1875.] 
191 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
John O'Groat.—“ E. J.,” Missouri, Miss., wishes to 
know who John O’Groat was, and what worthy thing he 
did.—I can not tell who John was, other than that he, as 
his name would show, was a Scotchman; the only thing 
so far as I kn*w, that he did, was to give his name to 
nearly the northernmost point in Great Britain, where 
his cottage once stood ; the place is in the county of 
Caithness, Scotland, very near the sea, and though the 
cottage is gone, the place is still called John O’Groat’s 
House. People in Great Britain say, to express extremes 
of distance, “ from Land’s End to John O'Groat’s House,” 
that is from the farthest south or south-western point to 
the most northern point, just as we say “ from Maine to 
Georgia,” and in olden times it was “ from Dan to Beer- 
sheha.”—Your other questions about two persons travel¬ 
ing, one east and the other west, is an arithmetical puz¬ 
zle that has been discussed for years; if I come across 
anything about it, I will give it to you, but. I have not the 
time to give to the working out of the problem, as I do not 
think the result will pay for the labor. The Doctor. 
Curious Bible Notes. —It is said that a 
prisoner in solitary confinement, by working three years, 
obtained the following items: The Bible contains 66 
Books; 1,189 Chapters; 31,173 Verses; 773,602 Words; 
3,686,489 Letters_The word Lord occurs 1,855 times; 
the word and 46,277 times... .The shortest verse is John 
xi. 35; the longest verse, Esther viii. 9. ..Ezra vii. 21, 
contains all the alphabet except J_2 Kings xx., and 
Isaiah xxxviii. are similar; and in Psalms cvii. the 8th, 
15th, 21st, and 31st verses are alike....All the verses of 
Psalm cxxxvi. end alike. We have verified the first two 
and the last six items above, and suppose the figures for 
the verses and words are correct. 
-.- .a, ■ ». -— 
Aunt Sue’s S B aiz:*:Ie-BB©x. 
ANAGRAMS. 
1. Ironed dunces. 
2. Not cousins. 
3. Bound legs. 
4. So mend paces. 
5. Tigers in den. 
6. A fair dose. 
7. Cured Danny. 
8. Cid echo psalm. 
9. Defines fuss. 
10. I’m a lay partner. 
BIBLE EXERCISE. 
(Give the names, in an alphabetical list, here defined.) 
A. Father of light. 
B. Seventh daughter. 
C. Green herb. 
D. Little woman. 
E. A bunch of grapes. 
F. Happy or prosperous 
G. Valley of Grace. 
H. Exaltation of Life. 
I. A man of murder. 
J. A revenger. 
K. The city of the woods. 
L. A she-wolf. 
M. A comforter. 
N. The gift of God. 
O. Servant of the Lord. 
P. Small. 
R. A rose. 
S. Myrrh. 
T. Well educated. 
IT. Strength of God. 
V. One that drinks. 
Y. Memory of the Lord. 
G. C. W. 
CHARADE. 
A verb that often lends its aid 
Unto composing youth or maid, 
United with a word not large. 
Names one who, in the public barge, 
With head erect, imposing form 
Encased in garments fine and warm, 
Without a single eyelash quiver, 
Sails calmly down the golden river. Henrt. 
NUMERICAL ENIGMAS. 
1. I am composed of 27 letters : 
My 17, 6, 27, 19, 26, 14, 8, is a man’s name. 
My 21, 25, 15, 12, 5, 23. 2, is a wild animal. 
My 10, 3. 7, 1, 25, 24, 3, 7, is a man’s name. 
My 4. 11, 18, 22, 1, 13, is a number. 
My 9, 16, 20, 23, is useless. 
My whole is an old saying. Herbert J. K. 
2. I am composed of ten letters : 
My 2, 6, 8, is an insect. 
My 7, 10. 2, 8, is another insect. 
My 4, 9, 7, is an animal. 
My 3, 4, 9, 1, is something to exhibit. 
My 5, 8, is a pronoun. 
My whole is a Territory. Harry H. Brakeley. 
acrostic. 
The initials from a lesson that all should learn. 
1. A prince of ancient Wales. 2. A late Methodist 
divine. 3. A Persian general. 4. An Episcopalian di¬ 
vine. 5. Pertaining to the sea. 6. A species of dove. 
7. A late sovereign. 8. A useful tool. 9. Part of the 
human body. 10. A city of New York. 11. A stinging 
insect. 12. Old-fashioned. 13. Another stinging insect. 
14. A scream. 15. An article of clothing. 16. A picture. 
17. Another kind of picture, 18. The mouth of a river. 
Little One. 
CONCEALED STATES AND COUNTRIES. 
1. How swiftly the ape runs, does he not ? 
2. Well, Farmer Brown, do you hire land ? 
3. Oh 1 I owe you fifty cents, do I ? 
4. Has that ore gone to the foundry yet ? 
5. James, I am going to the concert to-night. 
6 . But you can see Ida home, if you like. 
7. It is painful to witness such destitution. 
8 . The bark “Alice” landed here to-day. 
Albert and Augusta. 
DECAPITATION. 
When shot from bow with steady nerve, 
Seldom from the mark I swerve ; 
But when the tyro tries to hit 
It, far and wide I often flit. 
Behead: the thrust by ruffian dealt, 
Is stopped by me, though still it’s felt; 
Behead me once again, and now, 
You’ll never find me near the prow. Henry. 
cross WORD. 
My first is in bread but not in roll, 
My next is in rat but not in mole, 
My third is in ale but not in beer. 
My fourth is in bison but not in deer, 
My fifth is in Bill but not in Joe, 
My sixth is in rain but not in snow, 
My seventh is in one but not in two, 
My eighth is in Susan but not in Lou, 
My ninth is in r.ight but not in day. 
My tenth is in August, but not in May, 
My eleventh is in chisel but not in saw, 
My twelfth is in teeth but not in jaw. 
My thirteenth is in mouse but not in rat, 
My fourteenth is in lean but not. in fat, 
My fifteenth is in wren but not in lark, 
My sixteenth is in bite but not in bark, 
My seventeenth is in me but. not in you. 
My eighteenth is in purple but. not in blue, 
My nineteenth is in ton but not in pound, 
My twentieth is in square but. not in round, 
My twenty-first is in Jupiter but not in Mars, 
My twenty-second is in sun but not. in stars, 
My twenty-third is in Mary but not in Jane, 
My twenty-fourth is in wheat but not in grain, 
My twenty-fifth is in prison but, not in jail, 
My twenty-sixth is in thresher but not in flail. 
My twenty-seventh is in grass but not. in weed, 
My whole is a book that I like to read. 
Capt. John W. W. 
pi. 
Hvpap si eh how nac katc rawginn romf het sipsham 
fo throes. 
SQUARE WORDS. 
Square the words “ASTER” and “SPAIN.” 
Giles Farmin. 
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE MARCH NUMBER. 
Anagrams— 1. Humiliate. 2. Galvanize. 3. Resonant. 
4. Velocipede. 5. Ligatures. 6. Legislature. 7. Predomi¬ 
nant. 8. Ancestors. 9. Utopian. 10. Curmudgeon. 
Concealed Names.— Bridget, Lucy, May, Ella, Cora, Ed¬ 
win, Mary, Grace. Amos, and Ida. 
Double Acrostic. 
S- ahar -A 
C- a -B 
O- sag -E 
T- rafalga -R 
L- apian -D 
A-Palaohe-E 
N- eus -E 
D- o -N 
Cities.— 1. New Bedford. 2. Aspin- 
wall. 3. Pondicherry. 4. Georgetown. 
Numerical Enigmas.— 1. National. 
2. “ People will talk.” 
Square Words. 
1. C L O 1) 2. B O A T 
LAKE OGRE 
OKRA A R T S 
DEAR T E S T 
Cross-Word.— Charles Sumner. 
Decapitations.—1. Robe, obe. 2. Grate, rate. 3. Clash, 
lash. 4. Crash, rash. 5. Gloom, loom. 6. Shark, hark 1 
Pi.—Time is the most subtle yet the most insatiable of de¬ 
predators, and bv appearing to take nothing is permitted to 
take all. 
Paraphrased Proverb.— Time, thyme; and Tide, tied 
Wait, weight; For. lour; No man. 
Thanks for puzzles, letters, etc., to Xeryion, Frank H., 
C. W. B., Kipp (or Xippl, ,T. A. M., A. R„ E. 8. D„ B. F. 0„ 
Emily, L. W. U.. Harry J„ S. T.. Minnie W„ and J. W. C. 
Send communications for the Puzzle Box to Aunt Sue , 
Box 111, P. 0., Brooklyn , N. Y., and not to 245 Broadway. 
May and May-day. 
Last month we had to go a long way hack to find out 
how April got its name ; and we shall find the same thing 
necessary with other months. Why May is so called, 
does not seem to be well settled. Some say it was named 
from the Maia, who was the mother of Mercury. The 
ancient Greeks and Romans had a great many gods and 
goddesses. Neptune was the god of the sea. Flora was 
the goddess of flowers, and so on. Mercury was the 
messenger of the gods—ran of errands for them, and 
Maia was his mother. These old fables we langh at now, 
but we are obliged in various ways to remember them, 
for we can not look at the thermometer without being 
reminded of Mercury, after whom the metal was named, 
and the same name is found among the planets. In 
this month the ancients had celebrations in honor of 
Flora, and that custom was continued, and was the ori¬ 
gin of the celebration of May-day, which has been a 
holiday in England from the very earliest time until now. 
Going into the fields to gather flowers, and choosing a 
“Queen of May,” is still the custom in England. Some 
try to follow this custom in our northern states ; they 
find but few flowers, and generally come home very cold 
and cross. North of Virginia, May-day, as a holiday, is 
a failure, and, however we wish to keep up the customs 
of our great grandfathers and grandmothers, it is in most 
places much pleasanter to observe the holiday in June. 
Tlie Kind «f Lciid in Pencils.— 
“John C. C.,” Ohio. You are right. The “lead” in 
lead-pencils is not lead at all, though it is called “black- 
lead.” The weight, if nothing else, tells you that. It is 
a mineral, called graphite , (from the Greek word to write), 
and is more nearly related to coal than to lead, /on 
have learned that both coal and the diamond are forms of 
the element, carbon : Graphite is still another shape in 
which carbon is found ; it usually contains a very little 
iron. Plumbago is another name for it. It can not be 
melted, butata very high heat, will burn. The fine kinds 
are very scarce. This answers your question, hut much 
more could he said about it, and we may tell it some day. 
A Trane EJog 1 Story. 
Some months ago we asked for stories about dogs, sev¬ 
eral have come in, and we should be glad of more. A 
well known literary gentleman, gives this for the boys 
and girls: One of our old friends, (he is a large New* 
foundland dog,) makes his way through the world on 
three legs. Several years ago he lived in the country. 
One day he was frolicking about in a meadow, in which 
a mowing machine was working. Suddenly he gave a 
spring directly in front of the knives, and in a twinkling 
one of his legs was cut off a little way above the foot. 
With a yell and a hound he was quickly out of further 
danger, but almost immediately returned, on his three 
remaining legs, to where the accident occurred. After 
smelling about for it, he found the missing leg, took it 
in his month, carried it to the house, and up six steps of 
a piazza, when he laid it down before one of the family, 
and looking up piteously, said as plainly as a dog could, 
“please fix it for me.”—The dog being too valuable to 
lose, he was taken to an outbuilding, the wound care¬ 
fully dressed, and in a few weeks the stump healed over. 
After getting about again, he hunted up the missing leg, 
which had been thrown into an adjoining field, and 
buried it. This dog evidently had his thoughts about him. 
Answers to Aviary 8 B aoz*Ie No. 443, 
(April).—In this some of the figures alone represent the 
name of the bird, such as kite , while with others it is 
necessary to combine two, as L—ark, for lark. 1 and 10, 
Cedar Bird.—3 and 2. King Fisher.— 4. Crow.—5. Kite.— 
6 . Diver.—7. Whippoorwill.—8 and 10. Snow Bird.—9. 
Jay.—10. Black Bird.—11. Finches.—12 and 10. Butcher 
Bird.—13 and 10. Cat Bird.—14. Lark.—15. Rail.—16 and 
10. Thistle Bird.—17 and 10. Tailor Bird. 
Some Stra,ng-e Inseets. 
In this country we often meet with people who believe 
in signs and warnings, but we do not have nearly so 
many such persons as are to be found in some parts of 
Europe, where there is very little education among th® 
working people. In many farming districts in England, 
there are stories told about most of the common plants, 
insects, and other animals, that have been handed down 
from father to son, and mother and daughter, for these 
hundreds of years. Sometimes a person curious in such 
matters, will gather up the “ folk-lore ” as it is called—» 
(which means the knowledge of the people), of his dis¬ 
trict, and publish it in some book or magazine, and very 
amusing reading it sometimes makes. In Europe there 
is a sphynx. or night-flying moth, related to those you. 
see about the flowers at dusk, having upon its back somo 
light markings, which, if you try hard to make them, look 
somewhat like a skull and cross-bones, and is called th* 
“Death’s Head Moth.” Of course an insect, bearing 
such an unpleasant badge as this, would excite the fears 
of the ignorant, and when we add to this the fact that it 
is capable of making a kind of squeaking noise, we have 
materials for very wonderful stories. As this moth is 
frequently mentioned in books and other writings, we 
give a picture, that you may see what it is like. It is 
found in England, and on the Continent of Europe, and 
its appearance is regarded by the ignorant everywhere as 
a sign of evil. It is sometimes thought to foretell war, 
or famine, and should it, attracted by the light, enter the 
room, and flying at the candle, put it out, there is sure to 
he a death in the family- and then the poor thing, prob¬ 
ably from having burnt itself, gives out its squeaking 
noise, which is regarded as moaning over the fearful 
thing which is to happen. But it is not necessary to tell 
you more of the absurd stories, and surely not to tell yon 
that the coming and going of this moth has no more 
meaning than that of any other moth or other insect. 
Really the only harm done by the moth, with the un¬ 
pleasant name, is to steal the honey away from the bees. 
... .Among the insects about which wonderful stories are 
told, are the lantern-flies—not the fire-flies that we see 
on a warm summer's night, nor those curious beetles 
from the West Indies which shine so brightly, and which 
are sometimes brought here alive, but some South Amer¬ 
ican and Chinese insects, which have a very large head, 
and a turned up, sort of half transparent, snout, like the 
one in the engraving. Travelers have told great stories 
about these living lanterns ; they flew into the thick 
trees, and lighted up their darkest recesses ; one lady 
had some presented to her in a box, and when she opened 
it, a stream of flame came out; and this same lady is 
said to have made a drawing of the insect by its own 
light! Beautiful provision of Nature, is it not, that the 
insect should be provided with this lantern of a sub¬ 
stance like thin horn, to light its way about. The only 
trouble is that no scientific travelers have been able to 
see this lantern lighted, and though there is a capital 
place for a light, it is stated that there is none. On the 
other hand, it has been suggested that this insect may 
give light at some seasons, and not at others. So when 
you read the accounts of the wonderful iantern-fly. you. 
can say that up to the present time it is “not proven.” 
