170 
AMERICAN AGiUCULTtmiST 
The Ladies Repository for June. — -This 
number contains two beautiful copper-plate 
engravings—“Lawn Girt Hill” and the “Au¬ 
thor of Sunnyside” (Mrs. Phelps). Among 
the leading articles we notice, Gerald Massey, 
the Chartist Poet, by D. Curry ; Coming 
Down, by Alice Carey; The Great Siege of 
Gibraltar, a thrilling account of the attempt 
of Spain to recover this world-renowned for¬ 
tress from the English ; Woman and Flow¬ 
ers, by Celestia Rice Colby; The Horrors 
of Evil Company, by J. T. Barr, of Scotland 
—a most instructive sketch ; Webster Un¬ 
abridged, by J. D. Bell; The Sea Boy’s 
Grave, from True Tales for Spare Hours; 
Extremes in relation to Dress, by L. A. Ed¬ 
dy ; Literary Women of America, by the 
Editor. The remainder of the number is 
filled with a variety of original and well se¬ 
lected articles, Editor’s Table, Items, Re¬ 
views, Wit, Repartee, Anecdote, &c. The 
mechanical execution is excellent, and with 
the higher order of reading and freedom 
from gossip and frivolity usually found in 
ladies’ magazines, we consider this the first 
of its class. Carlton & Phillips, 200 Mul- 
berry-st., New-York. $2 per year. 
FLOUR—A “NEW DODGE ’’ 
“ Every day brings something new,” and 
my stock of knowledge has been considera¬ 
bly increased to-day by witnessing the man¬ 
ufacture of “ pure Genesee ” flour by a new 
process. For the benefit of the uninitiated, 
I will give you an explanation. Some 
time during the last winter, a parcel of 
Canada flour arrived here, and was stored at 
East-Boston. It was in bond and remained 
so until, by the operation of the reciprocity 
treaty, it was released, and was sold in this 
market for consumption. The brand at. the 
time of the sale was “ Ontario Mills, St. 
Catharine, Canada.” The flour was in¬ 
spected by Wade—“fancy.” 
The mill brand has been erased, and it is 
now offered in the market with the brand 
“ Hope Mills, pure Genesee,” with Thomp¬ 
son’s inspection—“ extra.” 
This “ Diddieism ” is not only a fraud 
upon a consumer, but it is unfair towards our 
Canada neighbors, who are endeavoring to 
supply our market with a good article ; and 
this fact, that their mark is removed and a 
popular New-York brand substituted, is good 
evidence that they have succceeded in pro¬ 
ducing as good flour as can be manufactured 
in this country. There is no higher grade 
than “ extra,” and no better flour than pure 
Genesee. 
The difference in prices between extra,and 
fancy is generally 25 cts. a bbl. 
I cannot believe that flour dealers gene¬ 
rally would countenance such a miserable 
cheat as I have described, and consumers 
are quite severely enough taxed when flour 
is sold for what it is in grade, without being 
compelled to pay 25 cents additional, because 
some person who probably knows nothing 
about his business, thinks it might be placed 
a grade higher .—Boston Courier. 
TO CURE A COLD. 
A bad cold, like measles or mumps, or 
other similar ailments, will run its course of 
about ten days, in spite of what may be done 
for it, unless remedial means are employed 
within forty-eight, hours of its inception. 
Many a useful life may be spared to be in¬ 
creasingly useful, by cutting a cold short off, 
in the following safe and simple manner. 
On the first day of taking a cold, there is a 
very unpleasant sensation of chilliness. The 
moment you observe this, go to your room 
and stay there; keep it at such a tempera¬ 
ture as will entirely prevent this chilly feel¬ 
ing, ; even if it .requires a hundred degrees 
of Fahrenheit. In addition, put your feet 
in water, half-leg deep, as hot as you can 
bear it, adding hotter water from time to 
time for a quarter of an hour, so that the 
water shall be hotter when you take your 
feet out than when you put them in ; then 
dry them thoroughly, and put on warm thick 
woolen stockings, even if it be summer, for 
summer colds are the most dangerous ; and 
for twenty-four hours, eat not an atom of 
food ; but drink as largely as you desire of 
any kind of warm teas, and at the end of that 
time, if not sooner, the cold be effectually 
broken, without any medicine whatever. 
Efficient as the above means are, not one 
in a thousand will attend to them, led on as 
men are by the hope that a cold will pass off 
of itself; nevertheless this article will now 
and then pass under the eye of a wise man. 
who does not choose to run the double risk 
of taking physic and dying too.— Hall's Jour¬ 
nal of Health. 
THE DOG. 
THE KING CHARLES. 
This diminutive little creature has re¬ 
ceived much of its celebrity from the fact 
that it was a great favorite with the merry 
monarch, Charles II., and frequently appears 
upon the pictures of the court beauties 
painted by Kneller and Lely. The King 
Charles dog is nothing but a pet, and beyond 
its silken ears, lustrous eyes, and soft cov¬ 
ering, has nothing to recommend it, as it 
possesses none of the intelligent traits so 
peculiar to the larger representatives of its 
species. 
THE BLOOD-HOUND. 
The fearful Blood-hound has a scent keen¬ 
er than any other dog; for it is less particu¬ 
lar than any other of its species, what it pur¬ 
sues, and seems to readily acquire a passion 
for hunting human beings. 
ST. BERNARD. 
This magnficent breed is peculiar to the 
Alps, and to the country between Switzer¬ 
land and Savoy. The passes over these 
mountains are exceedingly dangerous ; a 
precipice of many hundred feet is often on 
one side, and perpendicular rocks on the 
other, while the path is glazed with, or hid¬ 
den by, snow and ice. Often, indeed, the 
overhanging rocks are suddenly relieved of 
their superabundant snow, and it comes 
down in huge avalanches on the traveler be¬ 
neath. Should he escape these dangers, his 
pathway is obliterated, and he wanders amid 
the dreary solitudes until night overtakes 
him. The hand of death approaches under 
the insidious guise of desiring to sleep, and 
if he indulges in the boon he will wake no 
more. On the top of Mont St. Bernard, and 
near one of the most dangerous passes, was 
a convent in which was preserved a breed of 
large dogs, trained to search for and relieve 
the benighted wanderer. On any threaten¬ 
ing and stormy night, these faithful guardians 
were sent out, and by their exquisite scent 
they could discover the hapless and perhaps 
already snow-covered traveler. Having thus 
succeeded, they would fall to work with their 
huge paws and soon clear away the snow ; 
and by continually uttering a deep bark, that 
would echo among the mountains, the monks 
would soon learn that some wretch was in 
peril, and hastening toward the sound, often 
succeed in rekindling the vital spark ere it 
had gone out forever. One of these noble 
dogs obtained a European reputation, and 
always wore a medal round his neck, as a 
sign of honorable distinction ; for he had 
I saved the lives of forty persons. Some of 
the most effective pictures of the Swiss ar* 
tists are scenes in their native mountain- 
passes of groups of peasantry lost in the snow, 
and hailing the appearance of the Bernard- 
ine dog. Most of our readers will remem¬ 
ber the popular engraving representing the 
animal, with a flask about his neck, solici¬ 
tously licking the face of a dead man he has 
just dug from the shroud of the avalanche. 
Recently, the Mont St. Bernard has been 
“ turned ” by a railroad ; the ancient pass, so 
celebrated by tourists, and so wrought into 
the history of Napoleon, need no longer be 
pursued to take the wayfarer from the north 
to the sunny plains of Italy. The deserted 
monks have moved their hostelry down the 
side of the mountains, to administer to the 
luxurious tastes rather than to the terrible 
necessities of travelers. We very much 
fear that they will degenerate from the stern 
virtues long their heritage in the inhospita¬ 
ble regions of the upper air, and that their 
noble race of dogs, now no longer necessary 
to save life, will also be conquered by effem¬ 
inate habits, and, losing the admirable quali¬ 
ties of their ancestors, sink into ignoble ob¬ 
scurity. 
HOW TO MAKE A DONKEY CEASE BRAYING. 
In 1840, we were once making a journey 
in a wagon in the province of Pekin. Our 
equipage was under the guidance of one of 
our catechists, an old schoolmaster, mounted 
on a magnificent ass, so full of ardor and 
agility, that the two mules who completed 
our team had all the difficulty in the world to 
keep up with him. This ass, however, was 
so filled with the sense of his own superiori¬ 
ty, and so proud of it, that whenever he be¬ 
came aware of the presence of any of his 
brethren, let them be at ever so great a dis¬ 
tance, he never failed to begin boasting of it 
in such loud anc) sonorous tones, that his fol¬ 
ly became quite insupportable. When we 
got to an inn, instead of trying to rest him¬ 
self, this indefatigable beast passed the whole 
night in practising his music ; and there ap¬ 
peared to be something so peculiarly provok¬ 
ing in the tones of his voice, that all the 
asses within hearing, influenced, it would 
seem, by the power of some magnetic fluid, 
were quite sure to respond in a magnificent 
bravura, so that altogether, it became im¬ 
possible to close our eyes. 
One evening when our catechist was 
vaunting the superiority of his ass, we could 
not help interrupting him. “Your ass,” said 
we, “ is an abominable brute. During the 
whole journey he has prevented our getting a 
wink of sleep. 
“ Why did you not tell me so before ?” 
said the catechist; “I would soon have 
stopped his singing.” As the ancient school¬ 
master was something of a wag, and in¬ 
dulged occasionally in a small joke, we took 
little notice of his reply, but, that night we 
slept quite soundly. 
“Well, did the ass make anoise last night. 1 ?” 
said he when we met in the morning. 
“Perhaps not; at all events we certainly 
did not hear him.” 
“ No, no ; I think not; I saw to that before 
I went to bed. You must have noticed,” he 
continued, “ that when an ass is going to 
bray he always begins by raising his tail, and 
he keeps it extended horizontally as long as 
his song lasts. To insure his silence, there¬ 
fore, you have only to tie a large stone to the 
end of his tail, so that he cannot raise it.” 
We smiled, without replying, thinking this 
was another piece of pleasantry; but he 
cried, “ Come now and see ; you can easily 
convince yourselves.” And accordingly we 
followed him to the court-yard, where we 
beheld, sure enough the poor ass with a 
large stone attached to his tail, and with the 
air of having lost his accustomed spirits. 
