140 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
expends in one year, ninety-one dollars and 
twenty-jive cents , and ten years thirteen hun¬ 
dred and six dollars and forty cents. Those 
who drink two and three times as often may 
add for themselves. I know it is injurious to 
communities , because in those where it is most 
used, there is the most poverty. I know it is 
injurious to human happiness , because it has 
caused more murders, more suicides, tenanted 
more prisons and alms-houses, and caused more 
sighs and tears, and made more widows and 
orphans than all other evils combined.— Salem 
Observer. 
Sheep-shearing Festival in Wisconsin.— 
The Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, w’ith 
a view to promoting the interests of sheep hus¬ 
bandry in that State, have instituted an annual 
“ sheep-shearing festival.” The first of these 
festivals is to be held at Whitewater on the 31st 
inst. 
Cattle for California. —The Osceola (Iowa) 
Independent of last week says : 
The number of cattle crossing the river at this 
place within the last month, from the different 
counties in the southwest, en route for Califor¬ 
nia, is variously estimated at from five to six 
thousand. 
- •• « - 
Wheat in MicnicAN.—The editor of The La¬ 
peer Democrat says: 
“While other portions of the State are com¬ 
plaining of the sad appearance of the wheat 
crop, owing to its being winter-killed, the farm¬ 
ers of Lapeer County have reason to congratu¬ 
late themselves that they have a prospect of a 
fair crop. 
This is the case generally in the north part 
of the State, but the south part complains of 
great loss. 
- • - 
Flushing, L. I., April 15. 
The Weather and Crops.— A large part of 
the peach buds are said to be winter-killed in 
this neighborhood. A good crop is not looked 
for. 
Warren Co., 0., April 12. 
There is a good deal of complaint here of win¬ 
ter-killed wheat. It is pretty certain it will not 
be as good as last year, but I hope not as bad as 
the croakers would have you believe. Our 
prospect for fruit is pretty good. It is certain 
that all the peach buds have not been killed by 
the cold. 
Sandusky, April, 11. 
As the spring advances the wheat crop is 
more promising. It is my opinion we shall 
have an average crop. 
Jersey Co., III., April 9. 
The prospect of a wheat crop has not been 
better for years. The fields are carpeted with 
green, and the weather is promising. 
-•-*-•- 
Great Fall of Rain. —The fall of rain from 
Wednesday to Saturday of last week, according 
to the New-York Hospital guage, was five 
inches and ten-hundredths; and according to 
the Flatbush rain guage, five inches and nenety- 
four hundredths this is not so heavy a fall of 
rain as was recorded at Flatbush in 1843, for 
on the 50th, 21st and 22d of August of that 
year, nine inches and seventy-hundredths of an 
inch fell. 
The fall of rain in Philadelphia, from Thurs¬ 
day afternoon until noon, was nearly 8-J- inches. 
An Old Rock. —An old bachelor geologist 
was boasting that every rock was as familiar to 
him as the alphabet. A lady who was present, 
declared that she knew of a rock of which he 
was wholly ignorant. “Name it, madam!” 
cried Coelebs, in a rage. “ It is roclc the cradle , 
sir,” replied the lady. 
In the choice of a wife, take the obedient 
daughter of a good mother. 
Man versus Horse. —Last week, a trial of 
strength came off at Burscough Bridge, under 
the following circumstances. It appears that a 
wager of a quarter cask of ale had been made 
between a well-known wheelwright of the 
neighborhood, and a brewer from near Orms- 
lcirk, that ten men could not draw a load of 
stone up Burscough Bridge, which a pair of 
horses had previously done. The wheelwright 
backed the men, and the brewer the horses. 
On the day appointed, the horses brought from 
the quarry, for the use of the Wigan and South- 
port Railway, a load of stone of about 50 cwts., 
weighing, with the cart, upwards of three and a 
half tons. This load they took to the top of the 
bridge and down again. The worthy wheel¬ 
wright now marshalled the force, consisting of 
nine stalwart young men belonging to the neigh¬ 
borhood. A cross piece of wood was firmly 
fixed to the shafts, supported by as many of the 
men as could attach themselves to it, the rest 
either dragging or pushing, and in this manner, 
cheered on by the the acclamations of an im¬ 
mense crowd, they dragged the ponderous load 
up the bridge with the greatest ease, the knight 
of the wheel thus winning the wager with one 
man less than his stipulated number. 
We Must Advance. —Perhaps there is no 
higher proof of the excellency of man than this 
—that to a mind properly cultivated, whatever 
is bounded is little. The mind is continually 
laboring to advance, step by step, through suc¬ 
cessive gradations of excellence, towards perfec¬ 
tion, which is dimly seen, at a great, though not 
hopeless distance, and which we must always 
follow because we never can attain; but the 
pursuit rewards itself; one truth teaches an¬ 
other, and our store is always increasing, though 
nature can never be exhausted.— Sir Joshua 
Reynolds. 
- • e •- 
Domestic Happiness. —If a happy marriage 
has given and insures to man peace at home, 
let there be no dread of the caprices of chance; 
his happiness is sheltered from the strokes of 
fortune. A wife gentle and affectionate, sensi¬ 
ble and virtuous, will fill his whole heart and 
leave no room for sadness. What will he care 
for the loss of property when he possesses this 
treasure ? Is not his house sufficiently magni¬ 
ficent as long as she commands respect to it— 
splendid enough, as long as her presence adorns 
it? A cottage where virtue dwells, is far supe¬ 
rior to a palace; it becomes a temple. 
An Answer. —Mr. Whiteside, the barrister, 
cross-examining a witness in Dublin somewhat 
rudely, asked him if he had never been before 
a police court? “Yes,” said he, “I was fined 
for an assault. A barrister so annoyed me by 
cross-examination that I knocked him down 
when he came out of court.” 
“ I wonder what makes my eyes so weak ?” 
said a loafer to a gentleman. 
“ Why, they are in a weak place,” returned 
the latter. 
Rhyme is not always Poetry.— The N. 0. 
Delta says : “ Mrs. Mary White, last Tuesday 
night, became extremely tight, and engaged in 
a fight, by punching the gourd of her too-loving 
lord with a piece of board. The neighbors all 
round were disturbed by the sound, and could 
not think of sleeping a wink, until the police 
came, and the turbulent dame was taken to 
jail, and not giving bail, poor Mrs. White was 
locked up for the night. She acknowledged 
the corn of taking a horn, and asked his honor 
to take pity upon her, and she solemnly swore, 
she’s do so no more. The Recorder heard her 
tale, and told her not to fail, to go immediately 
home, and in all time to come to leave oil' drink¬ 
ing rum, and conduct herself good, as all women 
should. 
Surgeons are the angels of this world—they 
are constantly redressing injuries. 
-« O •- 
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 concWed to be at the expense and 
trouble of maiing out an extra index with No. 
26, 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 which 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 leant of care on 
the part of the writer. If he does 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. 
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. 
