344 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[November, 
THE NEW FLAGEOLET. 
(Engraved for the American Agriculturist.) 
The Editor with his Young Readers. 
The Young Musician. 
The efforts of the young musician in the picture 
are amusing, but with him it is no laughing mat¬ 
ter. His little flageolet is a greater treasure to 
him than the most costly piano would be in a rich 
man’s dwelling, for possessions are, or should be 
prized according to the enjoyment they yield. You 
can see by the coarse clothing of these children 
and the rude furniture of the room, that they are 
poor. But what of that ? Have they not a flageo¬ 
let, with which to make real music, at least to their 
ears. How intently the brother of the player watch¬ 
es the wonderful instrument. He evidently thinks 
his brother a masterly performer. The whole is so 
natural, we love to look upon it. A friend while 
examining the picture said it carried him back to 
the days when he was first master of a flute, the 
gift of a relative; and he bears testimony that no 
single article ever gave him more pleasure. Wc 
know of no amusement more pleasing or innocent 
for both young and old, than the practice of music. 
In order to become proficient, it is necessary to 
commence learning young. The notes of music are 
not more difficult to loam than the letters of the 
alphabet, and when once learned, they will open the 
way to an unfailing source of pleasure. If you are 
so fortunate as to become possessor of an instru¬ 
ment, imitate the example of the boy in the picture, 
while learning to use it. Give your whole attention 
to it for the time, but of course, not too long at a 
time. There are more important matters than 
music to be learned in youth, but practice the prin¬ 
ciple of doing whatever you may engage in, witli 
your whole soul, and you may be sure of success. 
A Mistake. 
A station-master at one of the principal depots 
of the Great Western Railway in England, was noted 
for his self importance, and also for his cringing 
obsequiousness to persons of rank. One day he ob¬ 
served a gentleman walking up and down the plat¬ 
form with a cigar in his mouth. This was against 
the rules, and the station master requested him to 
stop smoking. The gentleman took no notice of it, 
and continued puffing. This irritated the station 
master, and in a most peremptory tone he ordered 
the cigar to be thrown away. Still no notice was 
taken. A third time lie gave the order, still more 
angrily, and then, not being obeyed, he stepped up 
to the offender, and snatching the cigar from his 
mouth threw it away. The gentleman coolly con¬ 
tinued his walk without speaking or noticing the 
angry man. Presently, a coach and four belonging 
to a neighboring nobleman drove up, and the 
smoker entering the carriage, rode away. The sta¬ 
tion master in great trepidation inquired his name, 
and was in the utmost consternation when told it 
was Viscount Palmerston, Premier (First Lord of 
the Treasury) of England. He immediately called 
a carriage, and drove off post haste to the house 
where the Premier was stopping, and earnestly re¬ 
quested to see his Lordship. The Premier soon ap¬ 
peared, and the station master commenced a most 
abject apology for having “ so grossly insulted his 
Lordship. Had he known who his Lordship was, 
he would not have treated his Lordship so for the 
world.” The Premier heard him in silence, then 
looking upon him sternly said : “ Sir, I did respect 
you because I thought you were doing your duty 
like a Briton ; but now I see you are nothing but an 
unmitigated snob." It was a well merited rebuke, 
not easily forgotten. Remember boys and girls that 
he who does his duty, however unpleasant it may 
be, will always be respected. 
Cltildrcii’s Flower Gardens. 
It is too late, now, to sow flower seeds for this 
year’s enjoyment. But it is a suitable time to pre¬ 
pare the ground for next year’s use. And indeed it 
is a good time, now, to set out many hardy herba¬ 
ceous plants and shrubs which will survive the Win¬ 
ter, and shoot up next Spring when the snow is off. 
In the towns and villages which we visited the 
past Summer, we noticed only a few childrens’ gar¬ 
dens. Here and there was a bed in father’s garden, 
set off for the children, and it always delighted us 
to look at them. Some were surrounded with clean 
clam-shells for a border, others with broken china, 
or with father’s surplus geological specimens. Vio¬ 
lets, poppies, pinks, and morning-glories were fa¬ 
vorite flowers. In one, we noticed a “Sensitive 
Plant,” which, the family told us, every visitor was 
taken to admire; it was such a curious thing to see 
the leaves of a plant close up and fall at the touch 
of a human hand! In the center of one bed, a 
broken mantel-ornament was set up for a classic 
vase or fountain ; atone side of the parterre, a china 
doll was fastened on a square block, for a statue of 
Venus, and on the other, a Sambo doll was en¬ 
throned as a bronze figure of Agricola! 
In a neighbor’s garden wc found in the chil¬ 
dren’s quarter, a well of water in full blast. It 
was dug twelve inches deep toward the center of 
the earth. An oyster keg was put down to 
strengthen the sides against caving in, and to 
hold the water. The well-sweep was a willow rod, 
supported on a crotclied bow of apple-tree wood. 
The bucket was a wooden tea-cup, of miniature 
pattern, and hung by a cotton string. A living 
fountain kept the well supplied with cool, fresh 
water, just as long as one of the children brought 
it from papa’s pump. The plants in this garden 
were thoroughly irrigated, every time the children 
had a play-spell thereabouts. The plants were not 
of a kind to endure indiscriminate watering, and 
probably they died aquatics! 
But such were not the only kinds of gardens 
we saw. Now and then, we met with a few in 
which there was an attempt at more order. And 
we thought a word or two of counsel from us to 
such young horticulturists might not come amiss. 
Here, then, follow a few hints: 
Flowering plants may be classified as annuals, 
biennials and perennials. Annuals grow from seed 
to their full perfection in a single year: they blos¬ 
som and form seeds and die, the same season. 
Among these, wm have the poppy, sweet-pea, mari¬ 
gold, etc. Annuals are very desirable in a garden. 
They furnish plants of every variety of color and 
size, some blooming early and others late. Most 
of them are of very easy culture, such as any child 
can manage. Wait in Spring until the ground is 
dry and warm; then sow the seeds in finely pulver¬ 
ized soil, and cover very lightly. In a week or too 
they will be up. After this, the only care needed is 
to thin out the plants and keep down all weeds. 
Here are the names of half a dozen of the best an¬ 
nuals: Pblox Drummondii, Asters, Balsams, Portu- 
lacea, German Stocks, Marigolds. There are dozens 
more, nearly as good. (You will see many in our 
future Seed List for next Winter’s distribution.) 
Biennials are those which require two years to 
