108 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
A Gem. —Who wrote the following beautiful 
epitaph upon an infant ? It speaks to the heart:— 
Beneath this stone, in sweet repose, 
Is laid a mother’s dearest pride; 
A flower that scarce had waked to life 
And light and beauty, ere it died. 
God in his wisdom has recalled 
The precious boon his love had given; 
And though the casket moulders here, 
The gem is sparkling now in heaven. 
--- 
Domestic Duties. —The elegant and accom¬ 
plished Lady Mary Wortley Montague, who 
figured in the fashionable as well as in the lit¬ 
erary circles of her time, has said that '‘the 
most minute details of household economy be¬ 
come elegant and refined when they are enno¬ 
bled by sentimentand they are trulj r enno¬ 
bled, when we attend to them either from a 
sense of duty, or consideration for a parent, or 
love to a husband. “ To furnish a room,” con¬ 
tinues this lady, “ is no longer a common-place 
affair, shared with upholsterers and cabinet¬ 
makers; it is decorating the place where I am 
to meet a friend or lover. To order dinner is 
not merely arranging a meal with my cook ; it 
is preparing refreshments for him whom I love. 
These necessary occupations, viewed in this 
light by a person capable of strong attachments, 
are so many pleasures, and afford her far more 
delight than the games and shows which con¬ 
stitute the amusements of the world.” 
A Pleasant Prospect. —When Socrates was 
asked whether it was better for a man to marry 
or remain single, he made answer, “ Let him 
take which course he will, he will repent it.” 
The reply is similar to that of the youth who, 
being asked which out of the two very bad 
roads to a certain place was the least bad, cried 
—“ Take either, and before you get half-way, 
you will w r ish you had taken the other.” 
-- 
The Duties op Life. —Some writer enume¬ 
rates the following, among other duties of life:— 
“Everyman ought to pay his debts—if he can. 
Every man ought to help his neighbor—if he can. 
Every man and woman ought to get married— 
if they can. Every man should do his work to 
suit his customers—if he can. Every man 
should please his wife—if he can. Every wife 
should please her husband—if she can. Every 
wife should sometimes hold her tongue—if she 
can. Every lawyer should sometimes tell the 
truth—if he can. Every one should take a 
newspaper, andyiny for it —if he can. 
— • » <- 
The Manner of doing a Service to Others.— 
When your endeavors are directed towards 
doing good to an individual—in other words, to 
do him service—if there be any opinion as to 
the mode or way, consider and observe what 
mode is most to his taste. If you serve him as 
you think and say, in a way which is yours, and 
not his, the value of any service may, by an in¬ 
definite amount, be thus reduced. If the ac¬ 
tion of serving a man, not in the way he wishes 
to be served, be carried to a certain length, it 
becomes tyranny, not beneficence—an exercise 
of power for the satisfaction of the self-regard¬ 
ing affection, not an act of beneficence for the 
gratification of the sympathetic or social affec¬ 
tions.— Teremy Bentham. 
Iron Buildings. —An association has been 
formed in Brooklyn, with a capital of $150,000, 
for the erection of iron dwellings, and property 
has been purchased with a view to the erection 
of a foundry. It is claimed that buildings, such 
as are designed for small families, can be put 
up for $500 or $000, or for from one-half to one- 
third of the ordinary expense. There have al¬ 
ready been twenty-eight buildings of this kind 
erected in Baltimore and sixteen in Philadelphia 
The ceilings, walls and floors are made of glass. 
—the latter being formed of a beautiful pure 
white sand, found in Connecticut, which needs 
only to be melted under electric heat, and col¬ 
ored, if desired, to produce the desired article. 
The association is called the Long Island Iron 
Building Co. See advertisement. 
-•- 
“ Paid down upon the Nail.” —The origin 
of this phrase is thus stated in the Recollections 
of Keefe , the dramatist:—“An ample piazza 
under the Exchange (Limerick) was a thorough¬ 
fare ; in the center stood a pillar four feet high, 
and upon it a circular plate of copper, about 
three feet in diameter; this was calied the nail, 
and on it was paid the earnest for any commer¬ 
cial bargains made, which was the origin of the 
saying, “ Paid down upon the nail.” Perhaps 
the custom was common toother ancient towns. 
—Notes and Queries. 
-• O • -- 
A Sign of the Times. —Every one who makes 
a discovery now-a-days, of any kind, straight¬ 
way turns about to And way of realizing its 
value in gold and silver. We believe that if a 
man were to discover a certain cure for all 
diseases, he would allow some two or three 
generations to die from plagues and pestilences, 
before he would divulge it without a reward in 
the shape of some hundreds of thousands of 
dollars. We doubt whether an age more given 
to Mammon worship was ever known from the 
beginning of the^world. A certain scriptural 
phrase is now practically altered to read : You 
must contrive somehow to serve God and Mam¬ 
mon. 
SPECIAL NOTICE TO ALL SUBSCRIBERS. 
We find that by using such good paper, our 
volume of 832 pages will be quite large to bind, 
and especially large for those who wish to stitch 
their paper together with an index, without be¬ 
ing at the expense of binding. To obviate this, 
we have concluded to be at the expense and 
trouble of making out an extra index with No. 
2G, so as to form a complete volume of the first 
26 numbers. The index for the next 26 num¬ 
bers will be given at the end of the year, or with 
No. 52. This arrangement will make it conve¬ 
nient for all, as the 52 numbers can be stitched 
or bound in two volumes with an index for each, 
or in one volume with the double index at the 
close. 
We hope all will preserve their numbers, for 
there are many single articles each of which will 
be worth the price of the volume, for future ref¬ 
erence. When the paper arrives from the post- 
office, a good plan is to see that it is properly 
\ folded, and then pin or sew it through the mid¬ 
dle and cut open the leaves. It is very easy to 
stitch 26 numbers together. To do this, arrange 
them in regular order, and with an awl punch 
several holes about one-fourth of an inch from 
the back, and through these run a strong thread 
two or three times with a darning-needle, and 
the work is done. We have scores of volumes 
of papers, pamphlets, and addresses, thus pre¬ 
pared, which serve all the purposes of a bound 
volume, and occupy less room in storing and 
carrying. We would, however, prefer to see 
volumes of agricultural papers neatly bound and 
laid upon the book-shelves or tables of farmers. 
They are much better and more appropriate or¬ 
naments, than gilded volumes of trashy maga¬ 
zines or novels. 
ONE WORD MORE.—We thank our friends 
for the liberal aid they have afforded us in ex¬ 
tending the circulation of the Agriculturist. 
Our list has increased beyond our expectation, 
and we are daily encouraged to labor with the 
utmost diligence, to make our paper worthy of 
the confidence and admiration of our largely in¬ 
creasing list of readers. Our reliance for the 
continuance and increase of our list is upon 
those who are already readers. As stated above, 
we now divide the year so as to give either one 
or two complete volumes of the 52 numbers. 
Number 27 begins the second volume, or half 
of the year. We respectfully request all our 
present subscribers to make a little exertion at 
this time, and each send us on at least one new 
name. If you cannot get your neighbors to 
send on for a year, ask them to try the paper 
for six months, as in that time they will get a 
complete volume. 
To Correspondents. —We have several com¬ 
munications on hand which we will look over 
as soon as we have time, and some of them will 
be published. It is no trifling labor to prepare 
for the printer many communications wffiich we 
receive. Some are written so closely that there 
is not room to put in corrections, without re¬ 
writing the whole. We cheerfully prepare ar¬ 
ticles, unless there is manifest want of care on 
the part of the writer. If he docs as well as he 
can, we make all needful changes and correc¬ 
tions. 
As most writers doubtless wish to improve 
their own style, we suggest to them to keep an 
exact copy of their communications, and then 
compare this copy with the printed sheet. They 
may often learn something in this way. 
We are not anxious to receive original poetry. i 
We have little space for rhyme, and we have 
good selections enough to last us a year at least. 
Good poetry, however, will not be rejected ; but 
we advise all who attempt to write in verse to 
remember, that good rhyme does not constitute 
good poetry; on the contrary, some of the best 
poetry we have ever seen does not “ rhyme ” at 
all, while some of the best rhyme contains not a 
single poetic sentiment. 
PRODUCE MARKETS. 
Wholesale prices of the more important Vegetables, 
Fruits, &c., at the principle New-York Markets. 
In our weekly reports we give the prices which producers 
actually get, and not the prices at which produce is sold 
from the market. 
April 22, 1854. 
Vegetables.— Potatoes, Western Reds, $ bbl., $2 50® 
$3 ; Junes, $3@$3 50 ; Mercers, $3 50@$4 ; Carters, $3 50 
®$4 ; Turnips, white, $ bhi., §2 ; yellow, $2 25 ; Spinach, 
$1 bbl., $2 50 ; Onions red, $ bbl.. $1 75 ; white,|$3 ; yellow, 
S2 ; Parsneps, ^ bbl., $1 75; Lettuce, ^ doz. bunches, 
25c.®$1; Radishes, ^ doz., 32c.@42c.; Asparagus, ^ doz., 
$4 . 0 ; Parsley, doz., 62Xc.; Vegetable Oysters, ^ doz., .$!■ 
Fruits.—A pples, a good article is worth ^ bbl., $4; 
poorer quality from $3@,$3 50. Maple Sugar, 10c ©12c. fl 
pound. Butter. Ohio, 12)<£c.@14c. per pound. New-York 
old butter, 20c.®26c,; new, 2Gc.@28c. Eggs, 10c.®17c. ^8 
dozen. 
Remarks. —Flour has declined from 12J to 25 
cts. per bbl. the past week. Corn has advanced 
from 1 to 2 cts. per bushel. Lard, A a cent 
higher. Wool very active. 
Cotton has advanced v to A, and Sugar to $ 
of a cent per lb. 
Money and Stocks remain so stationary that 
we shall not take further note of them till some 
change. 
The weather is now fine, but still cool for the 
season. It is the most extraordinary April we 
ever knew in this climate, and the last fall of 
snow we had is deserving a record. It began 
to fall on Friday afternoon, the 14th, and con¬ 
tinued snowing till Sunday morning the 18tli, 
the wind blowing a strong gale from the N. E. 
all the while. Had not a good deal of the snow 
melted as it fell, it would doubtless have been 18 
to 20 inches deep. As it was, it remained 4 to 
6 inches deep Tuesday morning in the city and 
neighborhood. More or less is now (Monday, 
April 24th,) lying in hallows and in strips un¬ 
der the fences, and in the forests all around us. 
We hope a vestige may not be seen three days 
hence. The gardeners are now busy planting 
again. 
