326 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
not clog it; which never molds, which, 
Avhen it dries on the paper, becomes of an 
intense pure black, and which does not fade 
or change its color, however long kept. The 
author pointed out the proper proportions 
for securing these properties, and showed 
that the smallest quantity of the sulphate of 
indigo which could be used for this purpose 
was eight ounces for every gallon of ink. 
The author stated that the ink he preferred 
for his own use was composed of twelve 
ounces of gall, eight ounces of the sulphate 
of indigo, eight ounces of copperas, a few 
cloves, and four or six ounces of gum arabic, 
for a gallon of ink. It was shown that im¬ 
mersing iron wire or filings in these inks de¬ 
stroyed their durability as much as similar 
treatment destroyed ordinary inks 1 He 
therefore recommended that all legal deeds 
or documents should be written with quill 
pens, as the contact of steel invariably de 
stroys more or less the durability of every 
ink. The author concluded his paper with 
a few remarks on copying inks and indelible 
inks, showing that a good copying ink has 
yet to be sought for, and that indelible inks, 
which will resist the pencillings and wash¬ 
ings of the chemist and the forger, need 
never be looked for .—London Artizan. 
THE LENGTH OF HUMAN LIFE. 
An article in the last number of Black¬ 
wood’s Magazine, on the above subject, 
holds out the idea that the age of man should 
be one hundred years instead of three-score 
and ten. The author says, “ We do not sim¬ 
ply die; we usually kill ourselves. Our hab¬ 
its, our passions, our anxieties of body and 
mind, these shorten our lives, and prevent us 
from reaching the natural limit of human ex¬ 
istence.” Gluttony, he asserts, destroys 
more lives than intemperate drinking, and 
yet, “ it is the fashion to restrict the term so¬ 
briety to the moderate use of liquors.” A 
sober life no doubt implies moderation in all 
things—in eating, drinking, and in the en¬ 
joyment of all the pleasures of life. But al¬ 
though we have read and heard much of mod¬ 
eration in eating and in drinking, the difficul¬ 
ty has always arisen in our minds respect¬ 
ing the true standard of moderation. What 
is it! who will define it? The standard 
suitable for one is not for another. No man 
can doubt for a moment the benefits of mod 
eration—temperance in all things. But no 
man can or should set up his own standard 
for his neighbor. And yet it may truly be 
said, that general rules for temperance may 
be set down, which, if followed, would be of 
immense benefit; such as “not to eat so 
much as will unfit the mind for its usual ex¬ 
ertions ; or so much as will make the body 
heavy and torpid. Nor to pass hastily from 
one extreme of living to another, but to 
change slowly and cautiously, to eat plain 
and wholesome food, and to proportion its 
quantity to the temperament, the age, and 
strength of the eater. Not to allow the ap¬ 
petite for food or drink to regulate the quan¬ 
tity to be taken, but experience, void of sen¬ 
sual desire.” These rules, if followed, will 
tend to promote health, and thus lead to a 
greater length of days and years in man’s 
existence; still there is a natural period for 
man to exist, and neither food, drink, nor so¬ 
briety can place him beyond that. We find 
that each species of animal has its boundary 
of life, and so has man. He has his infancy, 
youth, middle age, old age, and then comes 
the winding sheet and the narrow house. 
But how long does hisexistencelast? These 
are important questions. We find that thir¬ 
ty years is considered to be a generation ; 
that is, the whole world is re-peopled every 
thirty years with a new race, and alike num¬ 
ber departs from it in that period. But no 
person considers thirty years as the natural 
term of man’s life—seventy years being 
generally set down as that limit. A book, 
however, recently puplished in Paris, by M. 
Flourens, which has created no small sensa¬ 
tion in that city, places old age at eighty-five 
years, and the complete natural life of man 
about a century. He places first manhood 
between forty-five and fifty-five, and second 
mahood from that to seventy, instead of old 
age at that period. We are inclined to ac¬ 
cept his view of the question as the most 
correct one. Buffon, the naturalist, enter¬ 
tained such an opinion. The rule of life laid 
down by him is, that animals live from six 
to seven times the number of years required 
to complete their growth, such as the horse, 
which completes its growth at four years, 
lives from twenty to twenty-four years, and 
a man who takes eighteen years to reach 
his full growth may live more than a hun¬ 
dred years. There are but few men who live 
to a hundred years, and just as few horses 
that live to twenty-four, but that affords no 
reason why many men, and almost all men 
of a sound constitution, may not live for a 
century. The table of M. Flourens relating 
to life is as follows: 
Man grows for 20 years, and lives 90 or 100 
The camel_ 8 “ “ 40 
The horse. 5 “ “25 
The ox. 4 “ “ 15 or 20 
The dog. 2 “ “ 10 or 12 
This is somewhat different from Buffon, 
but he sets it down as a fixed rule that all 
the larger animals live about five times longer 
than the time required for their full growth. 
This question is one of deep importance to 
the whole human family. It is one to which 
the ingenious Frenchman has brought a 
great amount of knowledge in investigation, 
and he holds up science, as presenting to all 
men by a life of sobriety, a very extended 
fund of existence .—Scientific American. 
STATE AGRICULTURAL SHOWS FOR 1855. 
Name. Where Held. Date. 
Georgia, Atlanta.Sept. 10— 
Vermont, Rutland. “ 11—13 
Canada East, Sherbrook. “ 11—14 
Rhode Island, Providence. “ 11—15 
“ “ Horse and Cattle, do. “ 11—15 
New-IIampshire, .. “ 12—14 
New-Jersey, Camden. “ 18—21 
Ohio, Columbus.— “ 18—21 
Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. “ 25—28 
West Virginia, Wheeling. “ 26—28 
Kentucky, Paris. “ 25—28 
Tennessee, Nashville.Oct. 1—6 
New-York, Elmira. “ 2—5 
Michigan, Detroit. “ 2—5 
Connecticut, Hartford. “ 9—11 
Illinois, Chicago. “ 9—12 
Canada West, ‘ Coburg. “ 9—12 
Iowa, Fairfield. “ 10— 
North-Carolina, Raleigh. “ 16—19 
Indiana, Indianapolis. “ 17—19 
East Tennessee, London. “ 23—25 
Alabama, Montgomery. “ 23—26 
Maryland, Baltimore. “ 29— 
Virginia, Richmond. “ 30—2 
NEW-YORK COUNTY SHOWS. 
Otsego, Cooperstown.Sept. 10—11 
Franklin, Malone. “ 10—12 
Saratoga, .. “ 11—13 
Chatauque, Westfield. “ 12—13 
Fulton and Hamilton, Fonda’s Bush. “ 18— 
Putnam, Carmel. “ 18—19 
Rensselaer, Lansingburg. “ 18—20 
Jefferson, Watertown. “ 19—20 
Delaware, Hobart. “ 19—20 
Onondaga, Syracuse. “ 19—21 
Queens, Flushing. “ 20— 
Monroe, Spencerport. “ 20—21 
Dutchess, Washington Hollow... “ 25—26 
Oneida, Rome. “ 25—27 
Albany, Albany. “ 25—27 
Cayuga, Auburn. “ 25—27 
Ontario, Canandaigua. “ 26—27 
St. Lawrence Canton. “ 26—28 
Steuben, Bath. “ 26—28 
Tompkins, Ithaca,. “ 27—28 
Herkimer, Frankfort. “ 22—28 
Seneca, Farmersville.Oct. 10—13 
Niagara, Lockpovt.. “ 19—SO 
OHIO COUNTY SHOWS. 
Belmont, St. Clairsville..'...Sept. 3—5 
Champagne, Urbana. “ 4—6 
Fayette, Washington. “ 4—0 
Hamilton, Carthage. “ 4—7 
Pickaway, Circleville. “ 5 — 7 
Cuyahoga, Cleveland. “ 11—13 
Delaware, Delaware. “ 11—13 
Clermont, Bantam. “ 11—14 
Butler, Hamilton. “ 12—14 
Franklin, Columbus. “ 12—14 
Warren, Lebanon. “ 25—27 
Trumbull, Warren. “ 25—27 
Huron, Olena. “ 25—27 
Licking, Newark. “ 25—27 
Richland, Mansfield. “ 25—27 
Columbiana, New Lisbon. “ 25—28 
Portage, Ravenna. “ 26 — 
Meigs, Pomeroy..-,. “ 26—27 
Geanga, Burlin. “ 26—28 
Miami, Troy. “ 26—28 
Harrison, Cadiz. “ 26—28 
Clinton, Wilmington. “ 27—28 
Athens, Athens. “ 27—28 
Drake, Greenville. “ 27—29 
Guersey, Cambridge. “ 27—29 
Conneaut, Independent. “ 29— 
Ashtabula, Jefferson.Oct. 2—4 
Sandusky, Fremont. “ 2—4 
Ashland, Ashland. “ 2—4 
Morgan, McConnellsville. “ 2—4 
Montgomery, Dayton. “ 2—4 
Mahoning, Canfield. “ 2—3 
Clark, Springfield. “ 2—5 
Preble, Preble. “ 2—5 
Monroe, Woodsfield. “ 3—4 
Putnam, Kalida. “ 3—4 
Medina, Medina. “ 3—5 
Richland, Mansfilld. “ 3—5 
Logan, Ballefontaine. “ 3—5 
Loraine, Elyria. “ 3—5 
Greene, Xenia. 3—5 
Stark, Canton. “ 3—5 
Summit, Akron. “ 3—5 
Shelby, Sidney. “ 4—5 
Muskingum, Zanesville. “ 4—5 
Shelby, Sydney. “ 4—5 
Lake, Painesville. “ 10—12 
Adams, West Union. “ 10—12 
Mercer, Celina. “ 11— 
Hancock, Findlay. “ ]l—12 
Crawford, Bucyrus. “ 11—12 
Erie, Sandusky. “ 11—12 
Coshocton, Coshocton. “ 11—13 
Wayne, Wooster. “ 11—14 
Ottawa, Port Clinton . “ 16—17 
PENNSYLVANIA COUNTY SHOWS. 
Philadelphia, Pa., XXIVth Ward.Sept. 12—14 
Delaware, , Media.Sept. 20—22 
Montgomery, Morristown.Oct. 3—4 
Alleghany, Pittsburgh. “ 2—5 
NEW-JERSEY COUNTY SHOWS. 
Jamesburg (Town) Jamesburg.Sept. 18- 
Mercer Hightstown. “ 25— 
Cumberland, Bridgeton. “ 26— 
Monmouth, Freehold. “ 27— 
Salem, Salem. “ 27- 
Somerset, Raritan. Oct. 3—4 
COUNTY SHOWS-MISCELLANEOUS. 
Bouibon, Ky., Paris.Sept. 11—14 
Windham, Conn., Brooklyn. “ 19—20 
Lake, Ill., Waukegan. “ 26—27 
Waldo, Me., Belfast.Oct. 3—4 
Litchfield, Conn., Litcefield. “ 2—3 
Kane, Ill., Elgin. . “ 3—4 
Brooke, Va., Wellsburgli. “ 9—11 
Ag. Association, Ky., Louisville. “ 9—14 
Oakland, Mich., Pontiac. “ 17—18 
Rarified Men. —The closing paragraph of 
an article from the pen of H. W. Beecher, is 
as follows : 
“ Alas ! that we should have so many rari¬ 
fied men among us, who are so holy that 
they can not quite touch the ground, and yet 
they are not ethereal enough to rise entirely 
up, and therefore hang in an unpleasant os¬ 
cillation between earth and heaven, quite 
uncertain in their own minds to which their 
duty belongs.” 
