14 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
FAIR LADIES, AND LADIES AT TIIE FAIR. 
Every man who takes an interest in the 
approaching State Fair, feels the importance 
of enlisting the Ladies in its behalf. They 
can do a great deal towards its success. 
There are so many ways in which they can 
exert influence on public opinion and engage 
the active sympathies of the community in 
favor of the Fair, that it is scarcely possible 
for us to exaggerate the aid which they can 
render, in their own sphere to the enterprise. 
The hand of woman is not strong and rough 
like the hand of man, but it can more easily 
touch the heart of the world and inspire it to 
action. A woman’s thought is always con¬ 
tagious; it is quickly communicated and 
sure to reproduce itself in whatever form it 
may operate. The main thing that we want 
in connection with the Fair is, the energetic 
support of the public, and we are confident 
that the enthusiasm of the ladies will be es¬ 
sential to secure this end. No one doubts 
that the movement will be of vast service to 
the State. It already has the judgment and 
approbation of the people on its side. But 
judgment and approbation, though excellent 
in their way, are not the workingforces that 
move mankind. What we need is a living, 
generous, ardent impulse infused into it— 
just such an impulse as comes from the 
household where woman reigns. 
Apart from this general relation to the 
movement, our ladies can contribute directly 
to its advancement by the preparation of ar¬ 
ticles of taste and utility for the exhibition. 
Modern industry has so much enlarged their 
field of activity, that they can show skill and 
ingenuity in various connections. The needle 
is now an instrument of genius and art, as 
well as of humble, domestic service. In 
some hands it is as creative as the chisel of 
the sculptor or the pencil of the painter. 
Our ladies fully understand what can be 
done in this particular, and as there is a 
special department in the forthcoming exhibi¬ 
tion for the display of their handiwork, we 
hope that it will present a large array of 
such objects as gratify the eye of taste and 
the sense of the beautiful. A word, too, in 
behalf of the homelier things of household 
economy. If these are not branches of Art 
in its legitimate sense, they nevertheless 
afford a constant exercise for the best of 
common-sense. No woman of mind feels 
that her talents are either wasted or unprofit- 
ably employed in the offices of home-life. 
To be a first-rate housekeeper is not beneath 
the ambition of any sensible and noble 
woman. It is her business—as much so as 
it is for man to engage in mechanical, mer¬ 
cantile, or professional pursuits. To view it 
as a menial thing—a drudgery, is to put con¬ 
tempt on God’s law for the practice of indus¬ 
try and the formation of character. Hap¬ 
pily for us, our southern women generally 
appreciate this part of their duty; and, so 
far as our observation extends, there is a 
growing disposition to increase the comfort 
and attraction of their homes. Domestic 
economy is certainly receiving more atten¬ 
tion than formerly. There is more thought 
bestowed on it; and as a necessary conse¬ 
quence, our modes of living, even with the 
same outlay, are much more delightful. We 
trust that the State Fair will bear testimony 
to their zeal in this matter. It will be ob¬ 
served that the Committee has offered prizes 
in this department, and we should be glad to 
see a general competition for them. By all 
means, let us have the Dairy and the Pantry 
fully represented. A woman’s art, if skil¬ 
fully exercised, can make the most common 
article of daily life a luxury. She has genius 
enoughjo dignify and adorn any thing that 
her hand touches, and, for our part, we shall 
be dissatisfied with any sort of a State Fair, 
if our women do not distinguish themselves 
in it. Pray, then, ladies of Georgia, take 
hold of this enterprise with the warmth of 
your heart in every finger, and let it be a close, 
firm, unyielding grasp. Do all you can to 
promote its success. Our men will make it 
represent the farm, the field, the factory, but 
let us beg, that you strive to render it a fit 
exponent of Georgia Life in the person and 
pride of woman.—Southern Times. 
LANGUAGE OF ANIMALS. 
We make the following extracts from an 
article on this subject in Putnam’s Magazine : 
How easily spiders are made to know the 
voice of their master, is familiar to all, from 
many a sad prisoner’s tale. When the great 
and brilliant Lauzun was held in captivity, 
his only joy and comfort was a friendly spi¬ 
der. She came at his call; she took her 
food from his finger, and well understood 
his word of command. In vain did jailors 
and soldiers try to deceive his tiny compan¬ 
ion. She would not obey their voices, and 
refused the tempting bait from their hand. 
Here, then, was an ear not only, but a keen 
power of distinction. The despised little 
animal listened with sweet affection, and 
knew how to discriminate between not. un¬ 
similar tones. So it was with the friend of 
the patriot, Quatermere d’jionville, who 
paid, with captivity, for the too ardent love 
of his country. He also had tamed spiders 
and taught them to come at his call. For, 
when the French invaded Holland, the pris¬ 
oner managed to send them a message, that 
the inundated and now impassable country 
would soon be frozen over so that they would 
be able to march over the ice-bridged swamps 
and lakes, for the spiders, true barometers as 
they are, had taught him to read, in their 
queer habits, the signs of approaching weath¬ 
er. The frost came, and with it the French; 
Holland was taken, and the lucky prophet 
set free. The spiders, alas, were forgotten. 
Even the “hateful toad” has been the 
captvie’s friend and companion, and shown 
itself endowed with a fine ear and remark¬ 
able talents. They come out of the dark 
night of their holes, when their self-chosen 
master’s voice is heard. They take flies 
from his hand ; but what is the strangest of 
all, they actually learn to measure time ; for 
more than one well-authenticated instance 
speaks of their having appeared only at 
stated times, when the jailor was absent and 
all was safe. 
****** 
The language which animals speak, by 
means of friction or concussion, is naturally 
the least known of all. We see the eager 
ant rushing homeward to tell the news of an 
invasion ; she meets a friend, their antennae 
touch and play with each other, in rapid suc¬ 
cession. The messenger returns, the latter 
conveys the news by the same means to 
others, until the whole army is informed. 
Here we see, not an instinctive feeling of 
dread, but a clear, undoubtedcommunication 
of facts. So among bees ; the instant the 
queen dies, the sad event is made known 
throughout the hive. No sound, perceptible 
to human ear, is heard, but the antennae move 
with surprising effect, and, as the result of 
•a clear act of volition. It is not a sensation, 
merely, nor an instinctive action, but it has 
all the signs of special purpose. How they 
speak, we know not; this only is certain, 
that their language is not like that of the 
deaf and dumb, with whom signs represent 
letters or words. 
The cricket, even, is not without its note of 
utterance, and although a purely mechanical 
sound, it has its sweetness and charm, so 
that Milton could speak of being— 
“Far from all resorts of mirth 
Save the cricket on the hearth.” 
It produces a loud, clear sound, by a quick 
vibration of the elastic skin between its 
wings ; and from the time when the Atheni¬ 
ans wore golden cicada in their hair, to our 
days, when the cricket on the hearth is the 
proverbial image of home comfort, its simple 
note has been dear to the heart of man. 
The true cricket, however, speaks only in 
the sunny time of love. The male begins 
in his hermit-cell, as May approaches, to pro¬ 
duce a low, inward note of longing. As the 
sun rises higher, and summer advances, his 
shrill song becomes louder, until he finds the 
desired companion. Then he returns to his 
solitary life once more, and his voice dies 
away by degrees. Dean Swift has left us a 
humorous description of the curious note of 
the death-watch beetle. The little fellow, in 
his narrow cell, falls in love ; immediately 
begins to thump his head against the ground, 
and uses such energy in his demonstrations 
that he leaves deep marks in the softer kinds 
of wood. The powerful stroke produces a 
loud sound, the infallible presage of death to 
superstitious man, the soft music of love to 
the female beetle. If other males are within 
hearing, they all join in the concert with 
furious knocking, and such is their jealousy 
or zeal to answer, that even the ticking of 
an innocent watch excites their wrath and 
their loudest notes. 
The Loves of the Spider. —Did the reader 
ever watch the terrible coquetry of the fe¬ 
male spider 1 We say terrible, for it is a 
perilous game for the young gentleman ; if 
he misinterprets her looks and actions, if his 
vanity or the thoughtlessness of youth in¬ 
duce him to imagine he has inspired a pas¬ 
sion deeper than coquetry, she does not, as 
our coquettes do, draw up her head and coolly 
declare “ there must be some mistake,” but 
pounces on the unlucky coxcomb, and slays 
him on the spot! Prescient of such a pos¬ 
sibility, it is wonderful to see how stealthily 
and humbly the gallant gay Lothario pays 
his court. 
