1866 .] 
67 
'AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
matters, pearlasli is the' result. Pearlash consists 
of carbonate of potash ■with some impurities. .If 
the pearlash be exposed to an atmosphere of car¬ 
bonic acid, s'ueh as is given off in fermentation, or 
in burning charcoal, it combines ■\vith more car¬ 
bonic acid than it before contained, and becomes 
a more or Ifess complete bi-carbonate of potash, or 
ealeratus—aerated salt. Plants gro'wing near salt 
■water contain soda instead of potash, and by burn¬ 
ing give an ash, which, when treated in the same way 
as wood ashes, gives soda ash or barilla; the solu¬ 
ble part of this dissolved in water and crystallized, 
yields sal soda, which is a crystallized carbonate of 
soda, and this exposed to carbonic acid would form 
a bi-earbonate of soda, corresponding to saleratus, 
but containing soda instead of potash. This -was for¬ 
merly the way of obtaining these soda compounds, 
but of late years they are made from common salt 
by a process too complex for description here, but 
the resulting products are the same. 
€ra.me or“Tag,’’ wifli Vairiatioiis. 
Probably every boy and girl of ten years old knows 
how lo play Ihe old game of “ tag.” It is so old that the 
children of the Roman empire used to play it, thousands 
of years ago ; the name “tag” comes from their lan¬ 
guage, tago, or tango, as it was ■written in later times, 
meaning “ I touch.” Several variations may be made to 
enliven the game. Thus in Cross Tag,-when one boy (-1) 
is running after another (P), a third one (C) crosses be¬ 
tween them, then A must endeavor to tag C: if another 
boy (O) crosses between them, A must pursue him, and 
so on, until he touches the last boy who crossed before 
him. Change Tag is a new style of the play. The pur¬ 
suer or “ catcher” as he is called, .while chasing a boy, 
calls out “change,” then all the players must imitate the 
“catcherif he hops, they must hop ; or he may com¬ 
mence jumping on both feet, or running, w’ith a skip.lrr 
with his hands behind him, or change his gait in anyway 
he thinks best, to embarrass the othei's, and make it easier 
for hirn to cateh them. Any boy who takes more than 
one step without changing after the catcher calls out, 
must become catcher. If two or more fail to make, the 
change at tlie right time, the catcher may select his suc¬ 
cessor from them. This mode of the game will keep the 
wits as well as the legs of all the players in motion. 
. A Ijively IjJame in the Snow, 
When the snow is newly fallen, select a level spot and 
run out a circular track, with cross paths, as in the ac¬ 
companying engraving. It may be of any diameter, 
about thirty feet is a con¬ 
venient size. The round 
space {H) in the middle, 
should be large enough for 
all the boys joining in the 
game to stand in without 
crowding. This spot is cal¬ 
led “ Home.” In playing 
this game, one boy is selec¬ 
ted for “ Fox,” and he en¬ 
deavors to' touch any one 
of the others when they are not at “ Home,” and the one 
so caught then bec^imes fox. Every “Chicken” must 
run only in the marked paths; if one steps outside the 
ring, or away from the paths, he must take the place of 
“Fox,” until he can thus catch some one else. This is 
a capital game for boys and girls in cold weather. 
A Just Mewurd. 
When Napoleon I. sailed on his expedition to Egypt, 
the ships accompanying him were crowded with troops. 
It frequently occur-red that a man accidentally fell over¬ 
board, and at such times Napoleon is said to have mani¬ 
fested the greatest interest in rescuing the unfortunate 
soldier from his peril, although when in battle, no general 
ever showed greater indifference to the wholesale 
slaughter resulting from his orders ; there the certain loss 
of thousands of lives never deterred him from pursuing a 
plan which promised success. On the occasion referred 
tp, he stimulated the sailors to watchfulness and exertion, 
by liberally rewarding all who helped to rescue a drown¬ 
ing soldier. One night a loud splash was heard near one 
of his ships, and immediately the cry was raised “ man 
overboard!” The vessel was instantly pul about, the 
boats lowered, and" for a long lime, the search continued, 
until at length the sailors succeeded in saving-a 
quarter of beef, which had slipped from a noose at the 
bow of the ship. Of course a good laugh follovred, but 
Napoleon ordered that a larger reward than u.sual be paid, 
as the sailor.s had exerted themselves, though unsuccess¬ 
fully, as much as would have been necessary to save life. 
The ®aiM,e of Checkers or ]I>ra,ug-]its. 
Historical. —In America the game is commonly called 
Checkers;in Great Britain, Draughts; in France, ie jeu dt 
dames; in Italy, Dama; in Germany, Damen, from the idea 
that the game was especially fitted for women. The 
origin of the game is uncertain. It is supposed to have 
preceded chess and certainly is of great antiquity. It has 
been played in Egypt for more than 4000 years; as ap- 
■pears from the monumental paintings, it was a common 
amusement in the reigns of the Osirtasens, 2000 years B. 
C. It made its appearance in Europe only three or four 
centuries agq, when there was much intercourse between 
Southern Europe and, Alexandria and other Egyptian 
ports, before the passage to India round the Cape of 
Good Hope replaced that through the Isthmus of Suez. 
It was played as now, with pieces all of which on the 
same board were alike in size and form, though in differ¬ 
ent boards they varied in shape, some being small, oth¬ 
ers large and rounded on the top, or carved In likenesses 
of human heads. 
LAWS OF THE ojiMis.—(Continued from page 2G.) 
1. The standard board must be of light and dark 
squares, not less than fourteen inches, nor more than fif¬ 
teen inches across the squares. 
2. The standard men, technically described as White 
and Black, must be light and dark (say White and Red, 
Of White and Black,) turned round, and not less than one 
inch,nor more than one and one-eighth inches in diameter. 
3. The board shall be placed so that the bottom’cor¬ 
ner square on the left hand shall be black. 
4. The men shall be placed on the black squares. 
5. The Black men shall be Invariably placed upon the 
real or supposed first twelve squares of the board, the 
White upon the last twelve squares. 
6. Each player shall play alternately with the Black 
and the White men,and lots shall be cast for the color only 
once, viz.; at the commencement of a match, the winner 
to have the choice of taking Black or White. 
POSITION NO. 3. 
Black, 
White. 
White lo play and win, 
(Known by expert players as “ Sturges’ first position.”) 
Solution to Position No. I. (See January number, p. 26.) 
The position should have been given as all kings. 
Three kings win against two, whenever the two are in 
the double coi-ners. Young players should study this, and 
they will see that it is a forced win, in a few moves. 
White. Black. White. Black. 
18 to 15 6 to 1 9 to 6 28 lo 23 
14 “ 9 24 28 19 “ 24 5 “ 1 
23 “19 1 “ 5 ■ 24 “ 19—and wins. 
In the game last month (page 26), the I4th move of 
black should have been printed 10 to 17, instead of 10 to 11. 
GAME NO. 2. —OLD FOURTEENTH OPENING.(*) 
Black, 
White. 
Black. 
White. 
1-11 
to 
15 ■ 
23 to 
19 
1.5— 8 
to 12 
(f)24 lo 
19 
2— 8 
11 
22 “ 
17 
16—15 
“ 31 
26 “ 
22 
3— 4 
u 
8 
17 “ 
13 
17—12 
“ 19 
22 “ 
8 
4—15 
(( 
18 
24 “ 
20 
18—14 
“ IT 
21 “ 
14 
5—n 
(( 
15 
28 “ 
24 
19—10 
“ 17 
8 “ 
3 
6— 8 
(( 
11 
26 “ 
23 
20— 7 
“ 10 
25 “ 
21 
1— 9 
(( 
14 
(a)31 “ 
26 
21—17 
“ 22 (g)20 “ 
16 
8— 6 
(( 
9(b) 
13 “ 
6 
22—10 
“ 14 
16 “ 
11 
9— 2 
(( 
9 
■ 26 “ 
22 
■23—31 
“ 26 
11 “ 
7 
10—1 
t( 
6(c) 
32 “ 
28 
24— 6 
“ 9 
13 “ 
6 
11— 3 
(( 
8 
(d)30 “ 
26 
•25—14 
“ 17 
21 “ 
14 
12— 9 
(( 
13 
19 “ 
16 
26-22 
“ 25 
29 “ 
22 
13—12 
(( 
19 
23 “ 
16 
27—28 
“ I 
7 “ 
2 
14—13 
17(e) 
22 “ 
13 
and the 
game 
is drawn. 
(a) 30 to 20, or 32 to 28, loses the game. 
(b) 11 to 16 is the move generally made by young play¬ 
ers, because they are afraid to break up their king rotv, 
but it is the move that loses the game. 
(c) 9 to 13 would lose here, (d) 22 to 17, black wins. 
(e) 8 to 12, or 14 to 17, white would win. 
(f) 25 to 22 also draws.; (g) 3 to 7,- black wins. 
(■*) Is so called from its being familiar to players as the 
14th game in Sturges’ original work. He wrote a treatise 
on the game ol draughts about sixty-five years ago. 
Answers to TroMems a.nd Tiazzles. 
The following are the answers lo the Puzzles in the 
January number, page 26. No. 183. Illustrated Rebus. 
—On St is the best poll 1 see, or Honesty is Ihe best policy. 
... No. 184. Mathematical Problem.—'Le(i open for 
another month, as no correct answers have been received. 
....No. 185. Illustrated Rebus.—Con Tin D in hole in 
S, or Continue in holiness_No. 186. Charade.—Andrew 
Jackson.. .No. 187. Charade, — Emancipation. 
The follow'ing have sent answers up to the date of Jan. 
8lh : Hattie A. Gaffe, 181 ; A. Jackson, 180, 181 j Lida 
Newman, 179; II. Johnson, 180; J. M. S., 183; May 
Kalbfus, 186, 187; Hen. M. Young, 183, 185,186, 187; 
Sol. Beard, 186,.187 ; Jas. D. McGiffert, 186, 187. 
New I**iz5Bles to l»e 'Answered. 
No. 188. Arithmetical Problem.—The Scramble. —Con¬ 
tributed to the Agriculturist by J. D. McGiffert, Colum¬ 
bia Co., N. Y.—A, in a scramble, seized on % of a parcel 
of sugar-plums; B snatched % of it out of his hands, 
and C laid hold on 3-lOlhs more ; D ran off w ith all A had 
left, except l-7tli, which E afterwards secured slyly for 
himself; then .A and G jointly set upon B, w'ho in the 
conflict let fall X he had, which was equally picked up 
by D and E.—B then kicked down C’s hat, and to work 
they went anew for w-hat it contained ; of which A got 
U, B K, D 2-7 ths, and C and E equal shares of -wdiat was 
left of that stock ; D then struck of what A and B 
last acquired, out of their hands ; they with difficulty re¬ 
covered % of it in equal shares again, but the other three 
carried off K a piece of the same. Upon this they called 
a truce, and agreed, that the H of the -wdiole, left by A at 
first, should be equally divided among them. How much 
of the prize, after this distribution, remained with each ? 
No. 189. Illustrated 
Rebus. —Not new, but in¬ 
genious, and contains 
very excellent advice. 
No. 190. Mathematical 
Problem. — Contributed 
to the American Agricul¬ 
turist, by James Dick¬ 
son, Olinstead Co.. Minn. 
Give the rule for the following: Any dividend being 
given,, to find a divisor which added to its quotient shall 
make a sum equal to the dividend. 
No. 191. Anagrams. —Contributed by “ Susanne.” I, 
Pain’s mother. 2, Tub’s diary. 3, Under a vest. 4, To 
start Cain. 5, Bad in Creoles. 6, Soon in camp. ’What 
single -words can be formed"of the foregoing? 
No. 192. Spelling Exercise. —A correspondent says, 
the word “ scissors ” can be spelled in 720 different ways, 
of course not correctly, but so that the sound will be the 
same, by using the vowels a, e, i, o, u, and y. Is this so ? 
No. 193. Riddle.—Green, white, pink and bhack ; large 
as a hump on a camel’s back ; soaking wet like a dropsi¬ 
cal sponge ; into its heart a knife I’ll plunge ; then 
from its body take a slice ; smack your lips and say it is 
nice ; skin and bones I’ll throw away ; what its name 
is I prithee say. 
No. 194. Illustrated RcSks.—CP roverb in a new dress. 
No. 195. P« 2 zle. —When there’s a will, there’s a 
what? The above curious picture gives the answer. 
