110 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
THE BULL DOG. 
The Bull Dog is the most brutal and the 
least intelligent of its species ; its depressed 
forehead, its underhanging jaw, and blood¬ 
shot eyes, unite in forming the very person¬ 
ification of the savage. Although capable 
of some attachment, it can not be relied upon 
as a friend. So utterly without intellect is 
the courage of the bull dog, that it will at¬ 
tack anything that gives otfense. This dog 
has never been a pet in the United States; 
but in England, among a large class of citi¬ 
zens, it is carefully raised, and employed in 
bull-baits. In these bull-baits, the dog, 
while fastened to the nose of some unfortu¬ 
nate bull, has had one leg after another cut 
off with a knife, to test its courage ; and this 
display has been hailed by the plaudits of 
the “ rural population,” and by the encour¬ 
agement of the scions of the nobility ! His¬ 
tory relates that Alexander once witnessed 
a bull dog attack a tamed lion, and being 
willing to save the lion’s life, ordered the 
dog to be taken oft', “ but the labor of men 
and all their strength was too little to loosen 
those ireful and deep-biting teeth.” The 
dog was then mutilated by its keeper, and 
not only its limbs, but its body were severed 
from the head; “ whereat the king was 
wonderfully moved, and sorrowfully re¬ 
pented his rashness in destroying a beast of 
so noble a spirit ”—a very natural feeling, 
one would suppose, to every generous mind. 
Many years ago an English ship was at 
one of our docks, on board of which was a 
bull dog. The animal was so ferocious that 
he gained an extensive reputation. Chained 
at the gangway of the ship, he spent the 
livelong day in the hopeless task of spring¬ 
ing at every person who passed along, either 
on pleasure or business. The owner, first 
mate of the vessel, would sit for hours and 
detail the wonderful deeds of this mighty 
dog. Crowds of idlers daily collected, and 
there stood the hero, or rather, there raved 
the insane creature at the multitude, each 
individual indulging the vague hope, that he 
would presently break loose and pitch into 
somebody, and thus show his prowess. 
Among the idlers was an Indian who oc¬ 
casionally visited the city, and made a few 
pence by shooting an arrow at pennies stuck 
in the end of a stick. Upon the very ap¬ 
pearance of the Indian, the bull dog was par¬ 
ticularly violent, greatiy to the amusement 
of the fellow, who took a malicious pleasure 
in irritating the animal. The mate finally 
interfered, and told the Indian to go away, 
lest the dog might break loose and eat him 
up. The Indian, not the least alarmed, in 
broken English announced to the crowd that 
if the dog was brought down to the ground, 
and chained to a post, lie would, for five dol¬ 
lars, fight the dog with nothing but his 
hands and teeth. The money was raised, 
and the mate, after expressing much reluct¬ 
ance at the idea of having the Indian killed, 
brought the dog down from the ship, and 
fastened him to a post. The Indian put 
away his bow and arrow, his knife, laid his 
neck bare, and rolled up his shirt sleeves. 
A ring was formed, and the battle com¬ 
menced. 
The Indian approached the dog crawling 
on all fours, barking and growling, as if he 
was one himself. The bull dog meanwhile 
jumped and fumed at the end of his chain, 
gnashed his teeth, foamed at the mouth, 
while his eyes beamed living fire with irri¬ 
tation. The Indian, however, kept up his 
pantomine, and gradually brought his face 
in fearful proximity to the dog’s teeth. The 
mate now interfered, for he felt, confident the 
Indian would get killed ; but the crowd had 
become excited, and insisted upon “seeing 
the thing out.” A mutual silence ensued 
between the combatants, the dog straining his 
chain in his anxiety to reach the Indian, 
until it was as straight and solid as a bar of 
iron. Suddenly the Indian seized the bull 
dog’s under-lip between his teeth, and in an 
instant whirled himself with the dog, over on 
his back. So unexpected was the attack, 
and so perfectly helpless was the dog, with 
his feet in the air and his jaw imprisoned, 
that he. recovered his astonishment only to 
give forth yells of pain; whereupon the 
Indian shook him a moment as a cat does a 
mouse, and then let go his hold. The dog, 
oTice so savage, putting his tail between his 
legs, retreated from his enemy, and screamed 
with terror to get beyond the reach of the 
chain. 
Pretty Good for Pat. —The other day the 
conductor of a train on our railroad discov¬ 
ered an Irishman in a car soon after starting 
from Rome, and demanded his fare. Pat 
declared he had no money. The conductor, 
after lecturing him, told him to leave at the 
first stopping place, not far distant. Accord¬ 
ingly Pat was one of the first to get off at 
the next station. But judge of the conduct¬ 
or’s surprize and wrath to find him aboard 
when fairly on the way. “ Did I not tell you 
to get off?” “And sure I did.” “Why, 
then, are you here again ?” “ And sure did 
you not say “all aboord.” This was too 
much for the worthy conductor, and not¬ 
withstanding the decree against ‘ dead heads,’ 
he was allowed to pass.— Watertown Sen. 
The Spider’s Love of her Progeny. — All 
her limbs, one by one, may be torn from her 
body without forcing her to abandon her 
hold of the cocoon in which she has 
wrapped her eggs; and if, without mangling 
the mother,it be skillfully removed from her, 
and suddenly thrown out of sight, she in¬ 
stantaneously loses all her activity, and 
seems paralyzed, and coils her tremulous 
limbs as if mortally wounded. If the bag be 
returned, her ferocity and strength are re¬ 
stored the moment she has any perception of 
its presence and she rushes to her treasure, 
to defend it to the last.— Prof, llentz. 
Legal. —Two weazels found an egg. 
“Let us not fight for it,” said the elder 
weazel, “ but enter into partnership.” 
“ Very good,” said weazel the younger. 
So taking the egg between them, each 
sucked one end. 
“ My children,” said Redtapes, the attor¬ 
ney, “ though you have but one client be¬ 
tween you, make the most of him.” 
SPRING. 
In the spring, a deeper crimson comes upon the robin’s 
breast; 
In the spring, the wanton lapwing gets himself another 
crest ; , 
In the sprmg, a livelier iris glows upon the burnished 
dove ; 
In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns lo thought 
of love. Tennyson. 
Medical Poetry. —On the smooth surface 
of a ledge of rocks at Rainsford Island, that 
gem of Boston harbor, in front of the hos¬ 
pital, is the following epitaph ; 
Near these gray rocks, 
Enclosed in a box, 
Lies Mr. John Coxe, 
Who died of small-pox ! 
The following is a rendering of Martial’s 
famous couplet; ^ 
An epigram is like a bee, a thing 
Of little size, with honey and a sting. 
Edgar A. Poe’s “ Raven ” has been de¬ 
nounced as Persian. This is a shameful libel 
on a respectable American bird, and the most 
respectable literary authorities flatly disown 
that fowl as-Persian, 
Duration of Vegetable Life. —Lord Lind¬ 
say states that in the course of his wander¬ 
ings amid the pyramids of Egypt, he stum¬ 
bled on a mummy, proved by its hieroglyh- 
ics to be at least 2,000 years of age. On ex¬ 
amining the mummy after it was unwrapped, 
he found in one of its closed hands a tuber¬ 
ous or bulbous root. He was interested in 
the question how long vegetable life could 
last, and he therefore took that tuberous 
root from the mummy’s hand, planted it in 
a sunny soil, allowed the rains and dews of 
heaven to descend upon it, and in the course 
of a few weeks, to his astonishment and 
joy, the root burst forth and bloomed into a 
beauteous dahlia. - 
Always laugh when you can—it is a cheap 
medicine. Mirthfulness is a philosophy not 
well understood. It is the sunny-side of ex¬ 
istence. 
CiUiDcrtiscmcntu. 
Terms—( invariably cash before insertion): 
Ten cents per line for each insertion. 
Advertisements standing one month one-fourth less. 
Advertisements standing three months one-third less. 
Ten woids make a line. 
No advertisement counted at less than ten lines. 
H ome on a farm wanted.—a 
Young Man who has been obliged in consequence of ill 
health i o discontinue a regular course of study, wishes i o eng -ge 
in the lighter services of afarm. Proximity to New York citv 
is desirable. He will assist in the instruction of those members 
of the family who may desire it, in the English branches, in 
Latin and Greek preparatory to a collegiate course, and in plain 
and short-hand writimr. 
No compensation will be expected. 
Communications descriptive of the farm addressed to FARM¬ 
ER. Office of American Agriculturist, will be immediately 
noticed. References exchanged. 85nll92 
B lack hawk horse raven.— 
This Horse will stand at the farm of the subsciiber, in 
NORFOLK, Conn., called the Robbins Farm, the coining sea¬ 
son, at ten and fifteen dollars. The oldest colts of this Horse are 
three years old. The stock is of extraordinary promise. 
R AVEN is by Vermont Black Hawk—dam has the blood of 
Gifford Morgan and of Cock of the Rock. 
85—30nll91 ROBBINS BATTELL. 
IDORTABLE FORGES AND BELLOWS, 
H (QUEENS PATENT,) 
The best Forge in market for 
Blacksmii hs’ work, Boiler makers, 
M i ning,Quarry ing, Shipping, pi a il¬ 
lations, Contractors on Railroads 
and Public Works, Coppersmiths, 
Gas Fitters, &c., &c. 
Also, an improved PORTABLE 
MELTING FURNACE for Jew¬ 
ellers, Dentists, Chemisis, &.c. 
Both of these are constructed 
with sliding doors to protect the 
fire from wind and rain when used 
oul. doors, and for perfect safety 
and free escape of smoke when 
used indoors. They are compact 
for Shippping. 
Circulars with particulars and 
prices will be forwarded upon application. 
FREDERICK P. FLAGLER, 
Sole Manufacturer, 210 Water-st., New-York. 
85—136nll90eow 
L G. MORRIS’S CATALOGUE, WITH 
0 prices attached, of Domestic Animals at private sale, 
will not be ready for delivery until the first of April. It will 
contain Short Horned and Devon Bulls and Bull Calves, South¬ 
down Rams, Berkshire, Suffolk and Essex Swine. 
Mount Fordham, March 6, 1355 79tfnll79 
A TKIN’S SELF-RAKING REAPER and 
MOWER.—Three seasons’ use of this ingenious, beauti¬ 
ful, and yet simple Machine, furnish convincing proof of piaot i- 
cal worth. THREE HUNDRED, scattered into 19 different 
States the past season, mostly in inexperienced hands, and 
neerly ail giving good satisfaction, cutt ing from 50 to 600 acres, 
proves it not only strong and serviceable, but also simple and 
easily managed. It saves not only the hard work of raking, but 
lays the grain in such good order as to save at least another 
hand in binding. 
IT IS WARRANTED TO BE A GOOD, DURABLE, 
SELF-RAKING REAPER, and I have also succeeded in at¬ 
taching a mowing bar, so that I also WARRANT IT AS A 
MOWER. 
Price at Chicago, of Reapers, $170; of Blowing Bar, S30. 
Discount on the Reaper, $15. and on MowingBar, $5, for cash in 
advance, or on delivery. Price of Blower, $120. 
(LYP Pamphlets giving all the objections and difficulties, as 
well as commendations, sent free, on post-paid applications. 
AGENTS, suitably qualified, wanted in all sections where 
there are none. ’ J. S. WRIGHT. 
“ Prairie Fanner” Warehouse, Chicago. Dec. 1854. [07-88 
KpARMERS ATTENTION.—Basket Wil- 
lows are imported m large quantities from Europe, and yet 
the market is not supplied. 
The Willows can be grown very profitably in this country ; it 
is believed that more than one hundred dollars per acre profit, 
can he realized with proper attention. 
WHY NOT TRY IT? 
Cuttings can be had in any quantity upon early application to 
the subscriber, and instructions for planting &c. 
R. L. ALLEN, 189 and 191 Water-st. 
Hitherto the labor of of peeling willows by hand has been the 
great objection to their cultivation, but. now a machine has been 
perfected, capable of doing the work of twenty men, and doing it 
well, 79—tf 
