Thousands upon thousands 

 were there congregated, covering the trees and 

 ground for a long distance. My mouth watered, 

 as I remembered the old nursery rhyme, 



"Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie." 



We next stopped at the farm of Mr. D , an 



old bachelor, where we were to remain over night. 

 He owns 3,000 acres, cultivating only 500, with 

 the assistance of his ten negroes. He owns but 

 one woman, the mother of two children. She does 

 the cooking, milks the cows, and raises chickens, 

 &c. All his slaves have good, comfortable cabins, 

 and healthy food. Each is allowed several acres 

 to cultivate for himself, and from which they fre- 

 quently clear $200 a year, which they spend im- 

 mediately. They raise broom-corn, and during the 

 evenings, make brooms to sell for their own ben- 

 efit. Many a Missouri negro might earn his free- 

 dom in a few years, but they think that they are 

 too well off as they are. At sunset, they rctii-e 

 from work, and after that time are paid $1,25 per 

 hundred for cleaning hemp. They are allowed 

 two suits of clothes a year, and one pair of boots, 

 and one pair of shoes. Hearing a violin in their 

 cabins, I expressed a desire to witness their dan- 

 cing, and Mr. D. called them. Two ebony fellows 

 came reluctantly in, and jilaycd excellently, while 

 another jet fallow "heeled and toed the mark," to 

 my intense amusement. One of the negroes earns 

 $75 per year by playing at parties. The negro 

 woman has all she can make by raising chickens, 

 ducks and geese. She is a saucy thip.g, and 

 threatens to kill any woman that ]Mr. D. will mar- 

 ry. She "don't want any missus bossing her 

 round." Mr. D. and his men raise large quanti- 

 ties of wheat, hemp, corn and stock every year. 

 He has some of the finest horses that I have ever 

 seen. He has a large number of buildings on his 

 place, and is now building a large store-house to 

 store away his hemp for a couple of years, 

 when the price docs not suit him. Yet how mis- 



