68 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Februaby, 
THE 
The story in ttiis picture is very plainly told by the art 
1st. A "good for nothing," truant boy, as some would 
call him, is lying in wait for his unsuspecting sclioolmate 
who lohl the teacher abotit his ''playing hookey," that 
is, keeping away from school without leave. His heavy 
shoe is the only convenient weapon he coulJ fintl. and 
with it he intends to make a sudden and severe attack. 
The faces of llie two boys are especially worth studying. 
Which do you like best? Probably most would prefer 
that of tlie pleasant looking boy. His present expres- 
sion is certainly more agreeable, but his features imiicale 
some things as unworthy tliose as shown in the hard lines 
of the other face. He looks like a deceitful boy, who 
would appear very good ivhen his teacher was looking^ 
and who would be likely to try and win favor by telling 
tales of others. The truant has some strong manly traits 
that all admire. He is fum, persevering, active and res- 
olute. He has more stuff in him of which to make a 
man, than couM be found in half a dozen of the other 
sort. His worst side is turned out, and he generally arts 
as he feels ; he is no hypocrite. Both these boys maybe 
educated to fill a useful place in society, but the truant, 
properly trained, will lake tiie liigher place. No boy is 
*'gnod for nothing.'' naturally, but many become so by 
neglect, or by being despised and maltreated. If you 
know any " hard case " among your companion*, one 
wlio is often in disgrace at school, do not make him 
worse by harsh usage ; find out the good in him and en- 
courage its growth ; thus you may help to save him. 
E . — hnyravQU. lor tht Amcrtcan Agricuiturmt, 
Difficnlties of Iiawryers.— A testy lawyer in 
court found himself bothered with a knotty witness who 
wouldn't ex|>Iain, as he desired, the difference betwegn 
the *' thick" and "long" kinds of whalebone.— " Why, 
man," said he, "you don't seem to know Ihe dislftiction 
between thick and long."— "Ya*as I dew." — "Explain it, 
then."— " VVa'all you'r thick-headed, but you ain't long- 
headed, no how!" said he Another one was non- 
plussed in the following conversation. Laim/fr.— Did 
the defendant kaock the witness down with malice pre- 
pense? IFiVnfSs.- No, sir ; he knocked him down with 
a flat-iron. L.— You misunderstand me, my friend ; I 
want to know whether he attacked him with any evil in- 
tent. W. — Oh ! no, sir ; it was outside the tent. L. — No, 
no . \ w ish you to tell me whether the attack was at all 
a preconcerted affair ? ^V.— No, sir ; it was not a free 
concert affair, it was in a circus. 
Pharaoh^s Serpents* 
Passing along Broadway, some weeks ago, we saw the 
sign of " Eggs of Pharaoh's Serpents for sale here." 
" What kind of eggs could those be," thought we, and 
went in to ascertain. Queer looking eggs they were, 
little bright cones, not much larger than the one shown 
In the figure, all nicely packed in a box with cotton. We 
purchased one bnx of eggs and took them home to hatch. 
It always requires heat to hatch eggs, and these, being 
serpents' eggs, lather more than the usual amount of 
heat. The directions were to place llie egg upon a plate 
and light the small end. Rather a strange way to hatch 
an egg, but we followed the directions and applied the 
match— a little blue blaze flickered for an instant and 
that was all. Perhaps tliere was not heat enough, so we 
tried again, and the serpent was this time fairly warmed 
into 11 fe. It poked out its head and looked about, writhed 
and coiled itself, and kept coming and coming as if it 
never would stop. The people all shouted with astonish- 
ment, and we who don't often allow surprise to get the 
better of us, were in as much wonderment as the rest. 
Out of that tiny cone came a snake-like body several 
feet long. The illustration gives but a poor idea of the 
size, as it has to be upon such a small scale. " How 
could such a serpent be hidden in such a small egg?" 
our young readers will a^k. It wasn't hidden there at 
all. but was fnrmed out of the material the egg or cone 
contained. The so-called egg, is a little case of tin foil 
filled with a powder which, on burning, leaves a remark- 
ably bulky substance. Upon lighting the cone, this 
powder gradualiy burns, and what is formed in the burn- 
ing sticks together and makes a long slender body, which 
looks much like a serpent. "What is the povvderr 
We have been expecting that question, and if we tell 
you tliat it is the Sulpko-cyamde of Mercury, perhaps you 
will not be much wiser. That it is a curious compound, 
consisting of Mercury or quicksilver, sulphur and cyan- 
ogen is about all that we can teach you about it. What 
cyanoyen is, or how the sulpho-cyanide of mercury is 
made, can only be understood by those who have more 
knowledge of chemistry than boys or girls are supposed 
to possess. No more amusing toys have been introduced, 
and they have but two faults, they are a little expensive 
and somewhat dangerous. The first we bought cost 50 
cents for three tinfoil "eggs." As to the danger, the 
substance from which they are made is poisonous, and 
they ought never to be trusted in the hands of young chil- 
dren who might be tempted to taste them; and, when 
they are burned, it should be done either in the open air, 
or in front of an open fire place, where the draft will 
carry off the poisonous fumes.— The name, Pharaoh's 
serpents, is given from the idea that the Egyptian magi- 
cians may have produced their snakes thus, but they 
could hardly have known enough of chemistry for that 
