662 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



the Constitution and the laws, with one hand up- 

 ,on the Bible swearing allegiance, were throttling 

 the nation with the other, in the corruption of the 

 officers of the army and navy, and in reducing 

 the power of the free States by every means which 

 a most ungodly ambition could devise. 



This state of things seemed necessary to arouse 

 the energies of our too confident people in the 

 free States. And it did arouse them. See what 

 they have done. The civilized nations of the 

 world are astounded with a knowledge of the ex- 

 tent of our resources and the industrial energy 

 and skill of our people. It is almost as though 

 the fiat of Heaven had gone forth and covered 

 the broad lands with bristling bayonets, with 

 thundering cannon, with the tramp of mighty 

 war* horses, and more than half a million of men, 

 ready to sacrifice everything but liberty and the 

 free exercise of our holy religion, to quell and 

 quench the cause of all this woe — human slavery. 



And the same mighty energies have been dis- 

 played in regard to the navy. It is scarcely more 

 than a twelvemonth when the pennant of an 

 American war vessel could rarely be seen in the 

 Atlantic seas, so thoroughly had the right arm of 

 our power been reduced by the shameless treach- 

 ery of high officials of the government. But, lo ! 

 the change ! Our naval vessels now number some 

 four or five hundred, and are staunch, strong and 

 well appointed, with hearts as courageous as ever 

 beat on decks of oak or iron ! Of this number 

 twenty are iron-dads, already afloat, and tliirty- 

 seven iron-clads in a great state of forwardness, 

 soon to hover over every coast of the enemy, to 

 visit every river, bay and inlet, and to bring back 

 to obedience and duty, every fort, arsenal and 

 people, and tear away the black flag of slavery 

 and rebellion from this fair and glorious land ! 



Confidence, friends, in each other, is all we 

 need to make us still prosperous, and to avert, as 

 far as possible, the real evils that visit us all, 

 springing out of a wicked and mad ambition. 

 Words alone, even though they may be, as Luther 

 said, "half-battles," will not answer now. We 

 must have systematic, energetic and persistent 

 action, — action that will produce all that is de- 

 manded by the exigencies of the times, and bring 

 our insane brethren to obedience and duty. 



But we are keeping the reader too long from 

 the excellent views which have suggested the 

 above remarks. They are as follows : 



Many people seem to suppose that because we 

 have a great war upon our hands every one must 

 stand back and look on as an inactive spectator 

 — that he must enter into no speculations and ex- 

 hibit no enterprise. This is an erroneous idea, 

 and should be corrected. There are serious du- 

 ties for those who remain at home. We must 

 keep up and if possible increase our usual spirit 

 of business enterprise, so that we may be able to 



sustain those we send to the field. We owe it to 

 the country and to our soldiers as well as to our- 

 selves, that we be active and vigilant in all that 

 shall help to sustain the business prospects of the 

 country. There never was more money in circu- 

 lation in the country than now, and business need 

 not be allowed to suff'er seriously for want of sup- 

 port. The trouble is, that attention being with- 

 drawn to the movements of the armies, immedi- 

 ate business and social enterprises are neglected 

 in proportion. We are all engrossed with the one 

 idea of the war, and our energies are sufl'ered to 

 lie dormant. Retren<iiiment in private and public 

 amusements is commendable and highly proper 

 at this time. But there is danger that our people 

 will run into the extreme of unthriftiness, losing 

 confidence in all enterprises of a private nature, 

 and then, that we shall lose confidence in the na- 

 tional ability. It does not take long, when once 

 a people get started on this down grade, to ruin a 

 State by universal private doubts and dejection. 

 We repeat, we who remain at home have our du- 

 ties to perform, serious duties, too. Upon us de- 

 volves the burden of sustaining this war by all 

 the material aid at our command, and all that pri- 

 vate enterprise can possibly produce. It is the 

 business of communities that goes to make a na- 

 tion strong and durable, in war as well as in peace, 

 and this community has only to sustain its usual 

 reputation of thrift, to do its share in giving con- 

 fidence to the affairs of the country. 



KIIiliING RATS— A NOVEL TKAP. 



The premises of a good many farmers are in- 

 fested with rats, and we are often asked for modes 

 of destruction. A resident of Brooklyn is vexed 

 with an increasing family of rats that seem to 

 grow fat on arsenic and rat exterminators. He 

 doesn't like rats, and refers his case to the San- 

 day Times. That journal recommends a trap 

 made as follows : 



"Take a mackerel barrel, for instance, and fill 

 it to about one-third its height with water. Then 

 place a log endwise in the water, so that one end 

 of it will just remain above the surface. Make 

 the head of the barrel a little too small to fit, and 

 suspend it by two pins to the inside of the top of 

 the barrel, so that it will hang as if on a pivot and 

 easily tip by touching either side. On this head, 

 thus suspended, secure a piece of savory meat. 

 The first rat that scents it, will, to get the meat, 

 leap on the barrel head. The head will tip, or 

 tilt, precipitate him into the water, and resume 

 its position. The rat in the water will swim to 

 the log, get on the end of it, and squeal vocifer- 

 ously. His cries will bring other rats, all of wliom 

 will be tilted into tlie water, and all of whom will 

 fight for the only dry spot in it — viz., the end of 

 the log. As only one rat can hold it, the victor 

 will drown all tlie rest, and can, in the morning, 

 be drowned himself. We have seen twenty rats 

 caught in one night by such a trick." 



Relief of Neuralgia. — As this dreadful dis- 

 ease is becoming more prevalent than formerly, 

 and as the doctors have not discovered any meth- 

 od or medicine that will permanently cure it, we 

 simply stale that for some time past a mem])er of 

 our family has sufl'ered most intensely from it, and 



