94 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
The Editor with his Young Eeaders. 
We wish “A Happy New Tear” to you all, 
Young Friends. And we mean what we write. 
These words are often uttered flippantly, or for 
form sake; but just now we are both earnestly de¬ 
siring the happiness of those who are to constitute 
the junior members of the great Agriculturist 
Family for 1862, and also seriously asking our¬ 
selves, -what can loe do to make our young friends 
really happy. We-shall try to interest you some¬ 
what, with short stories, anecdotes, puzzles, etc., 
which may be likened to the toys, nuts, candies, and 
sweetmeats, of an entertainment; but then the 
mind as well as the body needs some more sub¬ 
stantial food—bread, meat, etc. • An old and very 
true proverb is, that “ All work and no play makes 
Jack a dull boy.” Let us read it differently thus : 
All play and no work (or study) makes Jack a- 
a what ? We will let you answer. 
Start Riglit. 
George, James, John_Mary, Susan, Jane_ 
and all the rest! We suppose each one of you think 
now—as we often thought, when a boy—that you 
will do better in 1862 than you have done in any 
former year. That’s right. We all ought to de¬ 
termine to improve more and more in every year 
that passes along. But mere wishing, and resolving, 
will never accomplish any good. Suppose James 
wishes to go a fishing, and having obtained per¬ 
mission from his parents, resolves to go early to¬ 
morrow morning. Does he rest satisfied with the 
wish and the resolution? No. He begins to think 
sbout the hooks, and lines, and poles, and bait. 
And he not only thinks and plans about them, but 
he goes to work at once in hunting them up and 
getting them ready. He lays specific plans, and 
begins to do something. In the morning he is up, 
and he does something at once; and he heepsdoing 
something all day—walking, hunting a good place, 
of patiently holding the pole until his arms fairly 
ache, and at night he is rewarded with a heavy string 
of good fishes. What would you think of him if 
he sat still all the previous evening, and all the 
morning, and all the day, th'mking how nice it would 
be to have a glorious nibble, and to haul out plenty 
of big fishes, and to bring home a string full ? But 
how many boys and girls (and grown people too) sit 
and think over how nice it would be, to be kind 
hearted, obedient, amiable, lovable, to be able to 
curb an angry spirit, to avoid profane and unseemly 
words and thoughts, and to speak kindly to every 
one, even to the brutes; to do acts of kindness—in 
short, to have a good heart. Yet how often do they 
rest satisfied with the wish and the resolve, and 
even take credit to themselves for having these 
good wishes and resolutions, but do nothing. Now, 
young friends, when you think oyer some bad habit 
you wish to overcome, or some good habit you 
would wish to aquire, set right about the work of 
accomplishing the end. Lay your plans, just as 
James planned his arrangements for fishing. Begin 
now, and “hold on until the arm aches.” Don’t say, 
to morrow, or next week I shall begin, but begin 
now. Does that quick temper trouble you, set a 
watch over it now, and the very first time it begins 
to rise, remember your resolve, and cheek it at 
once. Keep repeating the same effort, every time 
there is occasion, and by and by you will master 
it. Hold the pole .until your arm aches, and you 
will catch the desired fish. Firm resolutions, with 
well defined plans, and prompt action, will accom¬ 
plish wonders. Start right. Begin now ; keep at it 
through the year; and at its close, if you live till 
then, you will look back with pleasure upon the 
year 1862. Begin now, to day, this hour. Start right , 
and then hold on even “ if the arm does ache.” 
An Adroit Thief. 
A thief in England, who had been long, watching 
an opportunity to steal from a certain house, one 
day saw both the owner and his wife go out, and 
immediately entered the premises to improve the ’ 
opportunity. He proceeded up stairs and seized a 
feather bed, the most valuable article he could see, 
and commenced carrying it down stairs, walking 
backward. When about half way down, the owner 
entered the front door, and exclaimed, “Here you 
rascal, what are you doing ?” “ Taking this bed up¬ 
stairs sir,” was the reply. “ Mr. Jones who says he 
is an old friend of yours, and is coming to spend a 
few weeks with you, sent me here to bring his bed.” 
“Mr. Jones ! I don’t know Mr. Jones ; what right 
has he to invite himself into my house ? Clear out. 
“Very well, sir,” replied the thief, coming down 
stairs with the bed, “but Mr. Jones will be power¬ 
ful mad.” And away he went with his load, leav¬ 
ing the family to discover their loss at bed time. 
The Adopted Larks. 
A gentleman in England relates that he found a 
nest full of young meadow larks, the mother bird 
having been killed by a stroke of the scythe while 
on her nest. It happened, that a robin had made 
her nest near his dwelling, and had just commenced 
sitting. He took the young larks, and watching 
his opportunity when the robin was away, removed 
the eggs, and putting the birds in their place, re¬ 
mained near to watch the result. The robin soon 
returned, and was just about to hop in, when she 
discovered the birds. ' She raised her wings, and 
stood as though greatly astonished. She looked at 
them first with one eye, then with the other, turn¬ 
ing her head in a most comical manner. In a few 
moments she flew swiftly away, but almost im- „ 
mediately returned with the male robin, who mani- 1 
fested as much surprise as his mate had done. 
They chirped and chattered together at a great rate, 
earnestly discussing this unexpected state of affairs, 
and then suddenly darted away. The gentleman 
supposed they had decided to desert the little 
foundlings, but presently they both came back with 
food in their bills, and from that time reared them 
as tenderly as though they had been their own. 
Whitening- Sugar—A Curious Discovery. 
- The common sugar of our tables is made from 
the juice of sugar-cane, which grows only in very 
warm countries. This sugar cane resembles the 
stalks of our Indian corn, though.its juice is much 
sweeter. In making sugar, the cane is cut into 
short pieces, and passed through a mill to press out 
the juice. This liquid runs off into a reservoir, 
from which it is dipped out into boilers, and boiled 
down. This process sends off the watery part of the 
sap in steam, leaving the sugar behind. When it is 
boiled down to syrup, this is put into large wooden 
trays called coolers. Here it becomes grain sugar. 
But what a dark, dirty, brown mass it is! Can it 
be whitened ? Yes, and here we will tell how man 
first learned to do it. A hen that had walked 
through ar puddle of clay and water, went into a 
sugar-house, and walked over a pile of brown sugar. 
Some one noticed that wherever she stepped, the 
sugar was whitened. This man Opened his eyes 
wide, and by several experiments soon'discovered 
the fact that moist clay 
would whiten sugar !— 
And that man’s discovery 
led onto asystematic.'use 
of earthen jars; shaped 
like tae annexed.cut, and 
bench came the old-fash¬ 
ioned “loaf-sugar.” The 
raw sugar is put into .one 
of these lpng jars, with 
the widest end upward. 
When the jar is nearlyfull 
;of sugar, clay is put on 
the top and kept constantly wet. The water runs 
through the clay and sugar, and finds its way out 
through a.small hole at the bottom of the jar. In 
this way, the whole mass of sugar becomes white. 
Our young readers should watch even hen-tracks, 
and all other such things, for sharp looking and 
close thinking often amount to something useful. 
Adullhead wouldhave shouted “Shoo!” shoo!” to 
the old hen, and scraped off her muddy tracks, 
and thought no more about it. Not so this wide- 
a-wake man, as much of a philosopher in hig- way, 
as Isaac Newton in his, when he saw the apple fall. 
The Irishman, wlieh asked by some jokers how 
they made cannons, naively answered that they, 
“take a long hole and jjast some iron around it.” 
Cannons are not cast/kollow at all, but one solid 
piece of metal is cast, and afterward bored out. 
