172 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
VILLAGE MAKING. 
Among the many queer businesses in our 
city, one of the queerest, and at the same 
time not the least profitable, is that of village 
making; and this is the way they make sub¬ 
urban villages about our city. Mr. Money- 
penny, Mr. Bangum, and Mr. Noceross form 
themselves into a company and purchase a 
farm on Long-Island, at $1,000. This they 
then divide into three hundred lots, each of 
them taking fifty lots for himself, and leaving 
the remaining one hundred and fifty to be 
disposed of. The next thing is to open an 
office, hire an agent, draw plans and maps of 
the village of “ Utopia,” advertise to the world 
the “ Utopian Village Building Company,” 
and wait for the result. Soon a mechanic 
comes down to the office to look over the 
plans, and talks about purchasing a lot. By 
frugality and industry he has laid up a thou¬ 
sand dollars, and he wishes to buy a conve¬ 
nient spot in the country where he may build 
himself a house and live on his land. On 
looking over the map with the agent, who is 
a very agreeable man, and gives him much 
valuable information, he points out one lot 
convenient to the depot—not yet built, (but 
this the agent forgets to tell him)—and asks 
his price. “ Ah,” says the agent, “ that lot is 
taken by Mr. Moneypenny. He has also the 
five adjoining lots. He is talking of building 
a factory there.” Our mechanic knows of 
Mr. Moneypenny as a shrewd and wealthy 
real-estate broker, and his confidence in the 
“Utopian Village Building Company” in¬ 
creases. He points to a lot on the opposite 
side of the street. “ That,” says the agent, 
“ is taken by Mr. Bangum.” Mr. Bangum 
has an immense reputation in the communi¬ 
ty—was never known to touch anything 
without its becoming golden. “ But the next 
lot. is not taken,” continues the agent, “ and 
it is just as good—though I half promised tho 
refusal of it to Mr. Noceross, who owns the 
lot on the other side.” “Does he own much 
out there ?” asks our friend. “ Immensely,” 
says the agent, touching off half a dozen or 
more of Mr. Noceross’s lots; “he knows 
where real estate is going to rise, he does.” 
The upshot of the affair is, that the lot is 
made over to our friend, and his $100 are 
made over to the company. In this way the 
spare one hundred and fifty lots are soon 
disposed of, on the faith of Mr. Moneypenny, 
Mr. Bangum and Mr. Noceross. These gone 
and the worthy trio sell out their own lots, as 
they had sold out the former ones, and be¬ 
fore Utopia’s really turned from a farm into 
a village, their interest in it is all sold, they 
have bought a new farm, created a new com¬ 
pany and christened a new village, and com¬ 
menced pocketing the fruits of a new specu¬ 
lation. This is the way New-Yorkers make 
their fortunes, by selling for $30,000 what 
cost six months before $1,000, and this is the 
way suburban villages are built around New- 
York. [New-York Correspondent. 
Beautiful “ Epitaff.” —The San Diego 
Herald publishes the following, written upon 
a young man who was accidentally shot, in 
that vicinity : 
“ here lies the body of Jeems Hambrick 
who was accidentally shot 
on the bank of the pacus river 
by a young man 
he was accidentally shot with one of the 
large colt's revolver with no stopper for the 
cock to rest on it was one of the ole fashing 
kind brass mounted and of such is the king¬ 
dom of heaven.” 
No man can avoid his own company—so 
he had best make it as good as possible. 
Never think that which you do for religion 
is time or money misspent. 
SLEEVES AND SAUCE. 
The most stupid and ugly fashions always 
last the longest. How many years the long 
dresses have swept the streets ! For the 
last twelve months bonnets have been flying 
off the head, and so, probably, they will con¬ 
tinue for twelve more. However, the bon¬ 
nets are simply ridiculous. As to long 
dresses, there is something to be said for 
them. They are convenient to aged ladies. 
They enable them to enjoy, without attract¬ 
ing remark, the comfort of list slippers and 
laced stockings and rollers for their poor old 
ankles. They render it possible for young 
ladies to wear bluchers and high-lows, 
thereby avoiding damp feet, and to save 
washing, by making one pair of stockings 
last a week. So they will doubtless continue 
to be worn while the laws of fashion are 
dictated by a splay-footed beauty, or a lady 
troubled with bunions. But this kind of 
apology can not be made by hanging sleeves. 
They are not only absurd but inconvenient. 
They are always getting in the way, and in 
the sauce, and the butter-boat. Your wife 
can not help you to a potato across the table 
but she upsets her glass, and breaks it with 
her dangling sleeve. It may be said that 
your wife has no business to help potatoes 
—that there ought to be footmen in attend¬ 
ance for that purpose. Certainly; or else, 
she should not wear the sleeves. But ladies 
must, of course, follow the height of fashion, 
whether suitable to their circumstances or 
not. Could not the leaders of fashion, then, 
in pity to the less opulent classes, devise and 
sanction a kind of sleeves, adapted to life in 
a cottage—whether near a wood or else¬ 
where—to be called cottage sleeves, and to 
be worn by the genteel cottager-class without 
prejudice to their gentility ? [Punch. 
GOOD ADVICE TO YOUNG WOMEN. 
Trust not to uncertain riches, but prepare 
yourself for every emergency in life. Learn 
to work and not be dependent upon servants 
to make your bread ; sweep your floors, and 
darn your own stockings. Above all things, 
do not esteem too lightly those honorable 
young men who sustain themselves and their 
aged parents by the work of their own 
hands, while you care for and receive into 
your company those lazy popinjays who 
never lift a finger to help themselves, so 
long as they can keep body and soul togeth¬ 
er, and get sufficient to live in fashion. If 
you are wise you will look at this subject as 
we do, and when you are old enough to be¬ 
come wives, you will prefer the honest me¬ 
chanic, with not a cent to commence life, to 
the fashionable loafer, with a capital of ten 
thousand dollars. 
Whenever we hear remarked “ such a 
lady has married a fortune,” we always 
tremble for her prosperity. Riches left to 
children by wealthy parents often turn out a 
curse instead of a blessing. Young woman, 
remember this ; and instead of sounding the 
purses of your lover and examining the cut 
of the coat, look into their habits and hearts. 
Mark if they have trades and can depend on 
themselves; see if they have minds which 
will lead them to look above a butterfly ex¬ 
istence. Talk not of the beautiful, white¬ 
skinned, soft, delicate hand—the splendid 
form and the fine appearance of the young 
gentleman. Let not those foolish considera¬ 
tions throng your thoughts. 
A very steady old farmer was once found 
betting against a roulette table. Upon ex¬ 
pressing very natural surprise at this sight, 
the old gentleman assured us, ‘ upon his honor 
he didn’t want a cent of their money.’ ‘ What 
are you playing for then?’ ‘ Because they 
have got about fifty dollars of mine.' 1 
OLD FOLKS. 
There is now living in the town of South¬ 
east, Putnam County, N. Y., a family of 
five generations, as follows : Jerusha Pad- 
dock, aged 99 ; her daughter, Jerusha Smith, 
aged 79 ; her grand-dauther, Rebecca Cros¬ 
by, aged 52 ; her great-grand-daughter, Eliza 
Denton, aged 32 ; and her great-great-grand- 
daughter, little Miss Denton, aged 6. The 
lady of 99 appears as though she might con¬ 
siderably overtop 100 in her earthly account 
of years, and her daughter of 79 looks fully 
competent to take her tea regularly and en¬ 
joy the evening of life a round score of years 
yet; while the grand-child of 52 has a 
countenance expressive of true enjoyment 
of existence. If the latter lives as long as 
her grandmother (and we see no reason why 
she may not) she has 47 long years left in 
which to taste the sweets of the earth. She 
is now in her pilgrimage, just about where 
many sink down, and give up the hope of 
traveling further; yet, judging from the 
hale appearance of her ancestor, she may 
yet go on as far ahead as she has already 
come. But, skipping over the young mother 
of 32, what a long, long “ road to travel,” is 
before the great-great-grand-daughter of 6, 
should she live to the age of her double- 
chinned ancestor. Let us see—93 years 
added to the number that now sit lightly 
upon that curly head, would carry her into 
the middle of another century—1946 ! Veri¬ 
ly, a good long life is not such a fleeting 
thing, after all. 
LEARNING TO SPELL 
Bad spelling is discreditable. Every 
young man should be a master of his native 
tongue. He that will not learn to spell the 
language that is on his tongue and before his 
eyes every hour, shows no great aptitude for 
the duties of an intelligent, observing man. 
Bad spelling is therefore a discreditable indi¬ 
cation. It indicates a blundering man; a 
man that can not see with his eyes open. 
Accordingly, we have known the application 
of more than one young man, made with great 
display of penmanship and parade or refer¬ 
ences, rejected for his bad spelling. 
Bad spelling is a very bad indication. He 
who runs may read it. A bright school-boy, 
utterly incapable of appreciating your stores 
of science, art, and literature, can see your 
blunders. You will find it hard to inspire 
that boy with any great respect for your at¬ 
tainments. Bad spelling is therefore a 
mortifying and inconvenient defect. We 
have known men thrown into very promi¬ 
nent positions, so ashamed of their deficien¬ 
cy in this respect, that they never ventured 
to send a letter until it had been revised by 
a friend. This was, to say the least of it, 
sufficiently inconvenient. 
We say again learn to spell. Keep your 
eyes open when you read, and if any word is 
spelt differently from your mode, ascertain 
which is right. Keep your dictionary before 
you ; and in writing, whenever you have the 
least misgiving about the spelling of a word, 
look at it at once, and remember it. Do not 
let your laziness get the better of you. 
It’s the little troubles that wear the heart 
out. It is easier to throw a bomb-shell a 
mile, than a feather—even with artillery. 
Forty little debts of one dollar each, will 
cause you more trouble and dunning than one 
big one of a thousand. 
Question. —Why is a lean dog like a man 
in meditation ?• Ans.—Because he’s a thin- 
cur. 
Good company and good conversation are 
the very sinews of virtue. 
