1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



383 



good, in visiting them, and taking more interest 

 in their welfare." Scarcely giving liim time to 



finish his speech, Mr. burst out abruptly : 



"Mr. Jones ! Do you keep a cat?" The aston- 

 ished Jones hitched back his chair at least a foot, 

 before he replied, "Certainly." "What do you 

 keep a cat for ?" snapped the minister. "Why, 

 to kill the rats." "What do you M'aut to kill the 

 rats for ?" (short and sharp.) "Why ; because 

 they eat up my property," stammers Jones more 

 amazed than ever, thinking the Rev. Mr. 



quite insane. "Mr. Jones," says the minister in a 

 lower tone, and looking earnestly into Jones' eyes, 

 "did you ever see — when you were out hoeing 

 your corn — a large, black beetle, more than an inch 

 long, very smooth and shiny, and very smart on 

 his legs ?" "O ! yes, very often." "And what 

 did you do with him ?" "I killed him," innocent- 

 ly replies Jonts. "You've killed a cat ! You've 

 killed a cat !" shouted the minister, and no other 

 answer would he vouchsafe to the delegation. It 

 is supposed that they deliberated on the matter, 

 however, and thought better of this foolish way of 

 spending time, for they were afterwards known to 

 come to the parsonage to inquire the names and 

 habits of curious animals that they met with, while 

 the minister, at last accounts, was not dismissed, 

 nor requested to resign. 



In like manner, I, who am but an humble stu- 

 dent in the vast field of natural history, may be 

 able to contribute my mite in the form of facts, 

 &c., about insects, and shall be hapjiy to give our 

 good friend "Farmer," and others, any informa- 

 tion in my power, in return for their experience in 

 the same subject. F. G. Sanborn. 



Bostoji, July 7, 1862. 



Don't Drink Much Water. — A person in 

 good health, and in the moderate pursuit of busi- 

 ness, does not feel like drinking water, even in 

 Summer-time, if not very thirsty. In fact great 

 habitual thirst in Summer is the sign of a depraved 

 appetite, resulting from bad habits ; or it is a pruof 

 of internal fever ; and the indulgence of even so 

 simple a thing as drinking cold water largely in 

 Summer-time, especially in the early part of the 

 day, will produce a disordered condition of the 

 system. Most persons have experienced more or 

 less discomfort from drinking largely of cold wa- 

 ter. If we drink a great deal, we must perspire a 

 great deal ; this perspiration induces a greater 

 evaporation of heat from the surface than some 

 have to spare ; the result is a chill, then comes 

 the reaction of fever. Many a person arises from 

 the dinner or tea-table, in June, chilly because too 

 much cold fluids have been taken. Those who 

 drink little or nothing, even of cold water, in Sum- 

 mer, till the afternoon, will be more vigorous, more 

 full of health, and much more free from bodily 

 discomfort, than those who place no restraint on 

 their potations. — Hall's Journal of Health. 



Tea Brands and their Meaning. — The fol- 

 lowing will interest housekeepers : — "Hyson" 

 means "before the rains," or "flourishing spring," 

 that is, early in the spring ; hence it is often called 

 "Young Hyson." "Hyson skin" is composed of 

 the refuse of other kinds, the native term for which 

 is "tea skins." Refuse of still coarser descriptions 



containing many stems, is called "tea bones." 

 "Bohea" is the name of the hills in the region 

 where it is collected. "Pekoe" or "Pecco" means 

 "white hairs," the down of tender leaves. "Pow- 

 chong," "folded plant." "Souchong," "small 

 plant." "Twankay" is the name of a small river 

 in the region where it is bought. "Congo" is from 

 a term signifying "labor," from the care required 

 in its preparation. 



SKILL IN MABKETINQ. 



One of the branches of his business which a far- 

 mer should well understand, is marketing. The 

 extreme eagerness which some manifest, to get an 

 additional half cent per bushel, is hardly to be 

 recommended, nor are the anxiety and sleepless 

 nights which they endure, while fearing the mar- 

 ket may decline instead of rising, compensated for 

 in the small additional amount possibly obtained. 

 As a general rule, farmers may sell whenever they 

 have the article ready and there is an active mar- 

 ket ; the cost of keeping, the danger of waste, the 

 loss of interest, &c., often overbalance a slow ad- 

 vance. But there is one point toward which they 

 may direct all their energies — this is, to have a 

 good article, and to have the reputation of always 

 furnishing such. We have known poultry deal- 

 ers to give from two to three cents a pound more, 

 at all times, to a farmer who had honestly earned 

 a reputation of having the very best, and always 

 put up in the very best manner — and this poultry 

 would sell when a pooi-er article would not. It is 

 so with marketing fruit. An apple inspector told 

 us that a considerable portion of the fruit offered 

 him the present autumn, proved defective and un- 

 fit for sale, after removing the few fine specimens 

 purposely laid on the top of the barrels to conceal 

 the bruised and scabby fruit below. Those who 

 indulged in such tricks lost their sales, and will be 

 watched another year. On the other hand, those 

 who have cultivated their orchards well, and tak- 

 en pains to raise the best, and who have carefully 

 picked, assorted, and put up what they had to 

 sell, will soon be sought b)' dealers, and will re- 

 ceive a higher price than others. As an instance 

 of success of this kind, we copy the following 

 statement from the Prairie Farmer — and no one 

 can doubt that the successful man of these two, 

 took more pains in picking carefully and in put- 

 ting up properly ; and as a good manager in one 

 way is usually a good manager in others, there is 

 no doubt that his orchard was in better condition : 



"I am acquainted with two men occupying about 

 the same range of land, with farms opposite each 

 other, who happened to carry eighty barrels of 

 apples each to market the same week. One of 

 these men got a certain sum for his crop ; the 

 other got just $60 more, or an average of 75 cts. 

 more per barrel. One had sufficient mercantile 

 skill to lead him to assort his crop into grades — 

 put them into clean and uniform barrels, and fix a 

 price upon each class, and in consequence of his 

 knowledge of their worth and skill in assorting, 

 etc., he realized $60 more than his neighbor did, 

 on the same amount and quality of apples, with- 

 out expense, and with but little trouble ; and I be- 

 lieve it is not only in marketing apples, but grain 

 and even stock, that the seller should know the 

 real value of it, before disposing of it." 



