AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
an acre, and thus every one would understand 
it. So we think the common law, or a jury 
would decide. If the seller has been deceived, 
he recovers for damages upon the person from 
whom he purchased. The fact that the number 
of acres is stated, seems to cut off the idea of 
its being sold as a plot “ more or less.” 
Since writing the above, we have received 
from a legal friend a few quotations from the 
highest authorities, and as this is a question of 
some interest we give extracts here. Kent’s 
Commentaries, Vol. IY. at page 506, says : 
The mention of quantity of acres, after a 
certain description of the subject by meter and 
bounds is but matter of description, and does 
not amount to any covenant, or afford ground 
for breach of covenant, though the quantity 
should fall short of the given amount. “ When¬ 
ever it appears by definite boundaries or by 
words of qualification, as “ more or less,” that 
the statement of the quantity of acres is mere 
matter of description and not of the essence of 
the contract, the buyer takes the risk of the 
quantity, if there he no intermixture of fraud. 
Barber’s Report of Sup Court of New- 
York, says:—Where a specified tract of land 
is sold for a sum in gross, the boundaries of the 
tract control the description of the quantity it 
contains and neither party can have a remedy 
against the other for an excess or deficiency in 
the quantity, unless such excess or deficiency 
is so great as to furnish evidence of fraud or 
misrepresentation. 
Johnson, says:—A deed was delivered to Mr. 
S. describing a lot, and as “ containing 600 acres 
be the same more or less.” On actual survey the 
lot was found to contain only 421 acres and -J-.” 
The court held that the quantity was at the risk 
of the vendee, and that he could not require the 
deficiency to be made up. 
Dort’s Law of Vendors at page 307, says :— 
Where the estate is professedly bought by the 
acre and the words “ more or less” have been 
used, they have been held to cover a deficiency 
of upwards of five out of forty-one acres. 
Monson, Vol. 4, page 414 says :—A farm was 
sold without measurement, and represented to 
contain 47^ acres, “ more or less.” The quan¬ 
tity turned out upon subsequent measurement, 
to contain only 40 J. Mr. Justice Story held, 
that as the vendor was not guilty of any fraud, 
the vendee was not entitled to relief in equity. 
A Cow bought for $10, whose milk but just 
pays her keeping, affords less profit than one at 
$30, giving twice the quantity of milk afforded 
by the former. Try it and see. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
THE FARMER. 
Who is the independent man ? 
The farmer, he is one ; 
The changes and the cares of trade, 
He’s wise enough to shun. 
Oh! what cares he for stock on ’change, 
His farm is all his own ; 
Or what for creditors’ loud dun, 
He reaps what he has sown. 
And who is rich, if ’tia not he ? 
With harvest yet in store; 
It matters not what the extent 
Of acres, less or more. 
For his investment’s safer far, 
Than if in ships at sea, 
Or funds in banks, with which now a’days, 
Defaulters often flee. 
And he is happy, though he toil, 
For labor bringeth rest; 
A blessing ’tis, when not o’ertasked, 
And gives to all a zest. 
He joys to see the fruits and grain 
Perfected by his skill, 
And harvest rich, all gathered up, 
His bins and barns to fill. 
Or who has health, if ’tis not he 
Who rises with the sun ? 
With cheerfulness, and temperance too, 
His daily task is done ; 
He loves the breath of scented fields, 
Enjoys his own fire-side— 
True pleasure rural life attends, 
Till comes its closing tide. 
Of his profession be may boast, 
The first on earth we trace, 
For the first man it was ordained 
To culture earth’s broad face. 
Never look back, when to the plow 
Once you have set your hand, 
For many thus have rued the day, 
They left their farm and land. 
Conta\ 
A BOY’S LETTER ABOUT HIS TROUBLES. 
Well boys, here is something for you, writ¬ 
ten by one of your own number, and by one no 
older than yourselves, if you are not more than 
eleven years of age. We generally correct let¬ 
ters before putting them in type; but we are 
going to print this just as it is written, with all 
the spelling, capitals, punctuation marks, and 
good and bad grammar, exactly as it came to 
us. We do this, so that the writer, and all other 
boys, may be able to see the errors themselves. 
They can also see how badly a wrongly-spelled 
word looks, and then we hope they will all try 
hard to learn to spell well. We will make an 
offer here. The boy, not more than twelve 
years old, who will write out this letter in a plain 
hand, and send it to us with all the mistakes cor¬ 
rected, and not get any one to help him in the 
least, shall have a copy of the Agriculturist 
sent to his name free for three months. Be 
careful to get no help from any one, and tell us 
that you have not. 
Wc will put the letter in here, and say more 
about it next week, after you have read it. Be 
careful and keep this paper till then. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist. 
Dear Sir :—I have been looking over the 
pages of your paper to find some directions to 
kill an insect that anoyes my mother very much 
by destroying her plum trees, I found it; I was 
thinking how good it was I did find, and I wished 
you had a boys corner in your paper, if you 
had I should write and thank you for giving us 
so many valuable receipts and would ask you 
some other questions which perhaps you would 
not object to telling a fellow, I am a school boy 
just entering my teens, I have a pretty hard 
lot of it, I am obliged to study more than is ne¬ 
cessary I know—if you please sir, I should like 
to know about your boy hood and how you 
managed to find out so much if you will cons- 
cend to tell me and give this letter a place in 
the N. E. corner of your paper I shall like it, I 
am determined if possible to find out some way 
of getting hold of all I want to know without 
this evelasting studying, I do not wish to be a 
very great man what I mean by this is, I do not 
care one fig for going to Congress or writing 
poetry or the like of it; my father wishes me to 
become an honest upright business man—I 
have some taste for the fine arts but my father 
look upon these things as belonging to the fem¬ 
inine gender and does not wish me to give them 
any of my attention, my mother’s taste is very 
different; althoug I say it myself I am not 
ashamed to own that I think my mother is a 
lady of good taste she would like me to under¬ 
stand all the fine arts and is grieved if my 
clothes or manners are out of order; she wishes 
me to see that my boots are well polished my 
nails and teeth in order at all times—my father 
pays attention to the solids, wishes me to have 
good strong shooes my feet warm and dry pay 
for all I have and waste nothing, when I go to 
and from school carry one end of my trunk &c. 
I think you can guess out the rest of it, how I 
shall come out it is hard telling, my father has 
given me the offer of going to college if I choose 
but I dont think I shall choose to go I think I 
think I shall try to get on without it; if I do 
decide to go I shall have to get redy and if to 
get redy I must study more than I do now in 
all conscience I will not try it; I am sure it 
would kill me by inches and from all I can find 
out a college is only another name for a board¬ 
ing school as far as study is concerned six of 
one and a half dozen of the other. I do not 
know sir how long a space I am taking up in 
your paper I can not tell in writing how much 
printing it will make for I never have seen any 
thing of mine in print and I can not guess how 
it will look but, I long to have it out—perhaps 
you will not put it the paper there will be so 
many mistakes about it, I generally have my 
compositions corrected, bad grammar spelling; 
orthography I believe they call it but this must 
go as it is as I shall not show it to one of the 
teachers, I would not let any one know that I 
had made an attempt of this kind for no money 
they would call an orthor or newspaper writer 
this I could not stand no how neither will I let 
you know my name, if my father and mother 
should find me out putting their caracter in 
print, I recon they would give me an additional 
chapter in^Familiar Science a coat of many colors 
not very much like good old Joseph’s but one 
of quite a different texture, as I am sure they 
would not like to have their caracters in any 
paper even the New-York Observer the minis¬ 
ters paper. 
But now I must stop how to come to a stop¬ 
ping place I do not know I have never written 
to any one but my father and mother and then 
I wind up by saying your son I am not particu¬ 
larly fond of writing especially when they are 
to be inspected by the teachers and sometimes 
have two or three lines cut off because the 
Grammar is not good or something of the kind 
—please do not cutoff any of this; let me have 
mistakes and all, and be sure and put an article 
in that the teachers will read about long lessons 
keeping a fellow studying to much and how 
your father managed you? and how old you 
were when you commenced getting up newspa¬ 
pers. I will see how it takes here and perhaps 
I will write you again. One of the teachers 
here says he has seen you and you are pretty 
good looking and good sized if so I think you 
did not have to study as much as we do, to be 
sure we look pretty well but it is owing to good 
air and huclc icheat calces these we have every 
morning when we are not tardy at prayers many 
is the time I have started for the chapel butten- 
ing on my coat as I was going down stairs fear¬ 
ing I should have to breakfast on bread. The 
old cook who has served the establishment sev¬ 
eral years by sitting before a good coal fire and 
showing her science by browning cakes shows 
her ebony when she sees our zeal to be at pray¬ 
ers in time she likes punctuality in every thing, 
some how or rather I have got up some respect 
for her and have no doubt that the browning of 
the cakes have something to do with it. 
A Boy from Down East. 
A Precocious Yankee. —A lad was subpoe¬ 
naed as witness in one of the American ports. 
The judge said, “Put the boy upon evidence.” 
Upon hearing which Young America exclaimed, 
“Who are you calling boy ?—I’ve chewed baccy 
these tw r o years.” 
-•«•—•—- 
Youth, respect age, if you would in thrn be 
respected. 
Virtuous actions, sooner or later, will find 
their reward. 
The best mode of revenge, is not to imitate 
the injury. 
Zealously strive to do good for the sake of 
the good. 
