18C3.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
S5 
A Boy that will NeTer be a Mam. 
In New- York, as elsewhere, it is becoming quite cus- 
tomary to send home articles purchased at the stores ; 
some "stuck up" people have even ordered a spool of 
thread sent home. Happening into a book store this 
morning, we saw a lady purchasing some books for her 
son who was with her— for Christmas presents probably. 
When put up they made a package about ten inches long, 
five inches high, and six wide. She ordered them sent 
to her residence about 3X miles up town. The booksel- 
ler said to her boy : " Can't you lake them up in the cars 
v\iih you, my man ? My porter is sick to-day, and it is 
quite inconvenient for me to send them so far home." 
"No! I don't carry bundles for a living." We pitied 
that boy from our heart, and could not but feel that his 
mother was spoiling him by indulging him in such no- 
tions. Here was a boy 13 or 14 years old, who could not, 
or rather would not, carry a bundle of books for himself, 
that was not at all bulky, and weighed, perhaps, only five 
or six pounds. He was above " carrying bundles " — rath- 
er he was below it. He had not dignity or independence 
enough to be seen with a bundle, though it was for him- 
self. He probably docs not read th" American Agricul- 
turist, and so we can not speak to him directly, but to 
otner boys we say, that if that boy lives to be forty years 
old, he will never be a man, in the true sense of that word. 
His parents may leave him money enough to keep him 
along awhile, but he will never earn or save much. He 
is coming up with habils that will unfit him for the real 
work which all successful men must go through with, no 
matter what their calling or business. Two good il- 
lustrations are given in the life of Girard of Philadelphia, 
who rose from poverty to great wealth. "While in a pro- 
vision store, a man came in and bought a fish. Instead 
of carrying the fish himself, he offered a clerk a shilling 
lo hire some one to carry the fish a few blocks. Girard 
at once offered to doit, and actually went by his side, 
carrying tlie fish, and received the shilling. You may 
guess the man's surprise when he afterwards learned 
who had carried his fish. Girard owned the entire block 
in which this man hired a dwelling. At another time, 
two young men commenced the sail making business. 
Tliey bought a lot of canvas from Girard, on credit, a 
friend having agreed to endorse their note. They each 
took up a roll lo carry off, when Girard remarked : "Had 
you not better get a cart?" "Oh, no," they responded, 
"it is not far, and we can carry it ourselves." — "All right," 
said Girard, "but you may tell your friend he need not 
trouble himself to endorse your note. It's good enough 
without !" He well knew that men not above their busi- 
ness, not ashamed (o do any honorable act, were the 
very men to succeed. 
Answers to Puzzles ami Problems in De- 
cember No. (page 373). Rebus. No. 20. Key pup cur 
age t hoe awl bed ark : or by dividing the words a little 
differently, Keep up courage though all be dark. 
Arithmetical Problem.- No. 22. — Paper money is at 
24 8-33 per cent discount, reckoning gold coin at par. 
Arithmetical Problem.— No. 23.— A. should hare 80 
cents, B., 20 cents of the dollar paid by C. for his share. 
Riddle.— No. 21. — The engraving below is the answer 
to the riddle given last month, which reads: " A four 
handed rider, on a two legged steed, Whipped up the 
feathers and made very good speed." 
No. 19.— Correctly answered by "R. G. F.", L. Law- 
rence Fisher, C, A. Veatch. No. 20, by George M. Kel- 
ly, "Random," Orcn Stone, Mary Esther Parkin, Frank 
B. Conger, T. B. Cunningham, Jno. D. Talbot (and 21), 
Wm. H. Tracy (and 23), Malissa Church, Jarvis H. Ar- 
nold, Waller E. Talmage, Lizzie Melcher, Arthur Gil- 
bert, A. Martin. Rufus W. Weeks answers all. Isaac 
T. McLain, 22, 23 ; "C. C. C." 21 ; J. G. Bunnel, 22, 23 , 
Cornelius Hoagland, Jr. 23 ; Frederic A. Fill, 23; A. G. 
I. C. White, 20, 22, 23 ; E. M. Swan, 20 ; B. F. Nye, 22. 
Wcw Puzzles to l>e Answered. 
and 
Fig. 1. Fig. 2. 
No. 24 and No. 25. Two Picture Puzzles to be guessed. 
How does Fig. 1 represent an economical man? How 
does Fig. 2 represent an enterprising business fir 
can you tell how it also represents a fortress? 
No. 26— Riddle. 
I have no head, yet from my lips 
Fall words of wondrous weight ; 
I mark the course of mighty ships. 
And guide affairs of state. 
Darkness pursues my winding track, 
Yet nothing gives more light : 
You'll find me when you answer hack, 
If this you read aright. 
eri0U&T(Sr 
No. 27. New Rebus containing a truthful sentiment. 
This is one of the most difficult puzzles of the kind we 
have published, and it will require no little perseverance 
to find the correct answer. m 
To Sunday-School Teachers and 
Others. 
The new Question Cook referred to last month, is now 
issued, and is even better than we expected. The bind- 
ing is superior to what was intended at first, the covers 
being stiff, and in the usual style of binding such books, in- 
stead of in simple paper covers, as first announced. (This 
increases the postage to 4 cents, as it weighs over 3 oz.) 
After the sheets were struck off, we concluded to issue an 
edition at the Office of the American Agriculturist, where 
it will be supplied to all desiring it, by the single copy or 
by the hundred, at the uniform price of 10 cents, or 14 
cents by mail— which, at the present price of paper, 
will hardly pay expenses. A hundred put up to go by Ex- 
press or otherwise, will weigh about 20 lbs. The book is 
thoroughly evangelical, but not at all sectarian. It is 
simple, yet comprehensive; 52 lessons, including the 
leading events in Christ's life, and in the introduction of 
the Gospel afterward, are arranged in the order of time. 
Each lesson is completed on two pages opening together. 
The scripture text of the lesson is printed in full, with 
the probable time and place of occurrence. A condensed 
history of the events between eachtwo consecutive lessons 
is given, so that by reading the lessons, and the con- 
necting history, one gets an outline of all Ihe events of the 
Gospels and the Acts, in order of occurrence. Simple 
questions directly upon the lesson are given In larger 
type. With these are a considerable number of other in- 
teresting and instructive questions, having the answer 
printed in full, or more frequently with the answer indi- 
cated by reference to a passage of scripture which gives 
a full explanation. Many interesting items of informa- 
tion, not accessible to the common reader, are given, as 
will be seen on looking over the questions. The book is 
specially valuable to the great mass of teachers who have 
not access to commentaries and other helps. The pro- 
nunciation of the more difficult proper names, is indicated 
by an accent mark. We are perhaps the more partial to 
the book, as it is the carrying out of a plan of syste- 
matic lessons we have long been aiming at; the ex- 
ecution of the plan was intrusted to abler hands. Mr. 
Beach, Editor of the N. Y. Sun, a life long friend of 
Sunday Schools and for years Superintendent of one of 
the largest and best schools in the country, who chanc- 
ed to fall in with one of the first copies, said in the 
Daily Sun of December 16 : 
" The Sunday Schools of the whole country have suf- 
fered from the want of a question book suited to their re- 
quirements, more than from any other single cause. 
Every thinking person has remarked it, and hundreds of 
authors hove made vain efforts to fill the need- In the 
little book before us, the practical work of a practical 
man, practically engaged in the Sunday School work, we 
for the first time discover something really valuable. It 
epitomizes the whole New Testament history in chronol- 
ogical order, and is both text and commentary, teaching 
Ihe teacher and helping the scholar. That it will be 
widely adopted in Sunday Schools we do not question." 
Xhe Two Caterpillars* 
" Patches and patches, I'm sick of patches !" exclaimed 
George Rider, as he sat watching his mother, who was 
repairing the knees of his old pantaloons. 
"Mother," he continued, suddenly, as a new idea 
started, "why did God make us poor? I'm as good as 
Joe Berry, but his father's rich, and he don't have to wear 
patched clothes. And you ought to see what nice things 
he has for dinner every day — pies, and cakes, and candy 
— and he's just as stingy as he can be." 
" Poor soul !" said his mother, in a way that made 
George open his eyes wide. 
"Why, mother, what do you mean?" 
"I was Ihinking about two caterpillars," she replied. 
" What a funny mother you are !" said George ; " what 
in the world have caterpillars got to do with Joe Berry ?" 
" I'll tell you the story, my son," said Mrs. Rider, " and 
you may then answer your own question." 
*Two caterpillars lived in a large garden ; they looked 
very much alike, only one was covered with brown hair, 
and had black rings around his body, and the other had 
black hair all over, without any rings. The brown cater- 
pillar lived on a large cabbage. It was a real palace for 
him. There were the large spreading leaves, over which 
he walked with as much satisfaction as ever a lord sur- 
veyed his extensive parks. He had fine rooms among 
the openings of the leaves, where he could curl himself 
up for a nap, snugly sheltered from rain and dew. Right 
at the top of the cabbage was his dining-hall, filled with 
the tenderest, choicest morsels of crisp leaves, which cat- 
erpillars love so well. Oh! he was very rich, and bad 
everything a caterpillar could wish for. The little ants 
that climbed up to his palace, and the humble insects that 
picked up their living along the lanes and streets of the 
leaves, all looked up to him wilh awe, and saluted him 
very humbly as he walked about his wide domain. 
" The black caterpillar had his home on a humble bur- 
dock that grew in a corner not far from the great cabbage. 
It was only a small plant, for if it had spread itself like 
the cabbage, the gardener would have quickly rooted it 
out. This poor fellow had to work hard for his living, 
and often to go hungry, for there were but few tender 
sprouts for him to nip. and he had to roam about utJ 
pick up here and there a bile as he could find it." ' 
"But why didn't he go to the big cabbage?" asked 
George, who was becoming much interested. 
" He would have done so," said his mother, "but the 
gardener had placed a bright piece of tin around the slem 
of the plant to keep off the worms, not knowing that one 
had already taken up his quarters there. The tin was so 
smooth that, though the poor caterpillar walked round 
and round it, he could not crawl half his length upward, 
before back he would fall in the dust. 
"One day, while he was looking wishfully up lo the 
luscious leaves above him, his rich neighbor happened to 
peep over the edge, and the poor caterpillar eagerly ex- 
claimed : 'Brother!' 
"' Brother, indeed !' muttered the other, proudly curl- 
ing himself, so as to display his rings ; 'you've made a 
mistake, I'm thinking.' 
" ' I'm thinking so ton,' replied the poor caterpillar. He 
had intended to ask his neighbor to nip off a leaf from 
the cabbage and drop it down to him, but he saw it was 
of no use, so he crawled sadly back to his humble quar- 
ters on the burdock, and continued to grub for his living. 
" The Summer passed on; the brown lordling revelled at 
his full table until he grew as fat as a prize-pig, but the 
heart of the cabbage was spoiled by his greedy toftfh. 
The humble black laborer worked so faithfully at his bur- 
dock that it grew but little, and so the garden was kept 
free from its seeds, which would otherwise have ripened 
•end scattered. 
" And now the Summer was nearly ended, and the cat- 
erpillars knew they must prepare for the winter's cold. 
" They therefore each left off eating, as is the custom 
of such creatures, and sought a secure place where they 
could rest in safety. The brown caterpillar climbed a 
tree at some distance from the garden, and spun for him- 
