1869.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
143 
2DY§ -k iUIEJLS 3 (BDILOTm 
P's that it Pays to JPossess. 
Advertisement — "Boys Wanted.' 1 ''— Wanted, by Uncle 
> i, n lot of first-class Bots for the future needs of his 
estate. A few choice, well-selected boys for Presidents ; 
a number of prime quality, for Senators and Governors; 
au assortment of good article for Congressmen, legisla- 
tors, and flavors, for States and Cities now existing, and 
to be speedily erected ; a large number, extra-fine, for 
Judges, College-presidents, and Professors, Doctors of 
Law, Divinity, and Medicine. Boys wanted to engineer 
the building of railways and canals, to get the gold out of 
the mountains, the iron from the hills, and the coal from 
everywhere. Boys wanted to rim steamship-lines to 
Europe, Asia, and the rest of creat.on. Boys wanted to 
farm the prairies, to bridge the rivers, to run factories, 
to own stores, wholesale and retail, and for other employ- 
ments too numerous to mention. 
Said boys must possess the following Requisites to Suc- 
cess. They must be 
In Action, prompt, patient, persevering, and painstak- 
ing. 
In Mind, practical, progressive, and peaceable. 
In Manners, pleasing and polite. 
In Life, pure, principled, pious, patriotic, and prayerful- 
All boys who can satisfy the above conditions can be 
readily supplied with good places, and none others need 
apply to "UNCLE SAM. 1 ' 
Now. boys, there is your chance for the future. Count 
up these characteristics ; see what they mean ; }x>s$ess 
tht'ii. and you will be sure to reap an abundant reward. 
Oealiug With Thieves. 
The following story is related by an exchange, of Jacob 
fcheafe, Esq., a merchant of Portsmouth, in former times : 
A man had purchased some wool of him, which he had 
weighed and paid for, and Mr. Sheafe had gone to the 
back room to get change for a note. Happening to turn 
Lis head when there, he saw in a glass, which swung so 
as to reflect the shop, a stout arm reach up and take from 
the shelf a heavy cheese. Instead of appearing suddenly 
and rebuking the man for his theft, as another would, 
thereby losing his custom forever, the crafty old gentle 
nan gave the thief his change as if nothing had happened, 
aud then, under the pretence of lifting the bag to lay it 
pd the horse for him, took hold of it and exclaimed— 
"Why, bless me! I must have reckoned the weight 
wrong." "Oh, no!" said the other, "you may be sure 
you have not, for I counted with you." " Well, well, we 
won't dispute the matter, it's so easily tried," said Mr. 
S., putting the bag into the scales again. " There," said 
he, •■ I told yon so ; knew that I was right— made a mis- 
take of nearly twenty pounds ; however, if you don't 
want the whole, you needn't have it ; Til take part of it 
out." "Xo!" said the other, staying the hands of Mr. 
S. on the way to the strings of the bag, "I gness I'll 
take the whole." And this he did, paying for dishonesty 
by receiving the skim ruilk cheese for the price of wool. 
On another occasion Mr. S. missed a barrel of pork. A 
few months after, a man one day asked him the question, 
•■ Did you ever find out who took that pork, Mr. 
sheafe :-" " Yes," was the reply ; " you are the fellow ! 
For none but myself and the thief knew of the loss." 
The feliow was detected by the shrewd dealer, who 
possessed the happy faculty of knowing when to be silent. 
Use for the Fire-fly. 
Mr. Parton, in the February number of ; ' Our Young 
Folks," relates that during the recent war two prisoners 
who had been confined in Andersonville eleven months, 
hearing that Sherman was at Atlanta, about two hundred 
and forty miles distant, determined to make their escape 
and try to reach that point. One of them had a watch 
h bich contained a compass, and with this they expected 
to direct their course, which was northwest. But as they 
were to travel by night they determined not to start until 
they could get a box of matches to give necessary light 
to consult the compass. This, however, they failed to do, 
aud at last, by the assistance of a colored man. they got 
away and lay hidden until evening, when they started 
through the woods. About midnight they came to a 
road which seemed to go exactly northwest. But it was 
=o cloudy they could not see the North Star, they could 
not consult the compass, and they well knew that a mis- 
take in the direction would lead to recapture and death. 
The more they talked it over, the less certain they grew. 
But presently one of them caught a fire-fly, and taking it 
between his thumb and finger, held it over the compass. 
To their great joy they found it gave light enough for their 
purpose, and very soon they ascertained that surely 
enough the road led etraight to the Union Army, 
and eight nights of travel brought them safely to it. 
A Picture Story for the Ti??ies.— Write it out yourself. 
I\ew Puzzles to he Answered. 
Xo. 340. Puzzle Inscription.— Kc nouoy Dloti. One of 
our clerks brought us the above inscription, which he 
wishes very much to have translated. He did not inform 
us what language it is in. Please find out and read it. 
No. 341. Illustrated Rebus.— A fact of recent occurrence. 
Answers to Problems and JPwzzles. 
The following are answers to the puzzles, etc.. in the 
March number.' page 103 ...Xo. 339. Illustrated Rebus.— 
Honor upholds the humble in spirit. The following have 
sent in correct answers. George Brenner, Mrs. J. S. 
Coles, Frank Lockwood. Li 11a Kirk, ''Lucy," B. F. 
Greenman. Milton S. Lavdis. J. McK. Wray, Eldridge 
Johnson, D. R. Harford, John Conlon, Mary J. Sanborn, 
Henry Schulz, J. Milton Snyder, F. T. Snyder, Henry 
Barkholder, D. M. Munro. Lunette Drew, John Heglin, 
Maggie Weafr, A. J. Dcitrick. Albert H. Hall. James E. 
Eshleman. F. M. Clemens. Philip H. Ittel, "William D. 
Billiard, M. C. Hunter, A. D. Newton, Jas. Mudd, W. A. 
Ditson, Nannie Johnson, J. Chenowith, J. M. Thompson. 
The defective Stone. 
"Don't put in that stone,' 1 said one mason to another, 
as they were working together on the rear wall of a 
church. "Can't you see it's a poor quality, all flaky, and 
will ^cale away to pieces?" "It isn't very good grain, 
I see; but it fits in here, and I don't want to wait for 
another. Besides, you can't see it from the ground, and 
nobody will take the trouble to climb up here to look at 
it." "You'd better send for another block. That 
isn't fltfor the wall ; it won't stand the weather ; and if it 
should go to pieces, it will damage the whole building." 
" I guess it won't damage me, nor you either, so here 
goes." And he lifted the block of loose-grained, flaky 
freestone into its bed, though the outer thicknesses 
cracked and the shell sloughed off. He dashed over it a 
trowelful of mortar, aud went on with the nest tier. 
Nobody could see the defective stone, for it was covered 
by a projecting buttress, and only the two stone-masons 
were present when it was laid. But though unseen, it 
was not safe, and time brought about its own result. 
Every sunbeam loosened ils texture a little, every storm 
helped to crumble off a minute fragment, and little by 
little, after many years the stone crumbled away. That 
was bad enough, but that was not all. It chanced that 
one of the great beams of the roof rested a few tiers 
above, directly over the defective block, and as the stone 
decayed, the beam sank a little. Presently a crack 
opened in the ceiling, disfiguriugthe fresco-painting, and 
the crack grew to a leak, letting in the rain. And when 
at last the worthless block fell out, the beam dropped 
down, the roof sunk in, and the church was no longer 
fit for use, until after the loss of much time, and the ex- 
pense of much money, a new roof was built, and a new 
block inserted in the wall. It was only a small defect, 
but it did much damage in the end. There is a struc- 
ture which everybody is building, young and old, each 
one for himself. It is called character, and in it every 
act of life is a stone. If day by day we are careful to 
build our lives with pure, noble, upright deeds, at the 
end will stand a fair temple, honored by God and man. 
But, as one leak will sink a ship, and one flaw break a 
chain, so one mean, dishonorable, untruthful act or word 
will forever leave its impress and work its influence on 
our characters. Then, let the several deeds unite to form 
a perfect day, and one by one the days grow into noble 
years, and the years, as they slowly pass, will raise at 
last a beautiful edifice, enduring forever to our praise. 
The Care of Canary ££irds # 
Few pets give more pleasure than these sweet singers. 
They are so perfectly at home in a cage that in looking 
at them one does not feel the regret experienced in keep- 
ing birds born in the free forest thus confined. Un- 
painted cages are best for birds, as they will industrious- 
ly peck at every place that offers a hold to their bills, 
and a very little paint would poison them. The cage 
should be hung where plenty of light and air can be en- 
joyed, not near the ceiling where the atmosphere is usu- 
ally foul. Opposite a window where the sunshine can 
come in is the best place. Birds are naturally very cleanly, 
and their cages should be kept scrupulously neat. A piece 
of brown paper laid upon the floor and changed every day 
will keep the floor clean; the perches should be washed 
frequently. Canaries greatly enjoy their morning bath. 
Give them clean water in a shallow dish daily, and their 
curious little freaks over it will afford much amusement. 
The drinking cup and seed cup should be cleansed and 
refilled daily. Canary seed is the best regular food ; for 
variety, add summer rape seed, and occasionally a little 
hemp seed. Fresh fruit, sweet apples, berries, etc., wilt 
be relished, and are healthful ; they are also very fond of 
sugar, which should be allowed them only in moderate 
quantity, as an occasional treat. A bit of cuttle-fish bone 
for them to peck at should be hung in the upper part of 
the cage, where it will be kept clean. Occasionally a 
cage becomes infested with mites,— little insects almost 
too small to be seen without a microscope,— which greatly 
irritate the bird, and if not destroyed, may cause its 
death. Their presence maybe known by the bird per- 
sistently scratching and pecking at his feathers, espe- 
cially after settling upon his perch for the night. In such 
a case wash the cage thoroughly with suds made from 
carbolic soap, and put a very little of it in their bathing 
water, which will soon clear out the pests without injury 
to the bird. With care never to frighten a bird, it may 
be taught to come to its owner from the cage, to feed 
from his hand, and even to perform many tricks ; the 
feats of Signor Blitz's trained canaries, which many of 
our readers have probably seen, show that these house- 
hold birds are capable of receiving no little education. 
Spelling Test.— Read the following sentence to 
any person desirous of showing his knowledge of spell- 
ing and request him to write it out. " It is agreeable busi- 
ness to perceive the unparalleled embarrassment of a 
harassed peddler ganging the symmetry of a peeled pear 
which a sibyl haa stabbed with a poniard unheeding the 
innuendoes of the lilies of a cornelian hue when on Wed- 
nesday last they endeavored to separate a niece and aunt.'* 
