1-57.1 
©ciiiits’ ffloiTnarjs. 
A llii|>|»y .liew Vciir !! ! 
J io<)K 8oiui> 2 j, 000 greeting to i»o all 
nTl^'It'" ^ 
.r the land. Kind feeling and the words of cheer which 
ed * f ^ spring which can not be exhaust- 
itn ‘ I in reply to the saluta- 
happy r Tit T """" ®"‘"" 
bif ft La “ot a very polite question, 
but itt,a3^ery common-sense-ical.” A tnie friend will 
find many ways to bestow benefits upon those he loves 
Ll'u^" w“lf 
L hi h . ’ *’ •‘‘“t ““!« folks 
high in our re-gard. The pictures, puzzles, stories, 
and othi r ^ things wldch the AaricuilurM has given 
■ hem need no further acknowledgment than we have re¬ 
ceived already in many thou.sands of pleasant letters, 
ttUlngus how much enjoyment our monthly visits give. 
The BKAfTircL IIoudat Pictuhe { n^t page ) 
is an eaniest of what may Iks expected in IftfiT. There the 
old year is n-pre.-ented going out sorrowfully, as if regret¬ 
ting that more good has not been done, while the New 
year, iNt;;, coining from the Horn of Plenty, Indicates 
that wo may look for abundant good things to follow 
and wo shall certainly try to do our part in keeping the 
horn well supplied. 
All will feel like joining the joyous group who arc so 
gleefully welcoming Santa Claus, and not a few will re¬ 
joice with those in the comers who are e.xamining their 
holiday gifts, or joining in the siiorts of the sea.son. Do 
not neglect to study the scene in tlie npj)crrightliand cor¬ 
ner of the sketch. It represents two little street sweep¬ 
ers. such a.-, swami in large cities, enjoying the Christmas 
pic which some kind-hearted friend has given them. The 
stable where they And shelter, and the manger, will bring 
to mind the story and the examjilc of Him, '• who though 
he was rich, for our sakes Ix'came poor,” and will, we 
tnist, le.ad many to bestow some good upon the poor of 
their own neighborhoods. To l)egin the year with good¬ 
will shown to the needy, wdll be a most worthy way of 
exhibiting our gratitude for good received, and our own 
worthiness of expected blessings. God loves those who 
rememlior his jKior. No surer way of making this a hap- 
I>y year can bo found than keeping the resolution, to 
Do Good to Some O.ne Eveiiy Day this Year. 
Ilojtjgfarx. 
In most large cities, street bt>gging is a regular profes¬ 
sion, having its own jHiculiar arts and mysteries, and re¬ 
quiring a special training to make it successful. A pro- 
f.-ssional b<'ggar studies appropriate dress, gesture, and 
manner of speech, as certainly, if not as thoroughly as the 
actors in a theatre, and many of them attain a degree of 
pi rf. ction in thi.-= part of their art, that might malse their 
fortunes if practised on the stage. For example, notice 
tliat jHxir, P)tt<rring, white-haired old man, that has just 
entered our offlee ; he has frequently called before. He 
is the very picture of a recent emigrant. His dress is 
scanty, hut neat; apparently a great effort is being made 
to be decent, though poor. He wears wooden clogs, 
which give notice of his approach, as he hobbles toward 
you, and stretcher, out his long thin hand, that in itself 
has a most appealing look. In reply to a question, he 
mumbles over pome strange jargon, that no one present 
can understand. Most persons at once think, ” here is a 
case of real misfortune, an aged stranger in a foreign 
land, who ha.s no doubt lost the little all he depended on 
to make him comfortable in old age.” The whole appear- 
anco of the man is carefully studied and arranged to pro¬ 
duce just this effi'ct, and until known as a professional 
lieggar, few can turn him away, without at least a trifle. 
Vet on some fine afternoon, in walking up Broadway, you 
may meet a well dressed, respectable looking old gentle- 
nun, walking erect, carrying a nice cane, rather for onia- 
ment th.in support, the picture of one who has laid by 
enough to make him easy for the rest of his earthly jour¬ 
ney, and if you are sharjr at scnitinizing countenances, 
you may recognize our pwir pauper, for it is the same. 
Iie is s.ald to be already wealthy from begging, but he keeps 
tt his tnide, part of the time, perhaps from mere habit. 
Thousands of our readers have seim a one-legged man 
rlad In an old military dress, stumping painfully along 
I’ark How, not on crutches, but seated on the pavement, 
and moving iiimsrdf by means of his hands, which arc 
protected by thick leathiT mittens. He never a.skcd for 
even a penny—that is In words—but his appealing look 
to the passers by, said more plainly than wordg could 
speak, “ For the love of humanity, and in gratitude to 
AMERICAN AgRlcuLTuj^jg^ 
your country's defenders, please aid a poor nuimed sol 
into c,„„, deed,, 
eenia K ^ examples out of hundreds here that 
co«ld bo de„rlb.d-.„„„ of m.y,elTotlco 
though it seems harsh, we believe it to be a safe rule to 
fn Lr "r? kave been first 
help the poor, as all should do, a little inquiry in almost 
any neighborhMd wdll bring out deserving cases enouL 
to employ all the resources of charity. • ° 
A C,Sa_mc!-“Boys,” said a facetious farmer 
to his sons, “we had a pretty hard day’s work yester¬ 
day, now lots have a game of chopping wood.” 
A friend, whose name we are not at liberty to <rive but 
who is well and widely known as a business man of ster- 
ling worth, was last year erecting a large building. One 
of his e.xcellcnt peculiarities is, to allow no intemperance 
or profanity among his men, and to Insist that every man 
shall work for the liberal p.iy he is willing to give One 
day, this gentleman noticed that one of the builders was 
continually shirking, seeming to care only to pass away 
the time and draw his pay. Calling his foreman, who 
had the hiring as .well as the overseeing of the men, our 
friend asked whether the lazy hand had been engaged for 
the season, or only for a short time. “ For the season,” 
was the reply, “but lean discharge him, I suppose.”— 
Oh ! no,” said Mr.-, “but I want you to go down 
to the village hotel and engage the best room you can 
find ; let this man go there and occupy it; every month 
send his bill to me, and I will pay it.”—The foreman in¬ 
formed the hired man of the instmetions given, and he at 
once went to the owner. “ I understand you are not sat¬ 
isfied with my work,” said he.—“I find no fault with 
your work,” was the reply, “ but because you (ion''( work.” 
“I will leave, if you insist on it,” said the man.—“Not 
at all I don t turn you away, but I have given orders to 
ha\ e the best room at the hotel put at your service, since 
yon want to play the gentleman at my expense, and I 
promise you I will pay the bill promptly every month, 
but I will not have your dad example among my men.” 
The poor fellow, utterly dumb-founded at such novel 
treatment, scarcely knew how to reply, but Iqoked as 
though he would like to sink into the ground. Finally, 
he asked, “ Are you willing to try me for a week.”-— 
“ Certainly,” said Mr.-, “ I am always willing to help 
ajman who.wants to reform.” The man returned to his 
work, cured of his laziness, and from that day forth, 
no more industrious hand was to be found on the place. 
Stories Altoiit l®iirrots. 
As oiir young readers well know,the parrot may be taught 
to repeat many words. It is generally supposed that they 
attach no meaning to what they say, but simply utter the 
sounds, as they would any ^icr notes. This may be so, 
but some incidents seem to show that they may some¬ 
times know the use of language. A lady friend of the 
writer occupied part of a house where was kept a veiy 
talkative parrot. One day the lady came domi stairs 
dressed in a short-gown and petticoat, the weather being 
intensely warm, when the parrot immediately cried out, 
“ What frock you got on ?”.... Another friend relates that a 
parrot belonging to his landlady one day annoyed her very 
much by its continued talking and screeching. At last 
she seized the stick with which she had been stirring the 
clothes, and raised it threateningly, when the bird imme¬ 
diately cried out, “ You saucy thing, poll won’t speak 
another word,” and remained silent almost the whole 
day.-A bird show was held at the Museum in New- 
York several years since, to which a parrot was sent that 
had been taught to repeat the Lord’s Prayer. This was 
advertised extensively, and hundreds of persons went to 
hear the wonder, but to their disappointment, and the vex¬ 
ation of the owner. Poll would not utter a word during 
the exhibition, although fully able to do what had been 
expected. After the show, the parrot was taken home, 
and upon reaching its place, it exclaimed, “I suppose I 
can talk now,” and became as voluble as ever. The bird’s 
silence was not remarkable, as song birds will seldom 
sing freely, for some time after being taken to a new 
place ; the speech on going home certainly seemed to in¬ 
dicate intelligence. A gentleman had taught his parrot 
to say, “ Get your gun, John,” which was well remem¬ 
bered one night by the bird, for burglars entered the 
house, and Poll, hearing a noise, screamed out at the top of 
her voice, “Get your gun, John,” awakening her owner, 
and at the same time putting the robbers to flight. > 
25 
Answers to Pr«l>lenis M 
The following arc answers to the puzzles, etc in tha 
DcccmhtT number, page 441. No. 239 and 240 ’Mathe 
matical Problcms.-Tliese were incorrectly stated last 
P™P“;;ly’^«l°^“iderthe numbers 
^40, ^7. No. 212. Geographical Problem.-We shall dis 
Se “-t-tedIlebus.-W 
Sun grape-vine).-^No. 243. Conun- 
h la papa-veraceous.-No. 244. Elustrated Re- 
” infancy to adolescense a man’s future posi¬ 
tion and stand in life are usually taken. 
The following have sent in correct answers up to Dee 
Jnlla G™r: Avey L. A jS 
T^Tj BelmerD. Bryant, Jennie Cooper 
WEtnm°r°^B^’T^Tlo’^/' Hawksworth, John E.’ 
T a ,Hnmmer, barah Purdy, Fred. Stanlev R 
Maite Coulter John’II" 
Lehman, ^amiiel M. Edwards, Peter Smith Nettie Wal" 
. S., Sdiah h. Winser, Martin Keeney, James Ratleff. 
r^’ew l®BizzIcs to l>e Ansswerctl. 
Ko. 2-15. Mathematical Problem^ to be solved arithmet¬ 
ically. The crew of a ship consisted of Sailors and Sol¬ 
diers. There were 22 sailors to every 3 guns and 10 over. 
The whole number of men was 6 times the number of 
soldiers and guns together. After an engagement in 
which one-fifth were slain, there lacked 6 to be 13 men to 
eveiy 2 guns. How many guns, sailors and soldiers at fli-st ? 
No. 246. lUnetrated Proverb .—Usually found to he true. 
No. 247. Mathematical Problem .—A man has a triangu¬ 
lar piece of ground whose sides measure respectively, 
500, 400 and 300 feet each. How can he divide it equally 
among his four sons, giving each a plot of the same form ? 
No. 248. Mathematical Prbblem., to be solved arithmet¬ 
ically. John and Charles, set out from C, and D, at the 
same time, to travel to E, the road from C to B, passing 
through D. John travels 7 miles an hour, and at that rate 
he would overtake Charles 5 miles before he arrives at E. 
But, after arriving at D, John travels miles an hour in 
consequence of which, he overtakes Charles just as he 
enters E. Supposing Charles, to travel 5 miles an hour, 
what are the distances between C, D, and E ? 
No. 249. Illustrated Eebm.—^<M worth remembering. 
No. 2S0. Illustrated IfejMS.—Something unpleasant 
