Till dinner, at 4, those who had glasses scanned 
the coast, others dragged thro’ weary novels, Af¬ 
ter dinner, came sapper; and then a general prom¬ 
enade; the everlasting, omnipresent cards; sing¬ 
ing,—sacred and profane,—and to bed. Take this 
for a pattern day, and judge it as yon will. 
[Special Correspondence of Moore’s Rural New-Yorker.] 
WHY I AM A FARMER 
Storm at Sea — Tiro Classes unmoved bo Fear — A Child 
Rescued—Origin of Storms on the Gulf of Tehuan¬ 
tepec — Acapulco — Its Harbor — General Alvarez. 
Sthamkii “Golden Ace," Feb. 7, i 860 . 
The unparalleled grandenr and awful sublimity 
of a storm at sea, who can describe ? None but 
an eye-witness,— nor he, even, unless he pos¬ 
sesses the matchless powers of a Raphael, or 
Mitsillo, in delineation. Mark the unfolding 
process of the drama. The ocean rose, the gath¬ 
ering waves grew large, and broke in hoarse and 
hollow sounds,—the mighty winds awoke and 
screamed and whistled through the cordage. 
Birds flocked to our ship in terror, and sat with 
quivering plumage on the masts. The sun went 
ont in the heavens, and the skies put on black¬ 
ness. The evening passed, and hope lay down 
and slept. Meantime, the ship was tossed, and at 
length stood poised upon the circling billows. 
There were deep and watery chasms that yawned 
around, 
A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 
Ft is quite natural for boys to fallow the 
suits of their fathers before them. My fatl 
a farmer, that is, he 
“Plowed and sowed, 
Reaped and mowed,” 
and went through the usual formula, from 
Panama Railroad , its cost of life and treasure — Its 
freight charges — Within seven degrees of the Equa¬ 
tor— Sea gulls and porpoises —The “ Golden Age”— 
Its meat market —*■ TVcs Maries" or three Marys—A 
picture of a day on the “Golden Age”— Coasting 
northward. 
Steamer “ 
The Isthmus Railroad 
achievements of the age, 
the trifling sum of $9,000,000. 
.-spring 
to autumn, aud from autumn to spring again, all 
with bat little return, for his hard toil through 
“Summer’s heat or winter's cold,” 
more than a bare snbsistanco for the little family 
that Providence had made dependent upon his 
exertions. 
While yet ft hoy, it was often a wonderment 
that a royal road to wealth, through the ordinary 
channels of agricultural pursuits, had not been 
opened to tho vast multitude who were striving 
with “might and main” to lay up for a “rainy 
day,” or secure a competency for the decline of 
life? Why the wheat that was sown in the sun¬ 
shine or rain, upon the dry sand or in mud, 
should not always reward the husbandman with a 
“sixty, or a hundred fold;’’ or the ground that 
had been used lor the same crop, from time im¬ 
memorial, should fail to groau beneath its well¬ 
eared shocks of yellow corn; and why potatoes 
should bo often bo “so small and few in the hill,” 
when the most diminutive hud alwnys been se¬ 
lected lor planting, wore mysteries unsolved. 
And why tho fruit trees that had been set in the 
old meadow und pasture, in small holes, justsiif- 
Picient to receive the mutilated roots, should not 
“ bud and blosBom as the rose,” and bend their 
branches to mother earth beneath the weight of 
golden treasure, was also a mystery; und in my 
heart I resolved at some distant day to know the 
cause, and in due time try my skill in bringing 
out the latent powers of earth and air to minister 
to my wants and afford food and raiment, as the 
reward for the sweat of the brow. 
1 had not failed to observe that there was quite 
a difference in the apparent success of tho several 
farmers in the immediate neighborhood in which 
| 1 lived; for while some still continued to “live 
where their father’s had lived,” and had a fair 
prospect of “dying whero they died,”—sheltered 
by the same old roof,—others showed signs of 
thrift, and their broad fields smiled with plentiful 
harvests, their old houses and barns giving place 
to new ones, of beautiful and symmetrical propor¬ 
tions, with evidence of comfort and convenience. 
Tills latter class was known as “book men and 
book farmers,” “farmers by rule,” aud other 
names of similar import. I resolved to be a 
“book farmer, and through successive years 
strove to prepare myself, intellectually, to become 
One of “earth’s noblemen”— a tiller of the soil. 
When frood from classic halls, my first object 
whs to secure tho means required to make myself 
the owner of a small portion of the patrimony 
given to Adam and his progeny. Fancying 
myself prepared to cultivate tho mind ratherthan 
the soil, (or about a quarter of a century have I de¬ 
voted my best energies to “teach the young idea 
how to shoot,” ami to prove the truth, intellect¬ 
ually as well as physically, of the maxim. “Just 
Golden Ace," Feb. 2, i860, 
is one of the stupendous 
. It is said to have cost 
The rolling stock, 
and even the ties, wore brought from the north. 
Laborers were imported from Ireland, England, 
and China, but Death held bis Court in their 
midst, and daily sentenced hundreds 1 o the hos¬ 
pitals and the grave. The deadly miasms, that 
iloated up from the upturned swampy bottoms, and 
useless whisky, were as fatal as strychnine, and 
cut down the taborers by thousands. The mor¬ 
tality waB such, and so great, that it is believed 
that there was a life sacrificed for every cross-tic 
in the road. Some estimate the loss of life greater 
than this, none less. Laborers from several dif¬ 
ferent nations wore tested, ami could not endure 
the climate. At last the Company resorted to the 
Jamaica negroes, and natives, and through their 
agency the work was carried forward to its com¬ 
pletion. The road is id miles in length, and the 
negroes refer with just pride to their co-operation 
iu the construction of this mighty monument to 
the industry and spirit of the times. The price 
charged for one person across the road is $26,00; 
for one horse, $ 100 ; for a cow or bull, some $ 75,1 
think; for each sheep, $19,50: and for each pound 
of baggage (over 50 lbs.) ten cents. For carrying 
over to the Pacific side the passengers and freight 
of the Atlantic and North Star (of the Vanderbilt 
line,) the Company must have pocketed the sung 
finm of $30,000,—pretty good for one day’s work. 
We steamed out of the bay of Panama, on Sat¬ 
urday evening, heading south of west, and the 
weather growing hotter, if possible, until we had 
reached oar southernmost point,— seven degrees 
of north latitude,—and having cleared the wicked 
rocks, wc began to creep slowly to the northward. 
Indeed it was not until we reached Acapulco that 
the “heated term ” let up on us in the slightest. 
HINDOO FARM • YARD, 
Farming in India be 
to farm in 
heavy piece ot wood. By this means the grain is 
trodden out quickly. The rice, or corn, is then 
cleared from the husks by means of largo fans, 
and tho straw is laid up in stacks as food for the 
cattle, hay from grass being but little known in 
India, 'Ibis made of threshing is as old as the 
time of Moses, who, among the rules ho laid down 
for the proper management, of a farm, and the 
kind treatment of animals, enacted this law— 
“ Thou shall not muzzle the ox that treudeth out 
the corn.” The fan Is also spoken of iu the Bible, 
as a winnower. 
In a climate like that of India, close barns and 
sheltered farm-yards are not needed. They are 
open and airy, and rather need the shade of trees, 
to protect them from the sun, than walls and 
fences to keep off tho cold winds and storms. 
The soil is so rich and productive that the farms 
uro generally small. The farmer's wealth, as in 
the days of Job and Abraham, is usually estimated 
by tho number of his cattle, sheep, etc., and not 
by his acres. He bus also many more servants 
than we employ, labor being cheap, and the ex¬ 
pense of clothing and feeding very light. The 
farm-yards are well arranged, and kept clean and 
nire. Thatched .'beds for the animals, where 
in temperate climates. To obtain sulli- 
cient water seems to be the great desideratum, as 
the heat is very great and the rains nnfrequent. 
Provision is therefore ruttdc to raise water from 
wells and rivers for tho purpose of irrigation. Ju 
other respects, the farming fs of the rudest kind. 
Intcplowased by the Indian farmer Is a very 
siraplo affair; it is all made of wood, iron being 
less abundant iu that part of the world than in 
Europe or America. The soil is so extremely 
fertile and easily managed, that the simplest 
wooden plow is anfiicicnt to work it, and prepare 
it for the seed, which, by a very simple contriv¬ 
ance, is dropped into the ground at the same 
time that the plow opens it. Tho plow being 
Ahead, 
Came mountains of moving 
waters, with a rush and sound of gathering 
power, that nppalled the heart. Hark! She has 
struck a monster sea, that sends a report and 
alarm through all tho ship. Water is pouring 
prudent fears. Night caps and sleeping garbB, at 
the early lionr of three A. M., tvere cast off, 
for the better adjustment and companionship of 
life-preservers. 
Look with wonder and fear upon an ocean 
steamer thrusting her bows into the very teeth of 
a furious storm and gale, and contesting her 
ground inch by inch, for 24 or 3(1 hours,—now 
lifting her prow to the stars, and next moment 
pitching aud diving bottomward, her tall masts 
constantly describing huge arcs on the dark aud 
pending heavens. Listen to the muttering wail 
and rush of the maddened waves, as they lift 
of the bulwarks,—the universal burial of crock¬ 
ery, lamp shades and glassware, tables and chairs, 
in the lowest corners and sides of the ship,—all 
this, and a thousand fold more, united to make 
up a scene of such awful and thrilling interest as 
human pen can hut faintly and dimly portray. 
In crossing tho Gulf of Tehuantepec, on the 
Pacific coast, wo had a Had experience of what is 
INDIAN THRESHING. 
commander, Captain Watkins,— competent, how¬ 
ever, to outride the storm, which wa 3 pronounced 
severer and more terrific, excepting one iustancc, 
than had been encountered on that over-wicked and 
windy gulf for many years. Portions of the ship 
were damaged. The captain’s office, the butcher’s 
room, and the wheel-houses, after the storm, were 
put under repairs. 
Two classes of persons suffered scarcely any, 
— the ninety or one hundred children onboard, 
and the two or three dozen colored waiters, who 
just believe that Captain Watkins is almost om¬ 
nipotent, and unconquerable, in an open contest 
with the elements. Another class got hopeful 
enjoyment out of the fuss. I mean a school of 
I Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker ] 
ABOUT SPIDERS. 
Who wants to read about spiders? — the nasty 
things! What if some are disgusting objects, and 
an annoyance to tidy house-keepers; or, like the 
Thugs of India, lie in wait to entrap and murder 
their entangled victims?—or make their tents in 
the field, like the Arab?—while others, like geome¬ 
tricians, display their radiating and concentric 
threads, spangled with the early dew, that glistens 
like pearls in the rays of the morning’s early sun, 
— nay, I must not venture upon the varied traits 
of interest respecting the diverse habits of this 
extensive family, the Araneides of Latkkim.e, not 
strictly classed among insects, by modern ento¬ 
mologists. 
The truth is, we are so accustomed to associate 
all that is vile and disgusting with the term 
“spider,” that we are far from doing them justice, 
as a family; yet, “the spider lives in king’s pal¬ 
aces,” arid may read us a lesson, as effectually as 
that given to King Robert, of Brace, who, after 
a train of adverse circumstances, was almost in 
despair, had his energies re-kindled by observing 
the perseverauce of a spider; so that he re¬ 
wake of the vessel, as though by instinct they 
knew she was in trouble, and might, at any hour, 
go to pieces, and serve out to them a full break- 
last of human flesh. Not a death has yet occurred 
on board, and but one person on the sick list. 
By periling his own life, the boatswain saved that 
of a child, on the night of the storm, and deserved 
and received much praise for the deed. 
But whence come the perilous gales that eter¬ 
nally (though not always of the same violence,) 
sweep across the hated Gulf of Tehuantepec? 
Shall they be charged to a trait of depravity in 
the tranquil Pacific? Rather, we are told, must 
I we place the guilt to vile traits in the Atlantic. 
The distance by land, across from the Gulf or 
Tehuantepec to the Gulf of Mexico, is only some 
•i00 miles. The land is favorably shaped to com¬ 
press and conduct the wind currents to the Pacific 
side. So, over on the Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes 
are being constantly got up to order, and sent 
over to raise matiny and peril, and especially to 
create more variety, and break in upon the 
monotony of an otherwise dull and sluggish sea 
voyage on the Pacific. 
Friday morning dawned clear and beautiful, 
contrasting graciously with the previous day and 
its preceding night. One universal expression of 
gratitude crowned all countenances. AJ1 day our 
course was in sight of land, and at twilight we 
made the harbor of Acapulco, and Boon found 
ourselves locked in that beautiful Mexican port. 
Its gourd-Bhell shape permits no ocean view, and 
seemingly it is walled in on every side by high 
mountains. The water is deen ami ninn* nr.A 
| IJ oard several beeves and swine, also mutton 
I sheep, and poultry in large numbers. With a 
1 practical butcher (who is paid $!)0 per month, and 
found,) on board, we are treated to the good 
things of a fresh market daily. The water was 
always blood warm, and without ice, almost un¬ 
drinkable. On the Atlantic, ice water was free. 
[ On the Pacific, where ice, in large quantities, costs 
SHOO per tun, a charge is always made for it of 25 
I cents a pound. Milk was a luxury allowed us on 
the Atlantic, but on the Pacific the cows run dry 
in the winter season, and we must drink our cof¬ 
fee without this usual accompaniment 
lhe coast of Guatemala is renowned for its 
mountain peaks, which lift themselves proudly op 
toward the sun. These mountains are volcanic, 
and some of them reveal, at times, their hidden, 
Cery life. The Tree Maries —(three Marys,) as 
they are called, all but one extinct volcanos, lift¬ 
ing their bald, unclad peaks high over the adja¬ 
cent land and sea, for nearly a day clung to our 
starboard side almost as faithful as Orion. 
The order of meals is much the same as on the 
Atlantic. The first gong, at C o’clock, calls to the 
first breakfast. Then nurses and children. The 
fashionable hour of 9 found the elite of the pas- 
angers sipping their coffee through jeweled 
Where do Sea-Birds slake their Thirst?- The 
question is often asked, where do sea-birds obtain 
fresh water to slake their thirst? but wc have 
never seen it satisfactorily answered till a few 
days ago. An old skipper with whom we were 
conversing on the subject, said that ho had fre¬ 
quently seen these birds at sea, far from any land 
that could furnish them water, hovering around 
and under a storm cloud, clattering like ducks on 
a hot day at a pond, and drinking in the drops of 
rain as they fell. They will smell a rain squall a 
hundred miles, or even further off, and scud for 
it with almost inconceivable swiftness. How 
long sea-birds can exist without water, is only a 
matter of conjecture, but probably their powers 
of enduring thirst are increased by habit, and 
possibly they go without lor many days, if not 
for several weeks. 
CAUSES OF FAILURE. 
Those who fail in life are very apt to assume the 
tone of injured innocence, and conclude too 
hastily that everybody excepting themselves has 
had a hand in their personal misfortunes. A lite¬ 
rary man lately published a book, in which he de¬ 
scribed his numerous failures in business, naively 
admitting, at the same time, that he was ignorant 
ol the multiplication table, probably because he 
would not take tho trouble to learn it But, in¬ 
stead of attributing his failures to himself, this 
eminent man sal. down deliberately to cast all the 
blame npon the money-worshipping spirit of the 
age. Lamartine also did not hesitate to profess 
his profound contempt for arithmetic; but, had it 
been less, probably wc should not have witnessed 
the unseemly spectacle of the admirers of that 
distinguished personage engaged in collecting 
subscriptions for his support in his old age. 
There is a Russian proverb whioh says that Mis¬ 
fortune is next door to Stupidity; and it will gen¬ 
erally he found that men who are constantly 
lamenting their ill-luck, are only reaping the con¬ 
sequences of their own neglect, mismanagement, 
improvidence, or want of application. Dr. John¬ 
son, who came up to London with a single guinea 
in his pocket, and who once accurately described 
himself in his signature to a letter addressed to a 
noble lord, as Imprmus, or dinnerless, has hon¬ 
estly said, “All the complaints which are made of 
the world are unjust; I never knew a man of 
merit neglected; it was generally by hia own 
fault that he failed of success.” 
Kerry and Spence relate a highly interesting 
experiment mado by Bonner, with a species of 
Rytota, and the ant-lion. I have witnessed, as 
any one may, with what assiduous care those 
spiders that carry their “bag of eggs” with them 
wherever they go, protect them, rather suffering 
death than to be deprived of their prospective 
brood. They cling to it, as miser never clung to 
his money bags, and when the young brood is 
hatched, the attachment of the mother is none 
the less,—she opens the bag for them to come 
forth, and then the young brood attach themselves 
in clusters 
California Spirit of the 'limes 
other society, — excepting only iu the breed¬ 
ing season, when all birds are naturally shy and 
suspicious for the welfare of their offspring. Go 
into any wood, walk down any shady lane, enter 
any cemetery, seat yourself in any country church 
yard, or perch yourself on auy rural stile,— 
within a few moments you will assuredly have a 
robin beside you, and he will assuredly introduce 
himself with a song. It is in vain for you to say 
“Nay.” He fairly fascinates you; he woos your 
heart and wIds it. How many of my successes 
in winning human hearts are attributable to the 
hints afforded me by this ingenious, bold, open- 
hearted, all-conquering birdf— Kidd on the Robin. 
upon her back, head, and legs; and 
thus she carries them about with her, and feeds 
them until their first moult, when they are able to 
provide for themselves. 
I witnessed a very interesting fact of this kind, 
in the summer of 185 , 
fewer overslept, and the social morning meal 
>le hour for renewing acquaintances, exehanj 
’'Mutations, cracking jokes or bandying wittici 
Hie spread of crinoline is truly wonderful, 
tlie toilets very stunning. Thence till noon 
>5. While admiring the roses 
on a bush, pointed out by a lady, I noticed a very 
pretty spider, having a body of a pearly white¬ 
ness, and rather long, transparent, greenish legs, 
bearing a single offspring on her back, already 
well developed, and apparently able to shift for 
itself. 1 called the lady’s attention to this paren- 
ljberty will not descend to a people; a people 
must raise themselves to liberty; it is a blessing 
that must be earned, before it can be enjoyed. 
