BOYS 5 DEPARTMENT. 
161 
even now, without a shudder, of the disgust, almost 
amounting to horror, when any of the heavy, cold 
worms fell upon my hands, or crawled over my 
dress. Yet, 
“ The best laid schemes o’ mice an* men 
Gang aft a-gley.” 
And mine were not an exception to the rule ; for 
long before the worms had spun their self-made 
shrouds, I began to reflect upon the consequences 
of pursuing my whim to the end, and came to 
the conclusion that the most signal success that 
could possibly crown my exertions, would not be 
the smallest compensation for the waste of the most 
precious gift of God to man ; for time spent in fruit¬ 
less labor, or selfish amusement, is wasted to all 
intents and purposes. I therefore hired a person to 
take charge of my “ cocoonery,” and as soon as the 
worms had wound themselves up, I reeled off a 
single skein of silk, to be kept as a talisman against 
future temptations to misspend my time, and gave 
the remainder of the cocoons to my young assist¬ 
ants, who, entering into the business with a little 
experience and a great deal of zeal, realized enough, 
during the season, to provide a large room, suitably 
furnished with hurdles, &c., for the following year, 
and made it a profitable concern for several succeed¬ 
ing summers. 
Silk stuffs are no longer sold for their weight in 
gold, as was the case with those carried from Asia 
to Rome, to minister to the prodigality and luxury 
of the cruel and sensual Heliogabahis, who pos¬ 
sessed the-first dress of the kind that was seen 
there, and was severely censured for wearing a gar¬ 
ment made wholly of silk. They are now com¬ 
paratively cheap, and I do not grudge to the French 
and Italian artisans, the profits arising from the 
manufacture of their beautiful fabrics • but I agree 
most heartily with your intelligent correspondent, in 
thinking that we should both be wealthier and hap¬ 
pier, if we had not the vanity to desire to shine in 
imported finery; and that if we must wear Euro¬ 
pean velvets and satins, we might, at the least, fur¬ 
nish their work shops with the raw material. 
E. S. 
Eutawah, March 8th , 1848. 
How to Prevent the Ravages of Moths.— 
The ravages of the woolen moth may be prevented, 
by the use of any of the following substances :— 
Tobacco, camphor, red pepper, turpentine, and per¬ 
haps the most agreeable for wearing apparel, a 
mixture of one ounce of cloves, one ounce of rhubarb, 
and one ounce of cedar shavings, tied up in a bag, 
and kept in the box, or drawer. If the substance 
be dry, scatter it in the folds of the cloth, carpet, 
blankets, or furs; if liquid, sprinkle it freely in the 
boxes, or on the cloth or wrapper, laid over and 
around it. 
How to Clean the Chimneys of Lamps.— 
When the chimneys of lamps become foul, or 
covered with a white crust, that can neither be 
washed off, nor removed in the usual w T ay, rub the 
inside with whiting, and strong vinegarj and then 
rinse with clean water, and w r ipe them perfectly 
dry. 
Bogs’ ^Department. 
AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY.—No. 2. 
The atmosphere, you are probably aware, is the 
great supporter of animal life, though it may not be 
so apparent to you, it is equally essential to vegetable 
existence ; for it is a well-established fac\ that no 
plant can live, without the presence of atmospheric 
air. The question now very naturally arises, in what 
way does air exert such a'controlling power. 
I cannot answer this, before I have told you of 
what the atmosphere is composed, as it contains 
several ingredients, with each of which, it is ne¬ 
cessary you should be made familiar. These ingre¬ 
dients, I shall call constituents. As the air itself is 
a gas, its essential constituents must also be gases. 
By the term gas, you are to understand a sub¬ 
stance, or body, similar to air. The two princi¬ 
pal constituents of the air are called oxygen 
and nitrogen. The former derives its name from 
two Greek w T ords, which signify the generator 
or producer of an acid ; because it enters into the 
composition of nearly all acids ; the latter is derived 
from nitre , or nitric acid , of which it is an impor¬ 
tant ingredient. About four fifths of the air con¬ 
sists of nitrogen ; although the quantity of oxygen 
is so small, when compared with that of nitrogen, 
that the former must be considered as the more im¬ 
portant agent. Oxygen may, in fact, be regarded 
as the main actor, in nearly all the great operations 
of nature. Without its presence, the fires on our 
hearths would be instantly extinguished. Animal 
life could not be sustained beyond a few moments 
without it; neither can vegetable^ exist where oxy¬ 
gen is not present. This gas also enters into the 
composition of nearly all earths and minerals. It 
is never found in nature, however, except in combi¬ 
nation with other bodies. (By the term bodies , I 
mean substances of any kind). When oxygen is 
separated, by a chemical process, from any of its 
combinations, and examined, it is found to be pos¬ 
sessed of neither taste nor smell, though when in¬ 
haled, it has a remarkably exhilarating effect, and 
animals confined in pure oxygen soon perish. 
Nitrogen is possessed of a very different nature, 
which seems directly the opposite of its twin 
sister, oxygen. An important office of nitrogen, 
appears to be, to dilute the oxygen, as it were, and 
thus prevent the disastrous consequences which 
would ensue, if the latter were permitted to exert its 
mighty energies without restraint. This gas mani¬ 
fests an indifference to all substances, and appears 
to be rather a spectator than an actor, in this great 
laboratory of nature. When an animal is placed in 
pure nitrogen gas, it expires for want of oxygen; or 
if a lighted candle be immersed in it, for the same 
reason, it will be immediately extinguished. 
Besides the two gases we have just examined, 
and which form so large a proportion of the mass 
of the atmosphere, there are others which are of no 
less consequence, in moving the machinery of na¬ 
ture. One of them is carbonic acid. This is found 
in the air, in the average proportion of about one 
part, to every two thousand of atmosphere. Small 
as this quantity appears to be, we have reason to 
believe, and in fact it has been proved, that vegeta¬ 
bles would cease to grow, and soon perish, if absent 
