THE CULTIVATOR. 
37 
badly provided for; and in the lapse of a few years debts have ac¬ 
cumulated, creditors become pressing, and the homes of their wives 
and little ones, and perhaps of their fathers, must be given up to 
strangers for ever. Besides the personal injury these establishment s 
are the causes of, they are of the most demoralizing tendency in a 
neighborhood ; they soon become places of Sunday resort, and men 
who had previously been in the habit of attending divine service in 
the nearest meeting-house, will soon lose their taste for these good¬ 
ly observances, will make this the place of their Sunday gatherings, 
and as vice or virtue is always progressive, in the course of a little 
time they will forget that the Sabbath was made as a day of rest. 
At first they engage in conversation and drinking ; from drinking 
they go to pitching quoits, to ball playing, to horse racing and gam¬ 
bling. Fishing and gunning are amusements too innocent, when 
compared with the others, even to be named. These are evils not 
ideal ;—again and again have we seen them exemplified in all their 
reality ; and however diversified the pursuits of those who engaged 
in the practices, one result, that is ruin, has happened to all. We 
will illustrate these observations by only a single one out of many 
cases, and if the narration should interest any of our readers suf¬ 
ficiently to make the story impressive, we hope its effects will not 
be lost upon them or their neighbors. 
We knew a farmer who in early life came into possession, partly 
by industry and partly by inheritance, of a farm of 300 acres of first 
rate land. He married a woman well adapted to his business and 
prospects, and who faithfully and affectionately discharged all her 
duties. He became the parent of a numerous family, principally 
sons, but his farm afforded all an ample maintenance, and by his in¬ 
dustry, good temper and prosperity, his life appeared to be one, it 
possible, of perfect contentment, for every want seemed to be sup¬ 
plied, and every desire gratified. The earth yielded to him of her 
abundance, and the appearance of his house, farm and family, every 
thing around him, betokened comfort and future wealth. As to cre¬ 
ditors there were none. Years passed in this way, his sons began 
to approach manhood. An unnecessary tavern was now establish¬ 
ed in his neighborhood, under pretence of accommodating travel¬ 
lers, but in reality to draw in the unthinking. He called occasion¬ 
ally to see his neighbor the landlord, and when he called found the 
host so sociable that he could not hastily leave him, and certainly 
not wiihout giving him something for the entertainment he had af¬ 
forded him. At times too, when he called, he found a few of his 
neighbors there, and they must sit down together, to talk upon re¬ 
ligion, politics, or the news of the day, and be sure not to forget to 
pay the landlord for putting up a sign for their accommodation. 
Thus evenings were occasionally spenr, and they afforded subjects 
for reflection the following day, but when evening came again there 
was a desire to spend it in the same place. The inclination was at 
first only occasionally indulged, but it soon settled down into a ha¬ 
bit, and if one was now and then omitted, it was not from a want of 
desire. These evening sittings became by degrees later and later ; 
the family were kept up by them, and to make them shorter a son 
was often sent to remind his father that it was late, and all the fa¬ 
mily in bed, except the messenger and his anxious mother, who was 
waiting his return. Still he would linger; he could not yet leave 
his interesting companions ; he must have another talk and its ne¬ 
cessary accompaniment, another glass ; the night was long and he 
could sleep enough before morning. In this way he would beguile time, 
persuade his son to stay a little, and yet a little longer—urge him too 
to taste the landlord’s good cheer, until the son from his oft-repeated 
visits to the tavern to fetch his father home, became pleased with the 
company, and took his share of the evening’s good cheer. As the 
eldest son in time proved recreant to the mother’s injunctions, and 
did not shorten his father’s visits to the tavern, a younger was se¬ 
lected to supply the place of the first, who, from his tender years 
and habits of going early to bed, and urgent entreaties, might per¬ 
suade the father, at a more seasonable time, to return to his home. 
He too was detained by a thousand artifices, until either the late¬ 
ness of the hour, or his importunities, at last prevailed. The father 
permitted him too to taste until liquor became not unpleasant, nor 
the effect forgotten. A few years rolled on in this way ; the father 
became a confirmed drunkard; the whole business of the farm de¬ 
volved on the wife, for the eldest son had by this time become al¬ 
most worthless. The constitution of the parent was at length bro¬ 
ken down. He became sensible that intemperance had taken a fa¬ 
tal hold upon him—he resolved to break up the habit—he persever¬ 
ed for a short time, gave evidences of reform and returning health; 
but alas ! he once more gave way, and was soon after laid in the 
grave. Before his death, he frequently spoke of the cause of his ru¬ 
in ; “ that his example might be fatal to his sons ; of the injury he 
had done to all his children ; and the sufferings he had occasioned his 
unhappy wife.” By his neglect too of his business, a debt had been 
entailed on his estate. All these were painful reflections, and his 
own conduct the cause of them. Some time before his death, his 
whole manner towards his family had become changed ; instead of 
being the kind and affectionate husband and parent, of which we had 
often been the witness, how did our soul shudder, when once in a 
state of intoxication, we saw him transformed into a demon of me¬ 
ditated cruelty. It was on a cold day of December, when of all 
times in the year, home feels the most comfortable, we saw this man 
just returned from the tavern, pursuing his submissive wife with one 
child in her arms, and another following, around his own house, with 
an axe in his hand, threatening and swearing he would kill them all. 
How terrible the effects of intemperance ! The kindest temper it 
endues with the ferocity of the tiger—the best friends become objects 
of hatred and vengeance ; and after having deprived us of all that 
is dear in life, the relish for it still increases, until it strikes down its 
victims, and whole families become beggared by the fatal indul¬ 
gence. Within one short year, the eldest son was laid in the grave 
by the side of his father. The taste for liquor had been so early 
cultivated, that he soon gave way to the temptation, and as he was 
yet in the green tree, his constitution was the sooner undermined. 
But the effects of early initiation did not end here : a third victim was 
preparing, and in two more years the second son, who was coming 
into manhood, and who, when a boy, had been sent too often to the 
tavern to bring home an inebriated father, he too had acquired the 
fatal propensity, and was now in a due course of preparation for the 
| tomb. The anxious mother had one time hopes of reform, and she 
said it was at that time some comfort to her that he drank daily only 
two quarts of cider brandy. These were her own words, and she 
spoke them in the sincerity of her feelings. In a little time this son 
became to all but her an object of filth and loathing, for an uncon¬ 
trollable diarrhoea rendered his room and presence insupportable. 
The end need not be told. Up to this period it was often thought 
necessary for these sufferers to have the occasional use of liquor, 
It had become, therefore, almost a family store, and two youno-er 
sons, from having been frequently sent to procure it, became some¬ 
what familiar with its use and effects. The last victim had hardly 
been sacrificed, before another brother gave indications that he too 
had acquired a passion for drinking, and as his constitution was dif¬ 
ferent from the others, it soon changed him into a maniac, and he is 
now confined in the asylum of the insane. The faithful wife and 
mother has struggled on through all these trying difficulties with a 
patience that was never exhausted, and a feeling and fidelity worthy 
of all commendation. By her industry and good management, she 
has been enabled in a measure to keep the estate, and make the rest 
j of her family comfortable. 
I The above narration is literally true. The misfortune is, that 
with similar scenes we are all too familiar. A. 
Drain-Plough .—We have received a communication from John 
S. Greene, of Utica, recommending that a subscription of $200 be 
raised, and awarded as a premium to the inventor of the best drain- 
plough which shall be exhibited at the Albany Cattle Fair, in Octo¬ 
ber, and authorizing us to subscribe two dollars in his behalf towards 
such fund. For ourselves we are free to say, that we consider un¬ 
derdrains better, and in the end cheaper, than open drains, to free 
wet and springy soils from water; and that where open drains are 
necessary to carry off a large quantity of water, they should be made 
with the spade, and well made. Underdrains cause no waste of 
land; open drains occasion much waste, and are, particularly if 
opened with a plough, unsightly upon a farm. 
The Caterpillar, which is so unsightly in our orchards at this sea¬ 
son of the year, to say nothing of the injury it does to the foliage, 
and consequently to the tree—is easily destroyed, if taken in time, 
and at the proper time. Early in the morning, and in wet weather, 
at this season they may be found concentrated in a small compass, 
under their web. If within reach, the whole colony may be crush¬ 
ed in a moment with the hand. To reach the more elevated webs, 
wind the end of a pole with rags, and with this destroy them. Or, 
what is better, affix a Pickering brush to the end of the pole, and 
with this remove and destroy them. This brush is round and coni- 
