1865 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
851 
^ood I*remiiiin.s—Wliicli One 4bi- 
Yon? 
How many Boys and Girls are trying, or going to try 
for a premium this autumn and winter? Tliere are sev¬ 
eral things you would like, offered in the list on another 
page. A great many very young people, little boys and 
girls even, have obtained the Great Dictionaries, the 
Drawing instruments, etc., etc. We always take peculiar 
pleasure in sending premitims to young people. They 
make good and successful canvassers, and they thus learn 
business habits. The one who shows the paper to a few 
people,even, gains at least a little knowledge of business. 
About Ooing' to Scliool. 
Seed time and harvest, on tiie farm, are over for this 
year, but as autumn advances, the boys and girls’ spring 
time comes on—the season for attending school and put¬ 
ting in seed for the thought cro|). Fifteen or twenty 
years from now, the children of the pre.sent day will be 
the active men and women, and the fruits they bear, their 
success in life, as well as the condition of the world, 
will depend on how they improve their opportunities. 
Tliere are a few particulars which every scholar will 
find most important, and we trust all the young readers 
of the Agriculturist will bear them in mind this winter. 
Be Punctual. —The ancients represented Time by the fig¬ 
ure of an Old Man havfng only one lock of hair, and that 
on his forehead, signifying that the right moment is to be 
seized, or opportunity is lost. The unpunctual are 
alwa»’s just too far behind for taking hold, and so 
time keeps ahead despite all their endeavors_ Be Regu¬ 
lar. ~X man who eats three meals one day, half a one 
the next, and then omits a day or two altogether, will not 
grow fat; neither will the mind thrive if fed irregularly. 
No trifle should prevent attendance at school. Each 
day’s study is worth at least five dollars in cash ; if any 
doubt this let them read the proof in figures which 
dp not lie, in the December Agriculturist, of 1860. 
(Vol. XVIII, page 372) .. .Be Obedient. —Rules are for the 
benefit of the pupils. Without them order and improve¬ 
ment would be at an end. Few teachers will require 
anything unreasonable ; what appears so to you will usu¬ 
ally be found all right after a few years of experience. 
The man at the mast head of a ship can see further than 
the sailor on deck; the teacher has climbed higher in 
life and can judge wliat is best, more certainly than those 
who are younger ...Be Thoughtful.—Ho not be satisfied 
with repeating the words of a lesson, or getting the an¬ 
swer to a problem. Learn tlie meaning of every word 
and sentence, and discover the reason for the rules in 
arithmetic. Sucli exercise will make the brains grow 
and enable the pupil to make rules, and perhaps write 
books for himself. Whoever has brain power will suc¬ 
ceed best in any vocation, and it can be gained only by 
thinking. Finally, remember that learning is a possession 
of which a man can not be robbed, which will bring 
more enjoyment than wealth,and strive to gain your share. 
A Aesson ibi* All to Aeavn. 
Selfishness is rebuked by every thing in nature. Ani¬ 
mals, plants, clouds, brooks and stones—all give some¬ 
thing for the benefit of the world around them. Tlie tree 
is nourished by the earth, moisture, air, and sunlight. 
It gives shade and fruit to man and animals, sustenance 
to countless insects, purity to the air, stores up light and 
heat derived from the sun. to impart them again when 
used for fuel, and repays to earth nourishment for future 
vegetation, in Ihe decaying leaves which it sheds in au¬ 
tumn. Springs are fed with water from the clouds; 
they carry fertility along their banks, furnish a home for 
myriads of living creatures, give power for the use of 
man, unite to bear his shi|)s to the ocean, and are con¬ 
stantly returning to the air the moisture received from 
it. Animals return to the earth and air all the matter 
they receive, besides giving support or comfort to others. 
A Cliinese Story. 
Two short-sighted men, Ching and Chang, were always 
quarreling as to which of them could see best; and as 
they heard there was to be a tablet erected at the gate of 
a neighboring temple they determined to vi.sit it together 
on a given day and put the visual pow ers of each to the 
test. But each desiring to take advantage of the other, 
Ching went immediately to the temple, and looking quite 
close to Ihe ttiblet saw an inscription with the words, 
“ To the great man of the past and the future.” Chang 
also w'ent prying yet closer, and in addition to Ihe in¬ 
scription. “ To the great man of the past and the future,” 
read from smaller characters, “ Erected by the fomily of 
Ling in honor of the great man.” On the day appointed, 
standing at a distance from which neither could read, 
Ching exclaimed, “ The inscription is, ‘ To the great 
man of the pa.st and the future.’ ” “ True,” said Chang, 
“ but you have left out a part of the inscription, which I 
can read but you can not, and which is written in small 
characters: ’ Erected by the family of Ling in honor of 
the great man.’” “There is no sucli inscription,” said 
Ching. " There is,” said Chang. So they waxed wroth, 
and, after abusing one another, agreed to refer the matter 
to the high-priest of the temple. He heard their story, 
and quietly said, “ Gentlemen, there is no tablet to read ; 
it was taken into the interior of the temple yesterday.” 
A Fri^litened. 'WorScma.ii. 
Dr. Buckland, a celebrated English Geologist, was ac¬ 
customed to closely watch the masons engaged in re¬ 
pairing any public buildings in which he was interested, 
to see that no defective or unsuitable materials were 
used. On one occasion workmen were repairing a tow¬ 
er of Christ’s Church, Oxford, and the Doctor had reason 
to suspect that all was not done properly, but he could 
not climb by the slender scaffolding to the high turrets ; 
so he stationed himself at a neighboring window w ith a 
good telescope, which he had used to examine distant 
geological sections. At last the mason working, as he 
thought, far above the observation of man, put in a faulty 
bit of stone; the learned Doctor on the lookout below, 
detected it through the telescope, and going to the foot 
of the tower, frightened the man half out of his wits by 
ordering him to “ bring down directly that bad bit of 
stone he had just built into tlie turret.” 
A Valiia.l>le Peach. 
The writer recently saw a single peach sold for $42.50. 
It was of good but not extraordinary size, nor was the 
flavor better than that of many peaches in the market. 
It occurred thus: A Sumlay School were holding a 
Missionary meeting. After the usual .speeches and col¬ 
lection, a young gentleman, one of the scholars, slated 
that he had something to say about a peach. He then re¬ 
lated how a lady had planted a peach pit five years before, 
and after properly caring for the tree, had this year gath¬ 
ered the first fruits, of which he had one. Then, after 
some very pertinent remarks on the reasonablene/ss of 
expecting good fruit from children as well as from trees 
on which much pains had been bestowed, he presented 
the peach to the Missionai-y Society. A gentleman im¬ 
mediately offered a dollar for it; the male Bible class 
offered $5, and receiving it, presented it again to the So¬ 
ciety. It was then bought and presented to the Society 
twice at $1 each time, then for $5 twice, and finally the 
teacher of the female Bible class offered $5 for it on con¬ 
dition that he miglit divide it among his pupils, and keep 
the pit himself to plant, promising to give the first fruits j 
to the same Society. The male Bible class again made 
a higher offer; the other teacher responded, and after a 
friendly contest it was awarded to him for $25.30, or $42.50 
in all, and if the pit should produce'fruit, it will no doubt 
bring a still further income. 
Honesty tbe Best Policy. 
A friend recently related the following little incident 
illustrating the above proverb. A gentleman of his ac¬ 
quaintance took passage on the steamer from Boston to 
New-York, and upon applying for a state room, was told 
that all were engaged. He was much disappointed, and 
requested the captain to take his name, so that if any 
room should happen to be left vacant, he could take it. 
Late in the evening he called at the captain’s office and 
was told that he could not be accommodated. He then 
paid for a berth in the common cabin, but on receiving 
jiis change found he had twenty five cents too much, 
which he^immediately returned. The captain looked at 
the money, then at him, and after a litile thought said, 
“Mr. M., I’ll try and accommodate you,” and gave him 
a berth in his own, one of the best in the whole boat. 
Answers to Problems nnd Puzzles. 
The following are answers to the puzzles, etc., in the 
October number, page 319. No. 175. Arithmetical Ques¬ 
tion, has not been answered by any, and is left over for 
another month_No. 176. Illustrated Rebus .—Ape pole 
light address gives ez axe s two awls o’s eye et; or, A 
polite address gives easy access to all society_No. 177. 
Charade .—Liberty and justice... No. llS.—Illustrated 
Rebus .—Hook can measure awl the miss chief once in 
will caws? or, 'Who can measure all the mischief one 
sin will cause?—Aug. No., page 256, and October No., 
page 320, turn the pictures half round, and see the faces 
clearly shown. 
A Ijong- Piszzle. 
In the next column we present a Hieroglyphical letter 
for the young folks to puzzle out during this month. 
This occupies so much room that no more problems can 
be inserted ; but it will probably last for some time. I 
