316 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



vation which they possess, with that of the work- 

 ing men and women of our free States. Is there 

 not a vast difference ? And what has made this 

 difference ? It is our free schools, free libraries, 

 free speech ; our habits of reading, our public lec- 

 tures, and various other established modes of im- 

 parting and receiving instruction in every depart- 

 ment of knowledge and literature, which have 

 placed the laboring classes of the Northern por- 

 tion of this country far above, in point of intelli- 

 gence, the common people of every other land. 



The question now arises, Have wo, as laboring 

 men and women, yet reached the highest round in 

 the "ladder of learning," which it is possible for 

 us to arrive at ? I, for one, think we have not. 

 If the "good teme coming," of which the Hutchin- 

 son family used to sing, ever comes to bless man- 

 kind, it will not be until the minds of the common 

 people arrive at a state of mental culture, intelli- 

 gence and goodness, greatly surpassing anything 

 which the world has yet witnessed. 



South Groton, 1862. S. L. White. 



He can readily be disposed of by throwing hira 

 into the water, and then shooting him. 1 have 

 taken five witliin a few nights. This is safe against 

 cats and other domestic animals. Try it. — Cor. 

 Ohio Farmer. 



THE EAGLE'S STKATAGEM. 



As the mountains around the Konigs Sea abound 

 in chamois, the eagle very naturally resorts there ; 

 and opportunity is frequently afforded of Avitness- ! 

 ing his tactics, modified by circumstances. The 

 following account gives an instance of most cun- ' 

 ning stratagem ; but it also shows how impotent ] 

 for attack the eagle is when his victim is not en- 

 tirely exposed. A good sized chamois buck had i 

 got upon a ledge of rock, and was gazing down- 1 

 ward and about him as these animals like to do. j 

 An eagle perceived him ; but as the bird could ' 

 not approach close to the rock on account of his | 

 breadth of wing, he resolved to obtain the prize he 

 had marked as his own in another manner. So he ! 

 sailed by the chamois on his narrow i)ath as near as 

 he dared come ; then again and again ; and as the 

 animal retreated in order to quit his perilous po- j 

 sition, the eagle, wheeling round in a smaller cir- 

 cle, met him instantly, to hem in and cut off his j 

 retreat. By thus rushing past within a few feet [ 

 of him, and filling him M'ith terror, he hoped to | 

 bewilder the chamois, and cause him to fall over 

 the precipice, in which case he would have but to 

 descend, and carry off his booty. And in fact, 

 the chamois, from trepidation probably, in turn- 

 ing a corner, slipped with one hind foot over the 

 ledge. He lost his balance, and fell headlong 

 over the rock,as the eagle intended that he should. 

 But after lodging for a short time on an interven- 

 ing slope, the carcass rolled off, and came toppling 

 d.-vvn into the lake. The whole proceedings had 

 been watched by two persons in a boat. They 

 new roAved across to get the chamois ; while the 

 ea.ule, disappointed of his victim, wheeled above 

 them, w t' hing all they did. — Forest Creatures ; 

 by iJitavLes Boner. 



How TO Catch Skunks. — Every man may 

 catch his own skunks. I have just discovered a 

 new aiid novel trap for catching these pesky an- 

 imals. I take an old flour barrel, tack my bait in 

 the bottom, and lay it on two blocks, about six or 

 seven inches high, one of which is near the centre; 

 the skunk goes in, steps over the fulcrum, and the 

 barrel rights up on its end, with the skunk in it. 



Fur the New England Farmer. 

 RETROSPECTIVE NOTES. 



"Hints on Buying Farms." — The article with 

 this heading in the number of the monthly edition 

 of this journal for May, and in the weekly of 

 March 2"Jth, is so complete in its enumeration of 

 the several most desirable qualities in a farm, and 

 so judicious in all the directions and remarks 

 which it contains, that to any one — especially any 

 young man — about to purchase a farm, its value 

 would be venj great indeed. Let any young man 

 about to select a farm, which he intends to make 

 his home for life, "read, mark, learn and inwardly 

 digest" the several hints and items of information 

 in this article, and he would almost certainly es- 

 cape making some sad blunder or oversight, wliich 

 might be a source of regret, loss, and annoy- 

 ance all liis life, and for ability or opportunity to cor- 

 rect or nullify which he would willingly pay perhaps 

 hundreds of dollars. The writer of this knows 

 more than one individual to whom these directions 

 w ould have been worth a good many hundred dol- 

 lars, as they would have saved said individuals 

 from oversights or neglects of important points in 

 purchasing a farm, which have been a source of 

 regret and much inconvenience and disadvantage 

 ever since their selection and purchase were made. 

 Probably, a good many of the readers of this jour- 

 nal know of similar cases among their neighbors, 

 or may even be so unfortunate as to be conscious 

 that they themselves have made blunders in the 

 selection of their farms, such as they might have 

 avoided if ihey had only had the benefit of such 

 hints as are furnished in this article. A copy of 

 these "Hints on Buying Farms" would have been 

 cheap to a great many, at the time of purchasing 

 their farms, if they could have been had at any 

 price from iitty to five hundred dollars. If the 

 oversights and neglects, or downright blunders, 

 made for the want of just such hints and just such 

 information as are furnished in this article, could 

 noio be atoned for or nullified by the payment of 

 any sum within the range just named, there would 

 be not a few who would be ready, at such a price 

 or even a higher one, to redeem their errors in the 

 past. 



Might it not, therefore, be an undertaking of 

 great benefit to young farmers — though, perhaps, 

 of no great profit to the author or the ])ublisher — 

 if these "Hints," somewhat enlarged, perhaps,wore 

 put into a convenient form, such as a vest p )c!;et 

 manual, or a tract, and p.ut in some wny within the 

 reach of all who may soon have to encounter that 

 dilHcult, and often ill-executed operation, the se- 

 lection and j)urchase of a farm ? Every farnrer in 

 New England, as well as in otiier regions of coun- 

 try, might subscribe for a dozen or a score of cop- 

 ies of such a tract or little manual, and, by dis- 

 tributing them among his sons, hired men, and 

 others, be doing a large amount of good at a very 

 small cost. But until this article shall have been 

 printed separately, those disposed to confer such 

 a favor on any decent and deserving hired man, or 

 other yv- iug person, must give it to them, or refer 



