AMEKICAN AGKICULTUKIST. 
tain the digestion of childhood, we might also 
keep much of childhood’s joyousness. 
Why can we not? To some extent we may 
Advancing years necessarily wear out the hu¬ 
man frame, and the stomach suffers with the 
rest of the body; but the digestive powers are 
oftener impaired by excess, at least in America, 
than by age. Intemperance is a fertile source 
of impaired digestion. It is to his having nearly 
destroyed the coats of his stomach that the 
drunkard partly owes his shattered nerves. 
Even many persons who cannot be called ine¬ 
briates, and who perhaps have never been in¬ 
toxicated in their lives, injure their digestion by 
the daily use of stimulating liquors. The drop¬ 
ping of water will wear away the hardest rock. 
Is it astonishing, therefore, that the drinking of 
ardent spirits, habitually, even in comparatively 
moderate quantities, will weaken the stomach 
at last ? Americans are notoriously the largest 
consumers of brandy in the world. Other na¬ 
tions, generally, when they resort to stimulants, 
use light wines or preparations of malt. The 
Frenchman takes his claret, the German his 
beer, the Englishman his ale. But Americans 
must have brandy, or, at least, whiskey. Even 
if the amount of stimulant in the light wine, or 
in the preparation of malt, is not sufficient to be 
injurious, the distilled spirits which form the 
common beverage of the American people are 
undeniably so. It is a fact, which any man 
may verify, that habitual brandy-drinkers, even 
if they never become intoxicated, rarely attain 
old age. 
But there are other excesses almost as fatal 
to the digestive organs. Intemperance in eat- 
mg is as injurious as intemperance in drinking; 
and it is, perhaps, even more common. An old 
writer has said: “ Whoever feels that he has a 
stomach, cannot have a good one.” Tried by 
this test, how do Americans stand ? The ma 
jority, perhaps, are born with digestive organs 
naturally strong, but men soon learn to over¬ 
task them; and, indeed, it is the ordinary prac¬ 
tice not to stop eating till the stomach begins to 
feel uncomfortable. Is it strange, therefore, 
that dyspepsia is so general ? What, with the 
habit of bolting food, the excessive use of pas¬ 
tries, the fondness of hot cakes, and the late 
suppers, so popular with many, it would be ex¬ 
traordinary if Americans were not sallow, thin¬ 
faced, nervous, and low-spirited. Thousands 
who religiously abstain from ardent spirits, 
gorge, themselves at every opportunity, little 
thinking that they are shortening their days, 
and impairing their capacity to enjoy life, nearly 
as much as the brandy-drinkers they condemn, 
Avoid excess in eating, as well as in drinking, 
it yoa wish to attain old age. A moderate diet, 
adapted to your pursuits, and varied according 
to your constitution, is better than all the phy¬ 
sicians and all the schools. In short, keep your 
digestive organs unimpaired, for that, after all, 
is the true elixir of life .—Dollar Newspaper. 
Golden Rules for the Guidance of the 
Green. —If you require a person to become se¬ 
curity for you, don’t ask the man who promised 
he would do any thing for you when he knew 
that you didn’t want any thing dene. If you 
happen to know an author, don’t own it; one- 
half the world won’t believe you, and the other 
half, won’t think much of it if they do. 
Don t say you never take suppers, excepting 
where you know they never give any. If you 
don’t know what every body else knows, you 
had better hold your tongue ; and if you know 
somethin : that every body else knows, you had 
better hold your tongue, too. If you happen 
to say something in society which causes a pain¬ 
ful sensation, you had better take a walk for 
five minutes. If you intend to do a good thing, 
don’t change your mind; and if you possess a 
five pound note, don’t change that. These, and 
a few other golden rules, which we don’t exactly 
remember, should be learned by heart, as they 
will prevent your appearing green, and other 
people looking blue.— Diogenes. 
HOW TO OBTAIN A LONG LEASE OF LIFE. 
A curious medical work, by Richard Reese, 
of London, has lately made its appearance, 
and is just attracting some attention, on ac¬ 
count of the following article which describes 
the uses and operation of the so-called “ Pom¬ 
melling Hammer 
This simple instrument was invented by the 
late Admiral Henry, to pommel and rub parts 
of the body effected with rheumatism or subject 
to gouty inflammation, and for invigorating ab¬ 
sorbent vessels in the cases of local deposits or 
diseased structure, in which it is desirable to 
bring the absorbents of the part into full action. 
By rubbing and occasionally pommelling differ¬ 
ent parts of the body which are subject to 
gouty and rheumatic attacks, Admiral Henry— 
who had for many years been a martyr to rheu¬ 
matic gout—succeeded in not only curing it; 
but, by a perseverance in that practice after the 
malady was subdued, he succeeded in diminish¬ 
ing the sensibility or excitability of the nerves, 
and particularly of the membranes or joints, so 
as to render them unsusceptible of gouty or 
rheumatic action. 
By persisting regularly in the use of this sys¬ 
tem, the Admiral fancied he could render the 
muscles and nerves of the body so firm and 
irritable as to prolong his life three hundred 
years. He pommelled and rubbed the abdomen 
with such a degree of force, as to act on the 
stomach and intestinal canal, and to its effects 
he attributed the regular state of his bowels, 
and the excellent condition of his digestive or¬ 
gans, having an excellent appetite, and being 
entirely free from any symptoms of indigestion; 
but, unfortunately for the anticipated results of 
this system, which has, unquestionably, consid¬ 
erable merit, the Admiral could not apply it to 
the most important organs of the body—namely, 
the brain, the lungs, and the heart. 
The Admiral lived to the age of one hundred 
years, and for the last twenty-five years of his 
life, was equal to considerable muscular exer¬ 
tions, often walking twenty-five miles in the 
course of the day, without experiencing the 
slightest fatigue, and enjoying sound health. A 
similar mode of treating rheumatism and gout 
has lately been much recommended by Dr. Bal¬ 
four, of Edinburgh, who has just published 
several cases in which it has completely suc¬ 
ceeded. One great advantage arising from this 
system is, the cures it effects are generally per¬ 
manent. 
The Admiral being afflicted with cataract in 
both eyes, consulted Mr. Ware, who, finding 
them both ripe, advised him to have both ex¬ 
tracted. He resolved to submit to the opera¬ 
tion on one eye only, promising that, if it suc¬ 
ceeded, he should operate on the other. 
The operation having completely failed, the 
Admiral determined to apply his system of 
pommelling and rubbing—the eye-lids being 
closed—to the other eye, which had the effect 
of bringing the absorbents into action, and the 
diseased lens was so completely removed, in the 
course of three months, that he had the power 
of reading small print .—Home Journal. 
EFFECTS OF CLOTHING ON THE HUMAN 
SHIN. 
The London Lancet presents some excellent 
ideas on the subject of clothing. Let a person 
in bed be covered with sufficient blankets to 
promote perspiration, and let these blankets be 
covered with an oil or India-rubber cloth, or 
other impervious fabric; in the morning the 
blankets will be dry, but the under surface of 
the India-cloth will be quite wet. The blankets, 
by their dryness, show that the exhalations of 
the body, pass through them, and would pass 
through them to the surrounding air had they 
not been intercepted by the impervious outer 
covering. Thus it is inevitable that the habit¬ 
ual use of an impervious covering is injurious. 
Its effect must be to place the body in a con¬ 
stant vapor bath, in which the insensible or 
health perspiration is constantly becoming con¬ 
densed into the form of humidity, and being 
prevented from passing off in its elastic and in¬ 
visible form, the perspiration is thus constantly 
checked, and skin eruptions must be the result. 
Nevertheless, it must be less injurious to check 
perspiration, in some degree, by a water-proof 
overcoat, than to get soaked with rain. There 
can be no doubt but water-proof fabrics may 
be made very light, and so formed as to be 
worn in wet weather, and yet allow some room 
for perspiration. But still they are not healthy, 
and should never be put on but in cases of 
extreme necessity. 
Any person who has worn a water-proof 
outer garment for some time, knows by experi¬ 
ence that it causes weakness and chills. No 
person should wear a garment but such as 
allows the vapor or perspiration which is con¬ 
tinually exuding from the skin to pass off freely. 
For this reason a frequent change of entire 
clothing conduces to health. Clothing should 
be light and warm, and not too tight. A happy 
change in the fashions has taken place within a 
few years; it is the substitution of loose outer 
garments for the old-fashioned, tight, close and 
pinching overcoats. Too few flannels are worn 
in America, especially along the eastern coasts, 
where sudden changes are frequent, and where 
many cold rains fall during the winter season. 
Children should always have their outer gar¬ 
ments for winter made of woolen materials. 
Although India-rubber over-shoes are excellent 
for walking in the street in wet weather, or 
when there is a thaw with snow upon the 
ground, they should never be worn at any other 
time, and should be taken off as soon as the 
wearer enters a house. They prevent perspi¬ 
ration in a great measure, and are only useful 
as a lesser evil than getting the feet completely 
wet from outside water. 
-• • *- 
BULL vs. LOCOMOTIVE. 
A Warning Story for Lord Derby. —Lord 
Derby has avowed his chivalrous determination 
to run at the Press, when offended by the light 
cast abroad by it upon any subject that, as his 
Lordship believes, ought to remain in sacred 
obscurity. For the timely instruction and ben¬ 
efit of Lord Derby, Mr. Punch humbly begs 
permission to relate to him a true story. (See 
Newspapers at Peele’s Coffee-house.) 
About two—it may be three, it surely is not 
four—years ago, there was a bull pastured in a 
field skirting a railway. The bull—a weakness 
with bulls in general—had a high sense of his 
dignity. It may be, he was a bull of long des¬ 
cent, come down to us from the grand old bulls 
of the Caledonian Forest. Be this as it may, 
the bull had—it was believed—been much an¬ 
noyed by the rattling, and bellowing, and smok¬ 
ing, and steaming of the railway train, that 
would pass him—contemptuously pass him—on 
wheels of thunder. “Shall I, a bull, permit 
this?” asked Taurus, as was thought from the 
sequel. “ By no means. I will—when next 
disturbed—pitch into the train—run at it—toss 
it off the rail—throw it into infinite space.” 
The night-train appeared; and, by way of 
mockery of the magnificent bull, carried two 
flaming red lights! Now the bull had a natural 
disgust of every thing put forth that was red. 
Whereupon, true to his determination, but fur¬ 
ther stimulated by the new insult—the bull 
threw up his tail, lowered his head, shut his 
eyes—and ran full butt at the railway train. 
And the train, in one moment, knocked every 
puff of breath out of the body of the bull, that 
lay so much beef upon the railway. 
The house of Derby is famous for its breed of 
cocks. Let his Lordship take heed lest he com¬ 
plete the tale; making the story a double story 
of a Cock and a Bull.— Punch. 
-- 
Brothers.— “ How well he plays for one so 
young,” said Mrs. Partington, as the organ boy 
and his monkey performed near her door ; “ and 
how much his little brother looks like him, to 
be sure.” 
