246 
COLD-WATER BATHING, 
many climes and soils of our great country, than 
either flax or hemp. There is another thing that 
ought to he inquired into. It seems almost certain 
that guita percha will soon become an article of 
general use. Perhaps the tree producing this 
gum can be as well grown upon some of our lands 
in the same parallel of latitude, as it is in its na¬ 
tive home in India. But individuals cannot make 
these experiments—such things should be done by 
the national government. 
Long-Island Lands , No. 3— Oak Barrens. —This 
process of piling and burning brush, I fear, will be 
found too tedious. I once tried the experiment 
myself on similar lands, and it proved unsatisfacto¬ 
ry. I would recommend that the bushes be cut 
when in full leaf, and after being cut just so that 
they can be laid straight, that they then be laid in 
winrows, care being observed to put the fine, leafy 
twigs on the outside, and make the whole as com¬ 
pact as possible. Next, turn a broad furrow on to 
each side of the winrow, and it will be more than 
half covered. Before .setting fire, cover the re¬ 
mainder with a shovel, excepting here and there a 
place to start the fire. If the winrows could be 
covered with mud from some convenient swamp, 
and the whole thoroughly dried before burning, it 
would add much to the value of the operation. 
The Grape Culture in Ohio. —If any one of your 
readers have passed over this letter of my old friend 
Long worth, without reading, I beg of him to turn 
hack and peruse it carefully; for I assure him that 
it is very interesting to all who desire to know 
anything about the cultivation of this excellent 
fruit. 
History of the Cast-Iron Plow. —This is a most 
interesting article, which I should like to see copied 
into every agricultural paper in the Union. And I 
suggest to the editor that this should be No. 1, of 
a series of articles, until he has given us a complete 
history of the plow, from the earliest ages. This 
subject should be illustrated with cuts, commenc¬ 
ing with the old Egyptian plow, and showing the 
continual advance in improvement up to the present 
time, when we have an article that seems a& though 
it had reached almost to perfection. Such a history 
would be exceedingly interesting. Even the pre¬ 
sent number, if it had been read by the members of 
the existing Congress, would have been sufficient 
to save some of them the disgrace that will ever be 
attached to their names for voting for the plow-tax 
law, which you so justly condemn. 
Management of Calves . —It seemeth like going 
to battle with a giant, to offer my humble opinion 
upon any of the branches of cattle husbandry, in 
connection, and more in opposition to anything ad¬ 
vanced by my worthy friend Sotham. But bis. 
writings are so like the energetic go-ahead-itive- 
ness of the man, that he needs calling back a little 
to explain. The loose remarks about “ small 
calves” are likely to be quoted in favor of saving 
the life of every little runt of a calf, because Mr. 
Sotham says that little calves are the best. And 
certainly not one in ten of those who raise calves, 
can tell whether the calf is “ well proportioned.” 
Rearing calves, by feeding them, is undoubtedly an 
economical way, but whether they will make bet¬ 
ter cattle than those that are permitted to run with 
the cows, I doubt. And I also doubt whether fall 
calves can be raised, particularly on skim milk, tc 
be equal to spring calves. And certainly Mr. 
Sotham would not recommend farmers who live 
far from a daily market, to get in the practice of 
having their calves dropped in “October, November, 
or December.” If he does, then I shall venture to 
oppose the proposition. 
Ladies ’ Department—To the Young. —What can 
I say to aid “a friend” in her appeal to young 
wives to try to make home, more like what a home 
should be, to endear husbands to it—to make them 
know and feel that 
“ There is no place like home.” 
The system of education for our girls is so false 
and foolish, at the present day, that when they come 
to have a home, they absolutely know nothing 
about the manner of creating a thousand and one 
domestic comforts. I would look upon a school 
that taught the art and mystery of making a happy 
home, of far more importance than I do much of 
the fashionable folly, so generally considered as 
all that is needed to fit a girl to enter upon the 
duties of a wife and mother. 
And now my kind readers, I expect, before you 
read this number, I shall have crossed “ the big 
pondj” but I hope to return again soon enough, 
with perhaps a little delay, to keep up my monthly 
gossip with you to the end of the present volume. 
I am still your well-meaning friend —Reviewer. 
COLD-WATER BATHING. 
For the Benefit of Farmers and Others. —The 
practice of bathing, it is universally admitted, 
is not only an act of cleanliness, but is eminently 
conducive to health. With most persons in 
active life, the delicate pores of the skin soon 
become closed by the solid matter of the perspira¬ 
tion or the accumulation of dirt, which require fre¬ 
quent ablution with water, in order to preserve 
their natural functions. The mere wearing of flan¬ 
nel and washing the more exposed parts of the 
body, with the daily use of clean linen, is but an 
imperfect attempt at cleanliness, without being ac¬ 
companied by entire immersion of the body in 
water, or by well rubbing it over with a wet towel, 
or cloth. 
Bathing, of some kind or other, is not only con¬ 
ducive to cleanliness, but, both to the physical and 
mental health of the individual who practices it.. 
For the body cannot be in a healthy condition 
while the proper offices of the skin are interfered 
with, any more than would be the case with any 
of the other excretory organs, placed under simi¬ 
lar circumstances. Nor can the mind, dependent as 
it is on the organization of the body, escape, un¬ 
harmed, when the animal functions are imperfectly 
performed. Intellectual and moral vigor are uni¬ 
versally promoted by the imperceptible, yet con¬ 
trolling influence of the physical system, and he 
who would increase the former, cannot adopt a 
safer method than that which tends to preserve o 
improve the health. 
It is imagined by many that constant bathing is 
but little fitted for this country, owing to the 
changeableness of our climate; and that, an at¬ 
tempt to place a sick man in a bath, in any other 
than the mildest weather, would be to subject him 
