1863.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
m \\ 
IVot Exactly a. Plaything*. 
" what a nice plaything !" our young friends will ex- 
claim, on looking at the little girl in the picture seated at 
a tiny sewing machine. But it represents something 
more than a child and a toy. The " little girl " as you 
would call her, is Mrs. Charles S. Stralton, (Tom Thumb's 
wife,) and it is a very good likeness of the petite lady. 
The little sewing machine is a perfect one in all its parts, 
andean be used by its mistress to make up her family 
clothing. It was manufactured by Wheeler & Wilson, 
and is a most beautiful specimen of art. It is only 20 
inches high, and 15 inches deep, cased with richly carved 
rosewood, inlaid with beautiful ornaments of pearl and 
gold, and lined with satin wood. The panels are painted 
-with tasteful devices, fairies, cherubs, etc. On one side 
5s a likeness of the bride arrayed as the " Goddess of 
Liberty," and on the other is the General, as " Young 
America." There is also a representation of the little 
bridal party with their attendants. Those who visit New 
York soon, may see it at the sales-room No. 505 Broadway. 
How to Improve in " Composition." 
To write a good " Composition" is an accomplishment 
usually requiring much study and long practice. Study 
is necessary to furnish the writer with thoughts, and prac- 
tice to enable him to express them clearly, forcibly, and 
with elegance. One of the best aids in acquiring a good 
style is to read the production of some standard author, 
remember his thoughts, and then try to write them out 
The effort should be, not to remember and repeat the lan- 
guage of the copy, but to express the ideas. Then com- 
pare what is written with the model, and observe the dif- 
ference in arrangement, choice of words, and structure of 
sentences, and notice in what particulars the original ex- 
cels. The most accomplished authors have practised this 
method and found it an excellent means of improving 
their own modes of expression. This suggestion has 
particular reference to the manner of expressing one's 
thoughts, which is important, as the reader is more easily 
interested by that which is stated with clearness and 
grace. But the first essential is to have something to say. 
Atopic in which the writer himself is much interested, 
will usually furnish matter interesting to others ; there- 
fore the author should endeavor to be full of his subject ; 
his success will be easier if the theme comes within the 
experience or observation of those for whom he writes. 
Pronouncing- Either and Neither. 
"Vermont Boy," writes: "Will our Editor of the 
Agriculturist please tell us how to pronounce the words 
either ^nd neither? We have in this town two learned 
ministers, one of whom says 'ee-ther,'' and ' nee-ther,'' and 
the other says ' i-therf and i ni-ther.'' Which is right?" 
Answer.— The general custom in this country is in favor 
of ee-ther and nee-ther, and the standard dictionaries give 
this pronunciation the preference. We noticed that in Eng- 
land, Scotland, and the North of Ireland, thev generally 
say i-ther and nt-ther, while in Dublin, the common peo- 
ple say a-ther and na-ther. Where universal good cus- 
tom does not forbid, it is best to make our language as 
regular as possible by following analogy, and this favors 
ee-ther and nee-ther, as in ceiling, conceive, deceive, re- 
ceive, seize, and in most other words where the ei is not 
followed by gh. or the liquids, I and n. In these words 
ei has the sound of a, as in eight, neigh, sleigh, weigh, or 
fein, rein, skein, veil, vein. Analogy would even indi- 
cate the Hibernian pronunciation of 'a-ther' and 'na- 
ther, 'in preference to i-ther and ni-ther. To preserve the 
analogy, we would prefer the foreign pronunciation of 
hight, like hate, this being the only word we now recall, 
in which ei has not the sound of e or a, in this country. 
Writing' ia * "Cypher." 
This is a method of sending communications in such a 
form that they can only be read by those having the 
key. In a former number of the American Agriculturist 
we partly explained this to our young readers. Here is 
a dispatch in cypher of historic interest, which was found 
in the coat collar of a scout intercepted by the Union 
soldiers, on June 30, 1863, during the memorable siege of 
Vicksburg, four days before the surrender. 
" Nggpv Icp Rcoczgpvmp Amwp ocuqeeg gd vfg 46 vf 
kq tcecklgb K ygnj tcklhrntagamw cr vfggytjkcur omocpr 
Jmnb hyur cr cjl qbfq vgnj K teeaj amw K ygnj fgxgfc 
ow hmlagq elf crvyei Ipclvq tgifv ctf nchr cr 6' ck qd vfg 
qrj qd Isnw — Lmucrf Lmjlurql, Icp Emo- Lyeiump Oguq 
Lspc58vf 3061." 
This was deciphered by Michael Mason of Waterhouse's 
Chicago Battery. The key to the cypher is, that instead 
of the proper iettei, the second one below it in the alphabet 
is used for the first, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth letterof 
each word, as c for a, d for b, e for c, and so on. But for 
the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth letter of each word, 
the second one above is used, as h for j, i for k, q 
for s, etc. The same rule is followed with figures. At 
the end of the alphabet, suppose another alphabet to fol- 
low asvwxyzabcd; and so of figures, 8 9 1 2 3. 
With this key, the above dispatch (which is printed wrong- 
ly in all the papers we have seen) reads : 
" Lieut. Gen. Pemberton : Your message of the 28th 
is received. I will reinforce you at the earliest moment, 
Hold fast at all odds till I reach you. I will divide my 
forces and attack Grant's right and left at 4 a. m. of the 
7th of July. Joseph Johnston, Gen. Com. 
Jackson, Miss., June 30th, 1863." 
Gen. Johnston has doubtless adapted a new cypher ere 
this. Our young readers can construct others for amuse- 
ment among themselves, though it will not pay to spend 
a great deal of time over this when you can be better 
employed in reading. Our only object is to make you 
familiar with what is a very important aid to government 
officers, especially military men. Here is an example on 
a different plan, which you can read if you get the key: 
No. 55. — TJkf krvuodm ddmofgukf bpfujfbq fjsldxmw- 
vujvu jv grs ukf gdsp hdsgfq bqe irvvfkpoe jqdovgjqh ukf 
mluwmh grmnt Jw drtwt pqmb pqf ermobu b zhbu 
Qofdth uhmo bom zrvu ohjjieput bepxu hq bqe bvl 
ukfp ur udlh jw Ukfb xlmo mllh jw bqe ukbql zrv 
wife, and their two children. At first it may be a little 
difficult to observe them, but when once discovered, it will 
be almost impossible to look at the picture without seeing 
them. It is related that this and similar methods of pre- 
serving the likenesses of distinguished persons have been 
extensively practised in France, when the ruling powers 
have forbidden the publishing of portraits of those they 
considered their enemies. We have seen representations 
of posts turned in a lathe in such a way that the shad- 
ow falling from them showed the desired profile. 
New Puzzles to he Answered. 
Concealed Portraits, 
Many of our young readers, and not a few of the older * 
ones, were much amused in making out the portraits of 
the Bonaparte Family, contained in the picture of a bou- 
quet, published in the Agriculturist some months since. 
We present now a somewhat different device, in which 
are four portraits — the French King Louis XVI, his 
Fig. 1. 
No. 56. Puzzle Picture.— (Fig. 
1.) How does the boy in the -O ^ -O 
picture represent a musician? Fi 2 _ 
No. 57. Illustrated Rebus. (Fig. 2.)— A well known 
Scripture quotation, very nearly in the words of the text. 
No. 58. Miscellaneous Questions .—What relation is 
the door mat to the scraper ? Which is the largest room 
in the world ? What word of three syllables includes 
all the letters of the English language ? 
Answers to Problems and Puzzles. 
No. 51. Mathematical Problem.— 1 * A, B, and C, with 
their wives, P, Q, R, went to market to buy pigs. Each 
man and each woman bought as many as they gave shil- 
lings for each pig. A. bought 23 pigs more than Q.; B. 
bought 11 more than P.; also each man laid out 63 shil- 
lings more than his wife. Which two persons were man 
and wife?" This problem excites so much interest that 
we give the best solution received— furnished by " W. C," 
Jefferson Co , Ind.: Each person bought as many pigs 
as he or she paid shillings apiece for them, therefore 
the whole number of shillings that each paid is a square 
number. And as each man paid 63 shillings more than 
his wife, therefore 63 is the difference between the squares 
denoting what each man and his wife paid. But " the 
difference between two squares is 
equal to the product of the sum and 
difference " of the two numbers from 
which the squares were formed. Then 
03 is the product of two factors, one of 
which is the sum, and the othei the 
difference of two numbers. (And the 
nature of the problem implies whole 
numbers.) Then 63 is to be resolved 
into two factors, one denoting the sum 
and the other the difference of two 
numbers. And first, A, bought 23 pigs 
more than Q. Then the sum of the 
numbers that A. and his wife bought 
is evidently greater than 23, and it 
must also be a factor of 63. It is also 
plain that no number greater than 23 
can be a factor of 63, except the num- 
ber 63 itself. Therefore 63 is one fac- 
tor (the sum of A's and wife's pigs), 
and 1 must be the other factor (the 
difference of A's and wife's pigs). And 
/m//the amount of the sum (63) ani 
the difference (1), is 32 the greater of 
the two numbers, which is A's num- 
ber of pigs. And half the difference 
between the sum (63) and the differ 
ence (1), is 31, A's wife's number of 
pigs, bein-g the less number of the two 
sought. Second: B. bought 11 more 
than P. Then it is evident that B. 
and wife bought more than 11, and the 
sum of the numbers that they bought 
must be a factor of 63. The only 
number greater than 11 which is also 
a factor of 63, is 21 (except 63 which 
has already been disposed of). There- 
fore 21 is one factor (the sum of B's 
and wife's pigs), and 3 must be the 
other factor, (the difference of B's 
and wife's pigs). And as before (21+3)-f-2=12, the 
greater number which is B's number of pigs. And (21 
— 3)-i-2=9 the less number, which is B*s wife's number 
of pigs. Third, the only remaining factors of 63 are 7 
and 9. And (9-|-7)-h2=8, which is C's number of pigs, 
and (9— 7H~2=1, which is C's wife's number. Fourth, A. 
bought 23 more than Q.; but A. bought 32, therefore Q. 
bought 9, and we have seen that B's wife bought 9 ; there 
