NOV. 13. 



MOORE'S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 



369 



®Itf SrawUr. 



Sketches from the Alps to the Adriatic, 



Tin SMteVH carried me back to Bozen, where 

 I remained till late fn the day, Bud then started 

 down the valley of the Adlge, intending to walk 

 Id the cool of. the evening. The weather, in fact, 

 wm getting too bot fur walking la the middle of 

 the day, when the June sun ahone down into the 

 sarroir valleys with a fierceness I never before ex- 

 perienced. Clooda of fine stone-dust blew np from 

 the McAdamized roads, and fairly whitened the 

 fields and trees along the sides. Added to this, a 

 high wall shot oat the view of green fields and 

 vineyards on each side, and seemed to reflect the 

 heal with doable fervor, and compress the dost till 

 ono could scarcely bieathc. I resolved shortly to 

 adopt a different mode of traveling. 



[Ate in the evening, I stopped at tbe little village 

 of Braazoll, where the Adlge first becomes naviga- 

 ble. Though yet In the German part of the Tyrol, 

 I beard more Italian spoken than German, and 

 could detect a change la the appearance of the 

 people. It Is interesting thus to pass from one 

 oo on try to another, especially where there is a dif- 

 ference In cllmato and language. I saw the brown 

 countenance, with the blood flashing slightly 

 through, and the black hair and eyes, which are 

 character iatlcs of a Southern race. Men in shirt- 

 sleeves, ragged boys, and coarse-looking women, 

 ted in groups before the Inns, resting 

 after their day's Inbur, and making ihemclves 

 merry over brown bread and bad wine. There 

 was a party of Italian raftsmen who spoke a little 

 German, and ibey offered me passago oh their raft 

 for a trifle, to Trent, or even to Verona if I wished. 

 Tb' y intended to start early next morning, and said 

 tbey would arrive in Trent at nine o'clock in the 

 forenoon. The novelty of the ride induced me to 

 accept their offer, and at three o'clock the captain 



nft c 





dressed. But when 1 eearehed for my cano it was 

 I '. fuund, and I receipted that I had 

 r 'i«o below, where I had taken eup- 

 |:(t. The ioom was looked, tie "hauMknaht" no- 

 where to be found, and as my cane was too old and 

 too good a Iriond to desert quickly, tbe captain 

 became tired of wailing, and went off swearing, 

 and I returned to bed. A couple of hours later I 

 got my cane Bnd breakfast, and then walked on six 

 mill s. and Btopped at a village where I took tbe 

 tSttliwagm for Trent, thinking that it waa better, 

 Biter all, than to have trusted myself alone to those 

 Italian rafismon, on the rapid river, fn the early 

 morning. All regret for tbe raft ride waB annihi- 

 lated on passing through a village some miles from 

 Trent, at one o'clock in the afternoon, when I saw 

 my raftsmen sitting befoio a c*J<t •moain-r « I 

 Itb no intention of reaching the oity 

 that day. Nor did I like tbe dark countenance of 

 the captain, though in the duaky light of the pre- 

 ceding evening be hud impressed me favorably. 



We entered Trent down a long, straight road, 

 running between rowa of trees, rattled over a nar- 

 row street, and, suddenly surging to the very win- 

 lows on the right hand aide, wheeled shortly round 

 to the left and drove through a vaulted passage.— 

 There waa a heavy rambling in the darkceep, a clat- 

 ter of horses' hoofs on the pavement, and then sud- 

 den silence and cessation of motion, togethor with 

 the breaking in of a mild light, announced the ter- 

 mination of our day's Journey in the courtyard of 

 nn inn, bearing tho sentimental name of "Moon- 

 shine." The doors of the coach were opened, the 

 steps let down, and ibe tired passengers descended 

 to the pavement, and showed plainly by their ac- 

 tions bow great a luxury it was to walk about and 

 etraighteu themselves once more, A crowd of 

 men and boys was assembled around. Some were 

 porters, very anxious to serve the gentlemen, and 

 two or three tenderly urged me to allow them to 

 hold my light traveling tack, implying by their 

 actions, that they feared so much exertion of 

 Btrength on my pan would greatly impair my con- 

 venience and enjoyment; or, at least, add nothing 

 to their own. Some were taking the baggage 

 from the top of the coach,— some were unhitching 

 the horsea which they led away, through a Jong, 

 dark passage to the stables in the rear of the inn— 



which always exists where a stage coach regularly 

 ■tops, Gut man, Italian, and French were spoken, 

 and I was amused to hear a sharp tittle boy sing 

 Out •■thrre't a jolty btrf Utab," even before tbe 

 portly, red -faced Englishman had opened bis 



My attention waa now attracted to this half Ger- 

 man and half Italian inn. The coach had Btopped 

 iu tbe courtyard, nearly in the centre. Right 

 above it waa a patch of eky, ncomln ■■ ' 

 ger than the top of the wagon. Tho ion, snrrond- 

 ing this courtyard, was fonr stories high, and under 

 the windows of each story ran balconies, Ave or 

 six ftet wide, ana having light railings in front of 

 them. Tables were spread there, by which guest* 

 were eating aud drinking, and amasing themselves 

 by watching the sceno tound the ooach. Id the 

 yard below. Part of the roof t \ ope & i Bto the court, 

 and waterspouts projected from tho four corners. 

 I found a flight of stairs in a dark corner, and go- 

 lug np to one of the balconies, sat down to dine. 

 It aoon began to rain, and the four sp ooU ia u^ 

 corners poured down Btreams of water. Tbe coach 

 waa drawn under the balconies, amid hair «. d 01 _ n 

 ether vehicles, and tbe streams from the spenu 

 splashed upon the pavement stones, and ran off ia 

 a torrent towards the stable*. 



It waa nearly night, and the rain came down in 

 gnat quantities, bot lightly, aa if falling a abort 

 dm ante, and, indeed, the clouds seemed to touch 

 the chu rc h spire*. But I did not forget to take an 

 «w»wHa, aad vUit the church of 8l Maria Mag 

 giore, where the famous Council of Trent held iu 

 sittings m the middle of the 16th century. Tbeie 

 ta an obelisk of red marble, bearing a commemo- 

 rative InacrtpUoB, in the square before it, but about 



tbe church llwlf, there is nothing 



cept an appearance of recent construction, wbich 



i i nk, at first, that you have comet 

 tbe wrong place. 



In tho morning I entered the Stellwagen agal 

 and continued my joorney down the valley of lb 

 Adlge. I pawed through Roveredo, and by the 

 height of Rivoti, where Mihjsi earned the title 

 of Dnke. The mountains grew lower and smoother, 

 tbe Jagged, snowy peaks disappeared, and forests 

 of deep green took their place. Finally I passed 

 between some ranges or tow hilts, end emerged 

 from the narrow Alpine valley upon the plains of 

 Lombardy. 



Aa the horses trotted slowly over tbe level road, 

 I had a good opportunity to observe the cultiva- 

 tion, the scenery, and the growing grain and fruit. 

 The plains of Upper Italy, which extend from 

 Milan to Venice, and from tbe Alps to tbe Appen- 

 nlnes, produce more abundantly and support a 

 greater number of inhabitants than any region of 

 similar extent in the world. The population of 

 fa eixty-fonr to tbe square mile, that of 

 i one hundred aod forty-three, that of Hol- 

 land end Great Britain, (if I mistake not,) one hun- 

 dred and alxteen, while tbu> of tbe Lombard plains 

 me hundred and seventy-four. Tbe fertility of 

 j region i* owing partly to its naturally rich 

 i, but mostly to tbe advantages of a complete 

 irrigation, and i'a delightful climate. The abuu- 

 int waters of the Alps flow downward through 

 imcroua rivers, and serve to flood the hud* when 

 quired, and those great natural reservoirs, lakes 

 Garda,Como and Magaiore, supply large regions 

 t drouths. The whole country is 

 planted with fruit and mulberry trees, which are 

 allowed to grow to their full size, but are 

 shortened and tiimmed.so tbat their shade will not 

 injure the grain below. Grapa vines arc planted 

 roots oftbe trees, which are allowed to spread 

 le lower branches, and then are trained from 

 another, banging down in greea festooas be 

 them. There tbey stand, those trees of 

 golden fruits and gorgeous silks, all over the land, 

 bound together by the generous vine which ripens, 

 in tbe dreamy days of autumn, its white and purple 

 Underneath tbe trees prow the various 

 grains, end roots, and craves, in abundance, for 

 the heat of the climate, and the continual moisture 

 bad influence of the vines and trees, 

 e scenery ia rather monotonous, which le 

 g to the equality of the surface, to tbe simi- 

 larity and regularity of its production* — in n word, 

 ?ntire absence of bold and striking features 

 landscape. There are no fences, bnt the 

 cat up by numerous canals, — there are, of 

 no forceta, bnt there arc also no large open 

 fields, as in England and America. There are no 

 trees of the unchecked growth of centuries, to 

 heap op great piles of foliage, and cast targe masses 

 of shade. The patches of grain are commonly 

 small, often but a few rods square, and tbe inter- 

 mingling of the various colors, reminds one of a 

 brilliant counterpane. Tbua the whole plain has 

 the effect of a garden, nnd the appearance of great 

 labor and productiveness, compensates, in a degree, 

 for the want of variety and striking general 



features- 



At length the coach pa«ed the gates of Verona 

 and paused a moment to let an officer examine, in 



cealed about it. During this dtlay, my attention 

 was ollracted to Ibe front walls of a bouse close by, 

 that were epottod by the marks of hundreds of bul- 

 lets which tho French fired in 1805. Tbe officer 

 completed his examination and tbe coach drove 

 on through the narrow streets of tbe greatest aud 

 completcst Italian city I had yet seen — by tall 

 hooses, past shopa, open to the sidewalks, in which 

 tailors, end shoemakers, and blacksmiibs, and car- 

 penters, were working; under aw nioga that shaded 

 the whole street for long distances, by heap) of orau 

 gea, lemons, and great baskets of cherries, npricois, 

 strawberries, gooseberries; through a market, wih 

 cords of vegetables, under great umbrella* of while 

 canvas; through another vaulted poesage, finally 

 stopping in an open courtyard in the centre of a 

 hotel, bearing the sonorous Italian name of 'Albtrgo 

 delU due Tarrs." 



I paused at Verona only to examine the old Ro 

 man Amphitheatre which ia contemporary with 

 the Coliseum, and though not so large, yet kept in 

 a more perfect stale. It gave me a etrange scor-a- 

 tion to stand betide this, the first etruoture 1 bad 

 seen of an age anterior to the Middle Centuriea— 

 The pavement is three or four feet lower than that 

 on which the ci'y nowatanda. The blackened and 

 shattered oateldc walls are yet a hundred feet high 

 aud moss and grass cling in their crevices. There 

 ore the damp, dark passages, leading to the cdla 

 where the wild beast* were confined; there the 

 long arena, and the tiers of marble seats, rising 

 like steps, to the top of the outer wall, and I fancied 

 the same eighteen hundred years ago. when twenty 

 thousand spectators of noble Roman blood tat 

 thereon, and the vast structure rang with thaots aa 

 they gazed on the gladiatorial combats below. 



HOW COFFEE CAME TO BE USED. 



It Is somewhat singular to trace the manner in 

 which arose the use of (he common beverage, 

 coffee, without which few persons, in any half or 

 wholly civilized country in the world, would seem 

 hardly able to exist At tbe time Columbus dis- 

 covered America, it had never been known or 

 used. It only grew in Arabia and upper Ethiopia 

 Tbe discovery of its use aa a beverage, la ascribed 

 to the superior of a monastery, in Arabia, who, de- 

 sirous ol preventing the monks from sleeping at 

 their nocturnal service?, made them drink tbe in 

 fusion of coffee, upon the report of some shepherds, 

 who observed that their flocks where more lively 

 after browsing on the fruit of that plant. Its repu- 

 tation spread through the adjacent countries, aud 

 in about 200 yean it reached Paris. A single plant 

 brought there In 1714, became the parent stock of 

 all the French coffee plantations in the West Indlec 

 Tho extent of the consumption can now hardly be 

 realised. The United States alone annually con- 

 sume it Bttbe cost of iu landing, of from fifteen to 

 sixteen millions or dollars. Ton may know the 

 Arabia o: Mocha, the beet coffee, by Its small bean 

 Of a dark yellow color. The Java aud East India 

 the next in quality, are larger and of a paler yel 

 low. The West Indian Rio has a bluiab or green- 

 ish, gray tint— S<U<U<L 



SEALS OF THE STATES.- 



ILLINOIS. 



NO. XXV AND XXVI. 



Indians, extends about 375 miles north and 



south, and lo.'i east and west. On the ntrth is the 

 like and State of Michigan; on tLc ens', Ohio; en 

 the eoutb, the Ohio river, and en 

 Wabash. A crop* this larterrivcr is Illinois. 



Indiana, topographically r-peakiog, bears great 

 resemblance to Ohio. In tbe eoath fa the same 

 hilly surface: aud at... v.-. the same undulating or 

 level land — of a prairie character sometimes— aud 

 approaching ibe north, mure barrens and marshes. 

 Tbe river lands arc almost always rich and fertile. 

 As in surface, so in soil and climate, Indiana is 

 very like Ohio. 



In le50 the population of tbe State was divided 

 aa follows:— Whites, 'j77.161; fuloied, 11,202; In- 

 diana, 23; makings total of 098,439. 



Indiana was settled by tbe French in the latter 

 part of the seventeenth century, uud ceded to Great 

 Britain in 1968. At tbe close of tbe American 

 Revolution it became a part of the Republic It 

 formed a portion of the North West Tcnitory until 

 1800; it then, Inolndlng the present State of Illi- 

 nois, was erected into the Indiana Territory, and 

 was (in ally admitted into the Union as an independ- 

 ent State, 1818. The present Constitution came 

 in force in 1651. 



Tbe Government of Indiana is framed as fol- 

 lows:— The Governor of Indiana is chosen by tbe 

 people for four years— a plurality of votes carry- 

 ing the election. A lieutenant Governor is chosen 

 at the same time, the latter being President of tbe 

 Senate, and discbarges the duties or the Govornor 

 in case of his death, resignation, or removal Sen- 

 ators and Representatives are apportioned among 

 the counties every bis jears— tho number of white 

 male Inhabitants over twenty-one jears of age 

 forming the ratio of representation. The Repre- 

 sentatives, according to the Constitution, "shall 

 not exceed 100," and are elected for two years- 

 one half every two years; Senators limited to 60, 

 chosen for four jears — one-half every two years. 

 The Legislature nietn annually, in December, at 

 Indianapolis. Tbe Judges of the Supremo and 

 Circuit Courts are chosen by tbe Governor, with 



the consent of the Senate— term of office, six years. 

 Tbe Chief Jastices of the Circuit Contta are 

 selected by tbe Legislature, and tbe Associate 

 .lodges h> the people. Tbe right of suffrage 

 cm >>ed by every male citizen over twentj-o 

 years of age, who has re§ided in th» State the e 

 months preceding an election. 



Illinois is 380 miles in length, and 200 miles 

 breadth (at the extreme points). The general si 

 face of the country, as in Indiina and Oblo. is tt 

 of elevated table-lands, with southward inclinable 

 though it is more level than the neighboring 

 States. In the lower portion there is a little 

 land— in the north west, some broken tracts — upon 

 tbe Illinois liver, lofty bluffs, and still higher 

 bolder points upon the Mississippi. 



The earlier history of Illinois, is written i 

 that of Indiana. It was severed from the Indiana 

 Territory in 1800, erected in'n aTeiritoryof Itself 

 aud finally admitted into the Union as an independ- 

 ent State, Deo. 3d, 1618. Tbe Constitution now 

 in force, was adopted in 1817, and went into ope- 

 ration in 184S. 



In 1860 there were 145,611 dwellings in the 

 State, and B6 1,470 inhabitants. 



The form of government is thus described 

 Tbe Governor ia elected by the people fur foar 

 years, but is eligible only four jears in eigli 

 Lieutenant-Governor is elected at the same 

 who is President of the Senate, and In case of the 

 death, resignation, or absence of the Govt 

 discharges his duties. The Senators, 25 in 

 ber, ore eleoted for four years, and the Repi 

 tlves, 75 in number, for two years. The Judges of 

 the Supreme Court are elected for a term of nine 

 years, one of whom is chosen every three years; 

 the Judges of Circuit Courts fur six years, and o: 

 the County Courts for four years. The right ol 

 suffrage is universal, all white male inhabitant* 

 21 years of age, who have resided within tho State 

 one year preceding an election, have a right 

 vote, Elections by ballot, and are held, on Tuesday 

 next after the first Monday of November, bien- 



curiohttf.- -i« crystals. 



The wind is from tho northeast, an aahen gray 

 scud eweeps close overhead, the general exclama- 

 tion Is, "it feels like snow." Soon the flakes be- 





He i-.it 





v.\ul? I 



mtle, c 



tbe earth Is - 

 ed of millions on millions of little crystals, 

 as perfect of its kind as a diamond, and each in 

 itself, if yon will only look, as beautiful. Take up 

 one. It melts in your hand; it Is gone, See tbat 

 other, on tbe very top of a snow-drift, glistening, 

 gem like, in the sunshine. A while ago, it was 

 vapor, floating in the sky; before that, it was a 

 drop of sea water; to morrow It will be fluid again, 

 and mingling with the ocean. Examine its shape. 

 It la like a liny star, cut in Carrara marble. Yet 

 sculptor, tor even lapidlst, could ever rival it. No 

 marble Is floe enough to fabricate it What subtle 

 power in nature has made this snow Qake so dif- 

 ferent in appearance from tbe rain-drop, yet sub- 

 stantially tho same? Tbe very boys in a telegraph 

 office will tell you it was magnetism. Yes! it le 

 ibis, as yet almost unknown agent, the motive 

 power by whioh we 60ud " Hgbtnmg" messages to 

 our friends, which helps to crystallize aliko the dia- 

 mond at the bottom of the mine, and the snow- 

 fiakc high up in the heavens. 



Tbe whole su'ject of crystals is beaatiful be- 

 yond imagination. It is crystallization and crys- 

 talUxatton ulone, which draws tbe line between 

 the diiitnoad tbat Mashes on a tidy's finger and 

 tbe charcoal that smuts a kitchen maid. Sand- 

 atone and granite, limestone- and marble have 

 their essential differences iu crystallization. One 

 has been formed in the laboratory of nature, by 

 the slow depuh.il of mutter held in solution in 

 primeval seas, tbe other by particle on particle, 

 also hold in solution, ai ringing itself in the prc- 

 olalon Of aaUlen at a review. No architect ever 

 built more regularly than nature, when construct- 

 ing ev«n the smallest arjstal. Plants and animals 

 grow by excessive developments; increase by as- 

 similation through chemical changes; but crystals 

 are equally perfect in their earliest Stages, and 

 enlarge only by accretiun. Yet crystals, like nil 

 other created th>ngs, die in time. Mines abouud 

 with skeletons of crystals. Crystals oilier in shape 

 — as the microaaope reveaht — almost as much as 





ways msraliizf iu the same firms, at least under 

 the some conditions, so that we may say there arc 

 tribes aud races of crystals, with tjplcal shapes, 

 exactly as of men. 



Crystallization is found through all nature.— 

 There Is not a substance which, when allowed 

 the Iree movement ol hs particlrs, does not ex- 

 hibit a frequency to crystallize. Water, at a low 

 temperature, crystallizes into ice. 11 etuis, sloaly 

 cooled after mei-iog, crystallize. The gases, 

 evanescent as they may seem, may be made so 

 artificially cold as to crystallize. Our children 

 eat crystallized sugar, nnder tbe same of rock 

 candy, and we ourselves use it in the loaf, crystal- 

 lized In another lurrn. What ia glass butacrje- 

 Ul? The stzes of crjstala vary infinitely. There 

 are crystals loo small to be recognized, expect 

 under a microscope; and there is one at Milan, 

 weighing nearly nine hundred pounds. The 

 White Mountains of New Hampshire are a vast 



iggregatton of crystals. The Mammoth Cave in 

 £entacky is an enormous museum of crystals. 

 as jet, however, with all our knowledge, we are 

 lOmparatiYely ignoront of tbe laws of crystalltza- 

 ion. Under them we see atom arrange itself by 

 Horn, in mystic, myriad forms; we discover, also 

 hat not only magnetism, but light and 1 

 ireise an influence in crystallization; bt 

 >ur information substantially stops. Tbe 

 >f crystallization is almost a sealed book, Its 

 nightieat curiosities still He, like the virgin 

 ands of the Pacific, before the day of Cook, 



xplo. 



A HUHDRED YEAES AGO. 



The Pittsburg [Pa. i people are preparing to 

 brate, with public parade, orations, proceer 

 Ac., on the 35th lost., the centennial anniversary of 

 the capture of Fort Duqnesne, which stood on tbe 

 site now occupied by their city. Alluding to It, 

 the Pittsburg Po,t draws tho following sketch of 

 tba era in which that event occurred: 



"One hundred j*an ag 1 ) there waa not a singh 

 white man in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois 

 Then, what is nuw the most flourishing part o 

 America, was as little known auhe country arouod 

 the Mountains of the Moon. It was not until 1700, 

 that the 'Hunter of Kentuck,' the gallant and ad- 

 venturous Boone, left his home in North Carolina, 

 to become the first settler of Kentucky. The first 

 pioneer of Ohio did not settle until twenty) 

 after this time. A hundred yeata ago, Canadi 

 longed to France, end the whole population of 

 the United States did not exceed a million and 

 half of people. A bandied years ago, the great 

 Frederick, of Prussia, was performing those 

 ploits which have made him lmmoitsl in militiry 

 annals, and with his little monarchy was sustaining 

 a single-handed contest with Rosila, Austria and 

 France— the three great powers of Europe com 

 bined. A hundred years ago, Napoleon was not 

 born, and Washington was a young and modest 

 Virginia colonel, and the great events In the his- 

 tory of two worlds, in which these great bat dis- 

 similar men took leading parts, were then scarcely 

 foreshadowed. A hundred years ago, the United 

 BtfttM were tbe most loyal part of the British Em- 

 pire, and on the political horizon no speck indi- 

 cated the struggle which, within a score of years 

 thereafter, established the greatest republic of the 

 world. A handled tears ago, there were but four 

 newspapers in America, — steam engines bad not 

 been imagined, and railroads and tule graphs had 

 not entered into the remotest conceptions of man. 

 Wbon we come to look back at it through tbe vista 

 of history, we find that to the century which has 

 passed has been allotted more important events In 

 their bearing npon tbe happh 



.wera in tbe 

 oning deep 

 sxiernai natnr-, K i>° —ui thoughts in., 

 with higher intelligence, which strengthe 



Gbeit men stand tike solitary 

 of God; and secret passages 

 neath external 



B 1w j, end of which the laborers 

 e surface do not dream.— Longfellow. 



e honored in old age. 



®lw fsimji gnraltot. 



A FECIT GA&D1X. 



Ubssrs Ena.-— Having some thoughts of start- 

 ing a small fruit garden next spring, I wish to 

 make the following inquiries:— What tour kinds of 

 pears would do best on tho quince?— varieties 



the Bartlett pear, 

 :e a rather t ' 

 finally, will j on 



make a rath.., , 



MtlOU jou will jourself 



will greatly oblige a 



Rxmahes.— For an early pear, we would like to 

 plant Bloodgood, Dearborns Seedling, or Beurre 

 Giffard. Then Virgallea, Louisa Bocne de Jersey, 



as the Easter Peurre, would be desirable. The 

 Bartlett is not unhealthy aa a standard, bnt tho 

 frait ia not as large as Is produced on qulocs roots. 

 Doicning's Fruit and Fnul TVew of Amariea, con- 

 tain.", besides practical information, a descrip- 

 tion of almost every variety uf (mit ooltlrated iu 

 this country. Barry's I'ru-t Book is a practical 

 hand-book, giving instructions on every point of 

 culture, from planting the seed to gathering the 

 fruit. It is just such a book tbat the fruit-grower 

 will find it necessary to consult about every day in 

 the year. Another work containing a good deal 

 of the very beat of directions for culture— given 

 in tbat pleasant and forcible manner, which is so 

 peculiar to J. J. Tnoius, aud that makes a man or 

 boy feel osbamed that he ever pursued a different 

 conrse-la T/u Amiritm F.uit CidturitU Besides 

 directions for practice, it contains descriptions of 

 a great variety of fruit*. 



THE BELTED KINGFISHER. 



Tdk Kingfisher inhabits all onr fresh water riven 

 and bays, from the extreme north to Mexico. There 

 are several species, but only one Is found in this 

 country. Amidst the roar of a cataract, over tba 

 foam of the torrent, or by the smooth gliding 

 stream he has been seen by most of our yoong 

 readers, perched upon an overhanging bough, turn- 

 ing his piercing eye down Into tbe waters for a 

 sight of his scaly prey, wbl b, when observed, with 

 a sadden, circular plunge, bo bweeps from their na- 

 tive element and swallows In an instant 



The voice of the Kingfisher 1b loud, harsh, end 

 bis cry is sudden and sometimes startling, bnt not 

 unpleasant when heard with the sounda of rushing 

 waters. He may often be seen skimming over tho 

 surface of the water, and sometimes apparently 

 suspended and motionless for a moment, ready to 

 poonce upon hfe prey. For many an hour have) 

 w© watched these curious and Industrious birds 

 They build their nests in tbe high river banks, first 

 digging holes with their bills, sometimes four or 

 more feet, horizontally. In size they are about 

 twelve inches long, of a bluish slate color, and 

 around the neck Is a collar of pure white; the 

 head Is large and crested; the feathers are long 

 and generally erect; the breast ia nine and brown, 

 the under parts white. 



How to Mask a Babk Cinob.— On this subject 

 we are to have at last the desired information. A 

 gentleman of St. Marys, Canada West, writes "as 

 many of tbe friends of my youth are now chiefs 

 and warriors of the Six Nations, with whom I 

 learned to be an Indian, and having many times 

 assisted In the manufacture of the articles In ques- 

 tion, I feel ublj and willing to render you all the 

 No doubt your young 

 south of 44° north latitude; if so, tbey 

 cannot find the reqoi.cd material for a birch canoe 

 in that region, but the elm or hickory supplies Its 

 place, and of the two tbe manufacture Is very dif- 

 ferent It must be remembered that all bark canoes 

 can only be made when the sap is in full flow; 

 there Is anolher material, wherewith "bark" ca- 

 noes may bo made at any season of tbe year, which 

 Is much ligher and more lasting than the Indian 

 can find In any forest, and which may be obtained 

 In any village at a moderate cost Of this mate- 

 rial I made a canoe this Spring, and as I paddle 

 about on onr pretty Thames, with my wife and 

 babies, snob remarks as these may be heard on our 



village shorts 'sec, Mr. C- has a bark canoe; 



the Indian tbat Is in hitn must have vent,' and when 

 they see me pick it np and carry it ofT, tbey are 

 more confirmed with regard to my Indian propen- 

 sities. Tbe wonder has grown old now, aatbey 

 see it often and know its parts; it carries five and 

 weighs forty-two pounds." 



Id a week or two we ere to be furnished with all 

 tbe details, Illustrated with drawings, If it shall be 





found necessary to a clear understanding 



, the 



—I wonld like to ask thr 

 :ns got a pair of yearling sU 



on YorKO r.raiu-'Ti 

 in estlona 1st I have 



which I want to bresk 



ie of your readers tell me 

 t w can I make a small yoke 

 eDJ ? 3d. What Is tho best 

 slves and yearlings?— W, B. 



„ a -i 



