AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
153 
MOWING MACHINES. 
Mr. Richard S. Fay has placed at the dis¬ 
posal of the Essex County (Mass.) Agricul¬ 
tural Society, the sum of $200, for the fol¬ 
lowing purposes: 
1. For the best and most satisfactory ex¬ 
periment with a mowing machine, operated 
by two-horse power, on not less than fifty 
acres, on any farm or farms within the coun¬ 
ty, $50. 
2. For the best and most satisfactory ex¬ 
periment with a one-horse mowing machine, 
on not less than 25 acres, on any farm or 
farms within the county,.$25 
3. For the best mowing machine,_$25 
4. For the best and most useful agri¬ 
cultural implement, not being a mowing 
machine.$20 
Second best do., $15. Third best do_$10 
Fourth best do., $10. Fifth best do_$10 
Sixth best do., $10. Seventh best do.$5 
Eighth best do., $5. Ninth best do.$5 
Tenth best do., $5. Eleventh best do_$5 
HEALTH AND HOUSE-HUNTING. 
Many will select a house this month, for a 
residence, and it will be their last home on 
earth ; it would not have been had they re¬ 
mained where they are or had moved else¬ 
where. It does not express the whole truth 
to say, that some houses are unhealthy ; it 
is nearer the fact in reference to many dwell¬ 
ings that they are deadly. Sometimes cer¬ 
tain rooms in a house are impregnated with 
poisonous emanations, that their occupants 
become ill in a few days. I know of a ca¬ 
pacious mansion, formerly, (now aboarding- 
house), in Walnut-street, Philadelphia, which 
has in it a certain room, known to make the 
parties sick within a few days after they 
move into it. Within a year, a man in per¬ 
fect health, was placed in a room in London, 
and in a few days died of putrid fever. The 
next, and the next, and the next occupant, 
were noticed successively to become ill. It 
became so notorious, that the authorities 
took it in hand to examine the premises, and 
it was found that the man who papered the 
room, in order to fill up a cavity in the wall, 
put in a bucket full of paste and pieces of 
the glazed papering, which in time began to 
ferment and rot, throwing into the room a 
steady supply of the noxious fumes of de¬ 
composed lead, and other hurtful ingredients 
employed in the sizing of wall paper. It is 
known that the sizing on a visiting card is 
enough to poison a child if put in its mouth ; 
bmng a little sweetish to the taste, it is rather 
palatable. 
Another English house became so notori¬ 
ously unhealthy, that the common people re¬ 
ported it to be haunted ; it soon gained such 
a reputation, that nobody would live in it 
free of rent. Investigation discovered that 
it was the result of pasting new paper on 
old. 
Lesson. —In repapering a room or house , 
first pull off the old paper, and scrape and 
wash the walls. 
Within a month, the Grand Jury of the 
chief criminal court of New-York City, 
have repeated their bitter complaints against 
the damp and noisome apartment in which 
they are compelled to sit day after day in 
the performance of their official duties. The 
recent death of one of their number is 
attributed by that body to the unheatlhful- 
ness of the room they occupy. 
The White House at Washington, is be¬ 
lieved by observant men there, to be the 
main reason for the ill-health of our Presi¬ 
dents, since General Harrison first went 
there so soon to make it his grave. Its un¬ 
healthiness is very justly attributable to the 
construction of a bridge or causeway across 
the stream, which passes near it, thus giving 
a larger body of still water than in former 
limes ; and the neighborhood of stagnant 
water, with the usual amount of decaying 
vegetation, must originate disease in the 
warmer portions of the year in all temperate 
latitudes. 
These things being true in reference to 
houses, there are other items to be taken into 
consideration in selecting our dwelings, be¬ 
sides price, appearance and neighborhood. 
Very many persons in cities are decided, 
in determinating upon a residence for them¬ 
selves and families, by the appearance of 
the street front. An elegant frontage of 
brown stone, towering in stateliness to five 
stories, brings many a dollar beyond its 
value to pursy landlords. But how vigor¬ 
ously fond new husbands and weak old ones 
have to shin around in the slops and snows 
of winter to pay the rent, and “ inonstrous ” 
hard as it may be in winter, summer heats 
make it “monstrouser,”as Charcoal Sketches 
would say. How many a restless turn at 
night, how many a Sunday plan, which mat¬ 
ter of fact Monday morning makes vanish in 
thin air, how many an anxious conjecture it 
costs, whether this acquaintance or that old 
friend, or nearest neighbor might not make a 
loan “ on call,'' to help out at quarter day; 
how many racks of self-respect, of personal 
independence, of wounded pride, of debasing 
tergiversation it costs to pay for this pur¬ 
chase of appearance, the initiated can betier 
tell than I can guess, never having been a 
renter “ in the whole course of my life,” ex¬ 
cept for a short year on trial, in the country; 
yes, in the country! delightful summer resi¬ 
dence! on the banks of the Hudson! just 
over against the Palisades! as dear a pur¬ 
chase of imaginary blisses, as of the appear¬ 
ances aforesaid. I like no half ways, give 
me the center of the largest city on the con¬ 
tinent, or a log cabin in the far recesses of 
the impenetrated west. 
But the waste of money to keep up ap¬ 
pearances is not the greatest loss; health 
sacrificed, life perilled, is oftentimes an 
“extra” not calculated on, but like “extras,” 
comes with a thunder clapof unexpectedness, 
meeting, too, the fate of all “ extras,” an ex¬ 
clamation, a demur, dwindling down to an 
argument and final delivery of the purse 
strings. . 
Lesson 2nd.— Reader, pay extras and be 
done with it. I have always found it the 
quickest and the easiest plan. It saves tem¬ 
per, for the more you argue about it, the 
more angry you will get, and the worse you 
will feel afterwards when you find that you 
have not only lost your temper, but your 
money too. 
Other persons, as intimated already, will 
put jewelry, plate, gold watch, all “ up the 
spout ” to make up the usual advance on the 
landlord, who has not the pleasure of their 
acquaintance ; will do all this, to secure a 
residence in a “ genteel street ,” or “fashiona¬ 
ble neighborhood” on “ the ” side of Broad¬ 
way. There are men and women, that is, 
grown persons of both sexes in New York, 
who would think themselves hopelessly dis¬ 
graced to live in a street which had “ East ” 
attached to it; would consider they had lost 
caste more irrecoverably by living on the 
“ other ” side of Broadsvay, than if they had, 
in a pinch, checked on a bank for ten thou¬ 
sand, when they never had deposited a dol¬ 
lar there. To such persons, and to all others 
living in cities, I wish to make some sugges¬ 
tions in reference to the selection of a family 
residence. 
If practicable, let the rear of the house 
face the south ; mainly for two reasons, first 
and chief, unsightly things, the washings of 
the kitchen and the laundry are deposited 
there, and with other causes, almost always 
in a damp condition ; which, with the dust 
and unavoidable accretions of various kinds, 
make fit materials for decompositions, and 
their inevitable result, the generation of hurt¬ 
ful gases, sometimes actually poisonous. 
The heat of the sun has a drying influence, 
and with moderate attention, the premises 
may be kept sweet and clean. The second 
reason is, greater light is afforded to the 
kitchen, where it is so much needed, espe¬ 
cially in winter time, to allow of the cleanly 
preparation of daily food. A mind of any 
refinement revolts at the mere mention of 
cookery in the dark. 
The front of a house in the city does not 
so much need the sun, since the too frequent 
custom is to make a parlor of the first floor 
front, for the occasional accommodation or 
reception of guests and visitors, in many in¬ 
stances averaging not an hour a day ; and 
for similar reasons, the “ spare rooms,” are 
those in front in the upper stories. In my 
opinion, the very best, largest and most com¬ 
modious rooms in a house shouid be appro¬ 
priated to the daily and hourly use of the 
family. 
As accumulations are not allowed in the 
streets, the sun is not so much needed on a 
northern front, while the passing of persons 
and vehicles, compensate in cheeriness for 
the absence of sunshine ; but it is not a total 
absence, for there is the sunshine of the 
countenance of your visitors ; unless of that 
not innumerous class, who are rather disa¬ 
greeably disappointed, when they find you 
are at home, and had much rather have left 
a card ; their smiles are of the sardonic or¬ 
der, or of the mechanical kind, icicling in a 
moment all the outgushings of kindliness, 
were it not the fashion to keep our parlors 
so dim and dusky, that we can’t tell whether 
the smile comes from the head or the heart. 
In selecting a residence, notice if there 
is any standing water in the cellar, or any 
uncovered drain or well ; 1 know of two ad¬ 
joining houses in Philadelphia, which has 
brought death to every family that has occu¬ 
pied them for some years past, and another 
not far distant which has proved the death of 
three successive occupants, each of them 
strong hearty men when they moved in. 
Notice'the rear premises : if they adjoin a 
stone-cutter, or livery stable, ordistillery, or 
cow yard, or for drays, carriages and the 
like ; if any of these are within a block of 
you in any direction, the house is dear at any 
price, it is dear at nothing, whatever may be 
its frontage. 
As a general rule avoid long rows of brown 
stone fronts, built uniformly; or of brick or 
any other material; they were built by con¬ 
tract, or for purposes of speculation. If the 
flues do not burn you up, there is a large 
probability that the rats will devour every¬ 
thing you purchase, over and above what you 
actually consume, and the friends Biddy, 
your cook, supplies with their daily proven¬ 
der. Sometime since I accompanied a gen¬ 
tleman, who wanted to purchase or lease a 
family mansion, on a tour of observation. 
We looked through one of a row of five 
story brown fronts, one of the most impos¬ 
ing in appearance outside in New-York; it 
had been occupied but a year, the flue had 
set it on fire ; the family had left, and there 
being no carpeting or other furniture to 
cover defects, there was revealed to us a 
quality of carpentership utterly disgraceful 
to both builders and owmers ; the flooring 
had not the roughness planed off' in many 
places ; while the spaces between the 
“ tongue and grooves,” as also between the 
ends of the planks, and between the wash or 
surboard and the floor, were in many in¬ 
stances from a quarter to half an inch or 
more in width ; and this in rooms where the 
