JUNE 5. 
185 
Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker. 
MOKE ABOUT IKREGULAR ATTENDANCE. 
Themes seem “hackheyed” when worn out and 
exhausted of new, original thought; when the real 
importance of the subject appears quite below the 
current value when new, and when found to be 
composed of materials, mainly not worth the ef¬ 
fort to support and defend. That education and 
relative subjects should become “hackneyed 
themes,” to a common conception, will not aston¬ 
ish those who believe the conception to be distort¬ 
ed—when natural objects are subverted and un¬ 
natural purposes substituted—when true principles 
are perverted with artificial rules, by such votaries 
of custom as entertain supreme contempt for the 
opinions of those they please to call “old fogies.” 
Teachers, I observe, are disposed to shirk the 
responsibility of poor schools, poor teachers, the 
consequent reluctance to attend, and all else that 
is disagreeable and repugnant to youthful minds, 
that find no heaven there, upon the parents and 
patrons of the schooL Well, there let it rest—I, 
for one, am not inclined to make an issue here, but 
freely admit that teachers generally are fully up to 
the requirements of lam and of custom in qualifi¬ 
cation; nevertheless, I stoutly contend that law 
which is custom qualified, is far behind the common 
sentiment of right. 
One natural cause of repugnance to the school¬ 
room in this country, and one most easy to reme¬ 
dy, is the despotism with which the social policy is 
regulated—so opposed is it to human nature and 
to revelation that an instinctive repugnance which 
excites resentment and prompts to resistance is 
produced; and that so plainly, those who run 
might read and understand. It seems a wonder, 
custom did not long ago abolish it How long 
would men endure a despotism like that in schools, 
themselves, before evincing more than mere re¬ 
luctance—open rebellion and positive resistance? 
And is it manly and generous to require the young 
to endure, without reluctance, what is too repug¬ 
nant for ourselves? 
Absolutism is allowed the teacher as though it 
were a possible delegation from parents; but ad¬ 
mitting that parents do possess absolute right in 
themselves, it does not, therefore, give them power 
of delegation, no more than it gives them power 
to confer their own personality to another, or even 
the love and respect of the child. The animal is 
still the dominant quality of man, in spite of the 
boasted superiority of mind, which, being held in 
subordination to the animal through every stage of 
development, comes to maturity, crippled in ener¬ 
gy, shorn of its power, and robbed of its peroga- 
tives, till, doubtful of its true destiny, it continues 
to rely on its wicked usurper as an auxiliary to be 
called in requisition when its own powers fail to 
control, but which, when successful, wins all the 
glory. 
Nature never established a moral, social, nor 
mental despotism. That is artificial and the work 
of the animal element of man, with the aid of re¬ 
sistless custom, yet the infant is an asserter of nat¬ 
ural rights, in spite of custom's leading-strings, of 
adult usurpations, and often, with prattling argu¬ 
ments, confounds the sage philosophy of custom, 
with conclusions the most sapient cannot refute.— 
Still, there are no Divinities among them. The 
choicest intellects possess but a spark of the Di 
vine, striving to escape from the burden of human¬ 
ity and to dispel the foggy surroundings of mor¬ 
tality. It starts the journey of life with its destiny 
in its own hands, impelled by the strong instincts 
of nature, of spirit, and of soul, which prompt, 
not to seek error, nor wrong, nor to desire evil; 
but an understanding of outward truth and right, 
according to the conception of the germ within. 
But human teachers are fallible, impotent and able 
only occasionally to give a thought and a conclu¬ 
sion. For the rest, it must depend on its eyes and 
its hands—holding fast.to the evidence of truth 
hy experience—giving heed to the voice of con¬ 
science within, resting assured that the way truth 
is revealed is the sure and only way to salvation, 
and to follow the way of another is hypocrisy. 
But teachers gravely roll up social preparation 
pills, sweet and bitter,—“ sugar-coated,” and dip¬ 
ped in wormwood—and sagely count them out, to 
be administered as the case may require, till nature 
is fully accustomed to good and evil, and till the can¬ 
didate is thoroughly imbued with confidence of 
ability to assume the highest attributes, to deter¬ 
mine justice and execute judgment, thereby render¬ 
ing the school-house a social paradise. 
School-teachers are not leaders of custom, and 
therefore are not responsible for the causes, at 
least, of errors and faults, nor for the existence of 
evils resulting therefrom. Properly, they are 
fuglemen, drilling companies of new recruits for 
society—training far war in the battles of social 
life—instructing the noviciate in keeping step to 
the social music most in fashion—showing how re¬ 
sults are obtained according to given rules, theories 
and examples—teaching how to govern others be¬ 
fore first learning horn to govern thetnselves. For 
this purpose the teacher needs to be sound, ortho¬ 
dox in opinion, according to the practice of cus¬ 
tom, because, originally—a new term for heresy— 
essential for the progressive leader, is a positive 
disqualification for a teacher of principles already 
adopted. Original heresy always was, is now and 
ever must be, the pioneer of human progression; 
standing out, in bold relief, as beacon lights to 
guide the common teacher in demonstrating facts 
in custom's progress. The faithful “buckthorn 
teacher” is constant to the last, honest in efforts to 
work out a practical solution of the educational 
theory of the original “ buckthorn's father, ” and, 
however obstinate the results may be for good, his 
zeal is unaVated, and will be forever, unless custom 
discards the theory as false, and adopts another 
more consonant with truth as relealed in nature. 
Marcellus, N. Y., 1858. S. G. 
National Convention op Teachers. — The 
teachers throughout the Union expect to meet in 
Cincinnati next summer, and have a jubilee. The 
occasion which calls them together is the Conven¬ 
tion of the National Teachers’ Association; the 
time is the second Wednesday in August 
Knowledge is power.— Bacon. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
THE TEACHINGS OF THE EYE. 
It i3 the wise observation of a French writer, 
who has given utterance to very much that had 
better never have been written or spoken, that “ few 
men know how to take a walk;” by which I sup¬ 
pose him to meaD, that few of those who go forth 
amidst all the glories of nature, profit as they might 
from the scenes presented to them. I quite agree 
with him; and could wish to make a few observa¬ 
tions connected with the subject. 
In the first place then, as it seems to me, every 
wise man will more or less, be an earnest observer 
of nature. How deep a student was David in that 
school! To him nature seems to have been a great 
depository, out of which he was every hour draw¬ 
ing materials for his own happiness and improve¬ 
ment The storm and the sunshine; the moon 
walking in brightness; the sun rejoicing as a giant 
to run his race, and sinking to rest in the golden 
West; the cattle on a thousand hills; the laborer 
going forth to his work, and returning to the re¬ 
pose of the evening; the rain descending on the 
new-mown grass; the fruitful field, the golden har¬ 
vest, the snow on the mountain-top, and the deep 
fountains of the valleys beneath,—are all subjects 
on which he loves to expatiate, and he evidently 
walks among them as the delighted spectator of a 
theater of wonders. Almost as much may be said of 
him whom I may call his more philosophising and 
practical son. What a watcher had Solomon been 
of the ant in her many chambered mansions; and 
of all the world of plants from the cedar of 
Lebanon to the hyssop on the wall! And so the 
Creator, when the world first proceeded from His 
glorious hand, is described as looking upon it with 
evident delight, and pronounced it to be “ very 
good.” What poetry is there in the expression. 
“Let there be light, and there was light!” 
How full of imagery drawn from nature is also 
the language which God is pleased constantly to 
put into the mouths of his prophets. ADd thus, 
also, in the New Testament, the sparrow falling to 
the ground, the lilies of the valley, the fields white 
with the harvest, are objects of His notice, and are 
called in as images to illustrate and adorn His les¬ 
sons. I need go no further. He who would follow 
in the footsteps of the holiest of men, and of their 
glorious Creator Himself, will be a careful spectator 
of nature. He will be far from hurrying through 
its scenes without feelings of admiration and de¬ 
light In fact, what an injury do they inflict on 
themselves who shut their eyes on the beautiful 
volume which the Lord of heaven and earth has 
thus thrown open to them. Other beautiful ob¬ 
jects, the works of man, the treasures of human 
wisdom and art, are locked up in the museums of 
the rich and great But nature is the universal 
treasure-house, to which the peasant has as free 
access as the king. How delightful for the man 
shut up during the hours of daily toil in the hot 
and crowded city, or in some low and smoky cot¬ 
tage, to be at liberty to escape for a moment to the 
green meadow or the shining river, to watch the 
last ray of the sun, to see the stars kindling in the 
heavens, ’till, at last, night spreads out the “ brave 
over-hanging canopy” spangled with ten thousand 
stars .—Selected 
EDUCATION OF FARMERS. 
Yet it seems to be held by many, that mental 
cultivation and manual labor are not intended to 
go together, but that a privileged few are to do the 
thinking for many. It is a most insolent assump¬ 
tion for any individual or class to claim this mo¬ 
nopoly of thought, and he who argues it has 
neither a proper respect for labor nor human 
nature. 
So long as the best cultivation of a man is 
thought inconsistent with the life of a farmer or 
mechanic, so long will labor be thought unattrac¬ 
tive and disgracefuh And yet the farmer and me¬ 
chanic themselves often regard thought and labor 
inconsistent When then they educate their child¬ 
ren, it is not that they may be educated farmers or 
mechanics, but that may escape the father’s de¬ 
spised vocation. The “ father’s pride and mother’s 
darling” must be sent to some go-cart of a semi¬ 
nary, to learn to extract mathematical roots, and 
scorn the attraction of horticultural ones — to be 
ashamed of the blue frocks of his father, or the saw 
and axe of his sweaty brother. Then he must be 
barreled up in some medical or law school, or 
ground “to order” and labeled in some theological 
mill, in due time to be turned into the world, a 
blundering physician, a preacher who puts an audi¬ 
ence asleep twice a week, or a lawyer who kicks 
conscience out of doors, on the plea that he “ must 
live,” a necessity not readily perceived by any one 
but himself. 
By such a process the world loses many a tolera¬ 
ble farmer or mechanic, and, in reality, gains 
nothing. Now it seems to me that the farmers and 
the mechanics need more respect for the ways of 
manly industry, need to feel that labor is noble in 
themselves, and realize the dignity and meaning of 
labor; to feel that agricultural or mechanical life 
is consistent with and demands the highest culti¬ 
vation, and thatbyunioD of thought with labor any 
pursuit may be made noble. This divorce of labor 
and thought, this division of mankind into two 
contrasted classes, the few thinkers and many 
workers, results in a loss, to a great degree, of the 
manly independence of each. Were the working 
class a thinking class, and the thinking class a 
working class, then the many would be less de¬ 
pendent upon the few for their thoughts, and the 
few less dependent upon the many for the fruits of 
physical toil —New York Teacher. 
Establish Schools. —Now, although, a31 have 
said before, there were no soul and no need of 
schools and languages for God’s sake and the 
Scriptures’—yet were this alone a sufficient reason 
for establishing everywhere the very best schools 
boys and girls—that the world has need of skillful 
men and women in order to maintain its secular 
condition. The men should be fit to govern the 
land and people; the women should be well able to 
guide and preserve house, children and servants. 
Now must such men be made out of boys, and such 
women out of little girls; therefore it is important 
to train and educate little boys and girls aright for 
such a work .—Martin Luther. 
Better exalt the souls of your people than the 
roofs of your houses. — Epictetus. 
Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker. 
THE MASTODON. 
The Philosopher of Samos, who was born live 
hundred and ninety years before Christ, said that 
“Nothing perishes in this world; but that things 
were only ever-varying and changing form. To 
be born means simply that a thing begins to be 
something different from what it was before; and 
dying is ceasing to be the same thing; and that 
although nothing retains long the same image, yet 
the sum of the whole remains constant 
An inspection of the teeth of the Mastodon maxi- 
mus, found by Mr. Decker, near lake Manitou, and 
by Mr. Wm. Mossman, on or in the Mud Creek 
ditch in this county, brought the Pythagorean 
teachings forcibly to my mind. The huge mon¬ 
sters—the bearers of these teeth—who once, in im¬ 
mense herds, roamed over this continent at a time 
when the condition of things was fitted for their 
existence, have now entirely disappeared from the 
face of the earth, as living animals, only their 
teeth and a few of the more durable parts of the 
osseous system retaining the “same image,” yet 
“ the sum of the whole remains constant” Their 
immense carcasses—weighing from twenty to thir¬ 
ty thousand pounds — have changed form only; 
have been in turn air, grass, water, and flesh, and 
exist now, as much as when in the form of bone, 
muscle, blood, braiD, and nerve, they went to form 
the mighty mastodon, whose form we can only con¬ 
template in imagination. 
It is supposed by many that at the period of the 
Noachian deluge they were wholly destroyed.— 
But this is not according to the best history we 
have of the flood, when “ of every clean beast thou 
shalt take to thee by sevens, the males and his fe¬ 
male: and of beasts not clean by two the male and 
his female.” “ And they went in two and two unto 
Noah into the Ark, the male [and female as God 
had commanded.” If the traditions of the In¬ 
dians are to be relied on, (I think to a certain 
degree they are,) the mammoth has had an ex¬ 
istence among the living things of earth, at a 
comparatively recent date. It is not many years 
since an old Indian said that his father had seen 
the “ big father of animals—bigger than ten buf¬ 
faloes,” on the Ohio river, on this side, in the now 
State of Illinois; he (the Indian's father) being at 
the time, on the south, or Kentucky side of the 
river. This, if true, from the age of the Indian, 
would make the time not much more than one 
hundred years. The of this mastodon (sup¬ 
posing it to have been one,) if swamped in one of 
our peaty marshes (as most were, whose remains 
we find) would now, if found, be in a tolerable 
state of preservation. This we may infer from the 
well known antiseptic quality belonging to peat 
To illustrate this property I will give two instances 
of this remarkable power, which are too well 
authenticated to admit of doubt In January, 1675, 
a man and woman, when crossing the peat moors 
of Derbyshire, England, were overtaken by a snow¬ 
storm, and both perish The following May they 
were found both and buried on the spot Nearly 
twenty-nine years afterward they were exhumed 
and appeared quite weTri^eserved, though darker 
than natural. They Ajjr shown to the curious 
until 1716, when, by orjler of their descendants, 
they were finally buried—forty-one years after their 
deaths. A medical man, who examined them at 
this time, says:—“The body of the man was per¬ 
fect, beard strong, hair short, skin hard and of the 
color of tanned leather. The body of the woman 
was not so perfect, but her hair teas like that of a 
living persem.” The next instance was that of a 
man and horse, in complete armor, such as was 
worn in the time of King Henry YIII, having 
been dug out of the Solway Slough, Scotland, by 
some peat diggers. Tradition says, that at the bat¬ 
tle of Solway, 1546, an unfortunate troop of horse 
being driven into the Solway morass were sub¬ 
merged, the surface closing over horses and men. 
In this instance, probably near two hundred years 
had elapsed “yet the bodies of both man and 
horse were well preserved, and the different parts 
of the armor readily distinguished.” 
The larger of the teeth, found by Mr. Decker, is 
quite perfect, the enamel, however, (as of all) being 
of a beautiful jet black on the surface, colored 
thus from long contact with the peat, I suppose.— 
It is one of the forward grinders, having only six 
points. Roots, body, and crown perfect as to form. 
The other found by him appears to have been a 
forward grinder, just ready to be shed. The one 
I have in my possession (most perfect of all as to 
the crown) was also a forward grinder. The pos¬ 
terior grinders of the upper jaw have eight of the 
points; the corresponding ones of the lower jaw 
have ten, and weigh ten or twelve pounds each.— 
The name mastodon is derived from the peculiar 
prominences on the face of the tooth, resembling 
hills,— Mastos, Odons, signifying hill’s teeth. 
Who shall tell why the mastodon has disappear¬ 
ed from the earth, or why the immense bodies of 
the Ichthyosauri, the Plesiosauri, the Dinasauri 
have disappeared, or why the fearful Pterodactylus, 
the image of Milton’s fiend, 
“ The fiend, 
O’er bog, or steep, through straight, rough, dense or rare, 
With head, hands, wings or feet pursues his way, 
And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies,” 
has no more a form to disturb lordly man in his 
vain dreams of his importance, when, poor worm, 
he says, I alone of all God’s animated creatures, 
am the special object of his care. Yain fool, you 
are only an atomic part of that same fearful Ptero¬ 
dactylus, at whose picture even you tremble, and 
are thrown, by your puny imaginings of his form, 
into horrid nightmare which drives you even to 
the meanest of your race to dispel the fearful 
dream. “ The sum of the whole remains constant;” 
that is what Solomon meant when he said that 
“there is nothing new under the sun.” The 
change of form is one of the necessities of that 
natural law which is most familiar to us in the 
rotation of crops. We know the same field will 
not, for all time, produce yearly crops of the same 
fruit Rotation and change are necessary. As ip 
ages past, we can see that the forms of animal and 
vegetable life which are monstrous and fearful to 
us have given place to man and animals subservient 
to his wants, the larger and more fearful of which 
we see daily diminishing, and can, to almost a cer¬ 
tainty, count the time in the future when they 
shall entirely disappear. So, probably, all mankind 
must give place to a more angelic order of beings 
with minds so much more God-like, that to them 
our venial, rapacious, twenty and fifty per cent 
souls, will seems as frightful as do the bodily forms 
of the strange, gigantic, and fearful tenants of our 
infant world to us. C. Brackett. 
Rochester, Fulton Co., Ind., 1858. 
Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker. 
BATHING. 
Wk frequently hear people speak of man as a 
machine. How they came by such a notion, some 
are puzzled to know. Perhaps a little reflection 
will remove the difficulty. Man is naturally indo¬ 
lent. He needs powerful incentives to action.— 
Without these his manhood would never be devel¬ 
oped. Now, incentives are to man what force is 
to a machine; hence, the conclusion of some, man 
is a machine. The incentives to action are various. 
Inform a benevolent man that a person at the gate 
is in distress, and he will hasten to his relief. Fire 
the couch on which an indolent man is uncon¬ 
sciously committing suicide, and he will not long 
remain inactive. You employ different modes in 
seetting these men in motion, yet one is quite as 
effectual as the other. How many young people 
we daily meet, who are dreaming away the precious 
moments of life, as though they had nothing to do! 
They seem to resemble the brutes in stupidity.— 
They are ever complaining of not being able to 
accomplish anything of moment. Whatever they 
undertake proves an entire failure. On examina¬ 
tion we find that their machinery is out of order. 
The wheels refuse to move—they need oiling. The 
fact is, these people never bathe. Their present 
wants appear to be five in number. A proper sense 
of the importance of cleanliness — a little moral 
courage—a pail of cold water—a bar of castile soap, 
and a pair of horse-hair mittens. This will give 
them a thorough rousing, and set them in motion- 
Their blood will begin to circulate, and a hope will 
be entertained of their benefiting mankind. We 
read an account of pagan nations burying their 
children alive, and our humanity is shocked. But 
here, in this civilized land, and in this enlightened 
age, we meet thousands who are actually burying 
themselves alive, and humanity sayB not a word. 
West Bloomfield, N. Y., 1858. -S-R. 
Fleetness op the Ostrich. —When the ostrich 
is feeding, his pace is from twenty to twenty-two 
inches; when walking but not feeding, it is twenty- 
six inches; and when terrified, it is from eleven 
and a half to thirteen and even fourteen feet in 
length. Only in one case was I at all satisfied of 
being able to count the rate of speed by a stop¬ 
watch, and if I am not mistaken there were thirty 
in ten seconds; generally the eye can no more fol¬ 
low the legs than it can the spokes of a carriage 
wheel in rapid motion. If we take the above num¬ 
ber, and twelve feet stride as the average pace, we 
have a speed of twenty six miles an hour. It can¬ 
not be very much above that, and is therefore 
slower than a locomotive.— Livingston's Africa. 
For Moore’3 Rural New-Yorkor. 
BIBLICAL ENIGMA. 
I am composed of 24 letters. 
My 13,19, 12, 3, 18, 5 was one of the prophets. 
My 17, 22, 21,14,11,17,19, 9 was a fellow laborer 
with Paul. 
My 11, 14, 24, 7, 18, 2 was one of the disciples. 
My 4, 15, 6 was an inhabitant of Sodom. 
My 16, 1,10, 8, 9 is a book in the New Testament, 
My 20, 22, 23, 16, b, we must have to practice my 
whole. 
My whole should be the language of our hearts 
at all times. f. 
Sherburne, N. Y., 1858. 
Answer in two weeks. 
For Moore's Rural Now-Yorker. 
CHARADE. 
Though I but third in order stand, 
I’ve borne my humble part, 
In every victory of our land, 
In scenes that thrill the heart 
I lead the charger to the battle-field, 
And chivalry where banners fall, 
The pioneer in every cruel cause, 
Yet never caused a tear to fall. 
I’m in the battle’s rudest shock, 
Yet love to dwell in peace, 
And in the shepherd’s rustic frock 
I rest within the golden fleece. 
Stockbridge, N. Y., 1858. C. G. S. 
fiSJ~ Answer in two weeks. 
For Moore’s Rural New-Yorker. 
GEOMETRICAL PROBLEM. 
There is a certain wall surrounded by a ditch— 
now 8 of the perpendicular (from the top of the 
wall to the bottom of the ditch) added to 2-5 of the 
base, (the width of the ditch) minus 1-15 of the 
base is equal £ of the hypotenuse. And £ of the 
base, plus 2-5 of the hypotenuse, is 15 feet more 
than £ of the perpendicular. And if 1-5 of the 
hypotenuse be added to { of the perpendicular it 
will lack just 10 feet of being l of the base. Re¬ 
quired the perpendicular base and hypotenuse? 
Lobo, Middlesex Co., C. W., 1858. W. L. 
Answer in two weeks. 
ANSWERS TO ENIGMAS, Ac., IN NO. 437. 
Answer to Miscellaneous Enigma:—He that is 
down needs fear no fall. 
Answer to Biblical Enigma:—An heart that de- 
viseth wicked imaginations. 
Answer to Mathematical Problem:—48 .82 miles. 
Persevering Industry.^-" He that will make a 
door of gold,” says the proverb, “must knock in a 
nail every day.” 
Knowledge. —There is no power on earth which 
setteth up a throne or chair of state in the spirits 
and souls of men, but knowledge.— Bacon. 
TO SAVE VINES FROM BUGS. 
In answer to inquiries, we have already published 
from correspondents several plans for saving cu¬ 
cumber and melon vines from the depredations of 
bugs, and particularly that troublesome little pest 
the striped bug. As all boys love melons, and most 
farmers' boys raise a patch, just at this time, when 
the information is needed, we will give a few hints 
that will be of value to all melon-growing boys. 
Do all you can to secure a strong and rapid growth 
of the plants when young, and they will be out of 
the way of the striped bugs the more speedily. This 
can be done by watering with manure or guano 
water, and by sheltering from the cold winds. A 
box or frame placed around the hill with a pane 
of glass on the top, will help the plants amazingly. 
The glass may be removed on warm days, and re¬ 
placed towards evening. This is the best plan, as 
it not only preserves the plants from bugs, but 
from late frosts and cold, cutting winds. 
Another plan that has been previously recom¬ 
mended is to take strips of cloth (common white 
cotton will answer) about six inches wide and four 
feet long, and tack both ends to a stake, as shown 
in the annexed engraving. 
Drive this stake into the ground, after which 
place in three more stakes a foot apart, so as to 
form a square, enclosing the hill of young vines as 
shown in the cut 
This will make a square one foot each way, and 
effectually protect the plants from striped bugs, and 
afford considerable protection from the wind. Such 
attention well repays the cultivator, and the young 
should learn to do all things in the best manner. 
-♦ . - - 
INQUIRIES FROM A YOUNG READER 
You will oblige me by answering a few questions. 
Frequently I have heard it remarked that the roof 
of a building unpainted is more endurable than a 
painted one, if so, why? When is the time for ap¬ 
ple seeds, planted this spring, to make their ap¬ 
pearance above ground, if ever? Does it require 
the ground to be hard or Boft around a post in or¬ 
der to make it more endurable? Why is the cen¬ 
ter of a twig pithy while that of it's mother-tree is 
hard? Please explain the method of making a 
simple barometer with a strip of cedar and white 
pine.—A Reader, May, 1858. 
Remarks. —Unless particular pains were taken in 
painting a roof little benefit would result from the 
operation, as the shingles do not rot where they are 
exposed to the air and dry quickly, but in places 
where they get but little air and no sun, and re¬ 
main damp a long time. The painting of the sur¬ 
face of a roof, after the shingles are laid, would, 
therefore be of little benefit We cannot think it 
would rot any quicker if painted. 
If apple seeds were in good condition when 
planted, and put in the ground last fall, or early 
this spring, they will appear above ground the lat¬ 
ter part of June. The time depends upon the con¬ 
dition of the seed, soil, season and climate. The 
earth around a post should be packed as firm as 
possible. 
The stem, or a branch of a tree is composed of 
the rind, or outer bark; the inner bark, in immediate 
contact with the wood; the sap-wood, which is the 
youngest or last formed layer of wood, just inside 
of the inner bark, and softer and of lighter color 
than the older parts; the heart-wood, or perfect 
wood, being the interior portion of the stem or 
branch, matured by age; and the pith, which is a 
soft spongy substance, similar to the cellular tissue. 
In young shoots it is soft and succulent and fills an 
important part in their development, but as the 
branch becomes older it ceases to increase in size, 
becomes dry and shrivelled and would seem to be 
incapable of taking any part in the process of veg¬ 
etation. In large branches or trees, this dry pith 
may be seen, and is very apt to decay. Trees con¬ 
tinue to flourish after the pith has decayed. Why 
these things are so the wisest cannot say. 
The Barometer inquired of is said to be a Mexi¬ 
can invention. The only description of it we have 
ever seen was given in a letter from an American 
traveler in Mexico, to the Mobile Register, which 
we copy:—“On board the Mexican steamer is a 
barometer of the most simple construction but the 
greatest accuracy. It consists only of a long strip 
of cedar, very thin, about two and a half feet in 
length, about an inch wide, cut with the grain, and 
set in a block or foot This cedar strip is backed or 
lined with one of white pine, cut across the grain, 
and the two are tightly glued together. To bend 
these when dry is to snap them, but on the ap¬ 
proach of bad weather the cedar curls over until 
the top at times touches the ground. This simple 
instrument is the invention of a Mexican guitar- 
maker, and such is its accuracy that it will indicate 
the coming on of a ‘norther’ full twenty-four hours 
before any other kind of barometer known on 
the coast.” 
