96 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
the indispensable necessity of manures, which consist principally 
of animal and vegetable remains that are buried and finally decom¬ 
posed in the soil, from which they are afterwards absorbed by the 
roots of the plant, in a state of solution.— Enc. of Ag. 
Plants are nourished in some degree analogous to the animal economy. 
The food of plants, whether lodged in the soil, or wafted through 
the atmosphere, is taken up by introsusceptions, in the form of gases 
or other liuids : It is there known as their sap; this sap ascends to 
the leaves, where it is elaborated as the blood of animals is in the 
lungs ; it then enters into the general circulation of the plant, and 
promotes its growth, [of the roots as well as of the branches, seeds 
and fruits.]— Ibid. 
Household Affairs. 
Corn Starch, we are advised by an exellent house-keeper, is no 
wise inferior to wheat starch, while it can be made with half the 
labor and expense. As this is the season for making it, we have 
obtained from our informant, for the Cultivator, 
Directions for making it. —Take thirty good ears of green corn, fit 
for eating, grate the corn with a large grater, a lantern will do, in¬ 
to a pail of water ; turn the whole through a fine metal cullender, 
or a coarse cloth strainer, to separate the hulls, &.c.; then change 
the water two or three times, to render the starch, which settles 
at the bottom white and clean; and after the last water is removed, 
the starch may be cut in pieces, laid out a few days to dry, when 
it is fit for use, and may be kept any length of time. This quantity 
will suffice a year for a small family. 
To boil meat. —Let the following rules govern. After the water 
begins to boil, it should be kept boiling till the meat is cooked.— 
Put the meat into cold water, sufficient only to cover, and to keep 
it covered during the cooking process. More water than this ren¬ 
ders the meat less savory, and weakens the broth. The water 
should be heated gradually according to the thickness of the arti¬ 
cle boiled: the larger the piece of meat, the more moderate should 
be the fire. If the water boils before the meat is heated through, 
the latter will be hardened, and shrink up as if it were scorched. 
The slower it boils, the tenderer, plumper and whiter it will be.— 
Fresh killed meat requires longer boiling, than that which butchers 
call ripe, and is withal more tough and hard. 
Young- Men’s Department. 
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 
We promised, in our last, to say something more of the rules 
which Franklin adopted for his guidance in life, and of the manner 
in which he enforced them. But it is proper first to speak of his 
early habits of reading and reflection, which were the ground-work 
of Ins greatness and fame. His attachment to books commenced 
almost in infancy. Among those which he first read, he enumerates 
De Foe’s Essay on Projects, Dr. Mather’s Essay to do Good,Plutarch’sj 
Lives, and a volume of Addison’s Spectator. He subsequently direct¬ 
ed his attention to philosophical works. As books were scarce, and 
his means restricted, his practice was to buy one or more volumes, 
read and sell them, and with the avails to purchase others ; and in 
this way he contrived to gratify his thirst for knowledge, without in¬ 
fringing on the hours of ordinary labor as an apprentice. This taste 
for reading continued to exert its influence upon him during life, and 
led him, at an early day to project the establishment at Philadelphia, 
of the library which now bears his name, and which contains one 
of the most extensive and valuable collection of books to be found 
in our country. But as we would teach others by his example, we 
will give some quotations in his own words : 
“ I now had access to better books. An acquaintance with ap¬ 
prentices of booksellers, enabled me sometimes to borrow a small 
one, which I was careful to return soon and clean. Often I sat up 
in my chamber the greatest part the night, when the book was 
borrowed in the evening to be returned in the morning, lest it should 
be found missing. After some time, a merchant, an ingenious sen¬ 
sible man, Mr. Matthew Adams, who had a pretty collection of 
books, frequented our printing-office, took notice of me, and in¬ 
vited me to see his library, and very kindly proposed to lend me 
such books as I wished to read. I now took a strong inclination 
for poetry, and wrote some little pieces; my brother [to whom he 
was an apprentice] supposing it might turn to some account, en¬ 
couraged me, and induced me to compose two occasional ballads. 
One was called the Light-house Tragedy , and contained an account 
of the shipwreck of Capt. Worthilake, with his two daughters : 
the other was a sailor’s song, on the taking of the lamous Teach (or 
Black-Beard) the pirate. They were wretched stuff, in street bal¬ 
lad style; and when they were printed, my brother sent me about 
town to sell them. The first sold prodigiously, the event being 
recent, and having made a great noise. This success flattered my 
vanity, but my father discouraged me, by criticising my performan¬ 
ces, and telling me verse makers were generally beggars. Thus I 
escaped being a poet, and probably a very bad one: but as prose 
writing has been of great use to me in the course of my life, and 
was a principal means of my advancement, I shall tell you how in 
such a situation I acquired what little ability I may be supposed to 
have in that way. 
“There was another bookish lad in town, John Collins by name, 
with whom I was intimately acquainted. We sometimes disputed, 
and very fond we were of argument, and very desirous of confuting 
one another, which disputatious turn, by the way, is apt to become a 
very bad habit, making people often very disagreeaale in company, 
by the contradiction that is necessary to bring it into practice; 
and thence, besides souring and spoiling the conversation, it is pro¬ 
ductive of disgusts and perhaps of enmities with those who may 
have occasion for friendship. 1 caught this by reading my father’s 
books of disputes on religion. Persons of good sense, I have since 
observed, seldom tall into it, except lawyers, university men, and 
generally men of all sorts who have been bred in Edinburgh. A 
question was once some how or other started, between Collins and 
me, on the propriety of educating the female sex in learning, and 
their abilities for study. He was of opinion that it was improper, 
and that they were naturally unequal to it. I took the contrary 
side, perhaps for dispute sake. He was naturally more eloquent, 
having a greater plenty of words, and sometimes, as I thought, I 
was vanquished more by his fluency than by his reasons. As we 
parted without settling the point, and were not to see one another 
again for some time, I sat down to put my arguments in writing, 
which I copied fair and sent to him. He answered, and I replied. 
Three or four letters on a side had passed, when my father hap¬ 
pened to find my papers and read them. Without entering into 
the subject in dispute, he took occasion to talk to me about my 
manner of writing, observed, that though I had the advantage of 
my antagonist in correct spelling and pointing, (which he attribut¬ 
ed to the printing-house,) I fell far short in elegance of expression, 
in method and perspicuity, of which he convinced me by several 
instances. I saw the justice of his remarks, and thence grew 
more attentive to my writing, and determined to endeavor to im¬ 
prove my style.” P. 13, 14, 15, vol. 1. 
“ When about 16 years of age, I happened to meet with another 
book, written by one Tyron, recommending a vegetable diet. 1 
determined to go into it. My brother being yet unmarried, did not 
keep house, but boarded himself and his apprentices in another fa¬ 
mily. My refusing to eat flesh occasioned an inconvenience, and 
I was frequently chid for my singularity. I made myself acquaint¬ 
ed with Tryon’s manner of preparing some of his dishes, such as 
boiling potatoes or rice, making hasty pudding, and a few others, 
and then proposed to my brother, that if he would give me weekly 
half the money he paid for my board, I would board myself. He 
instantly agreed to it, and 1 presently found I could save half what 
he paid me. 
“ This was 7 an additional fund for buying books. But I had ano¬ 
ther advantage in it. My brother and the rest going from the 
printing-office to their meals, I remained there alone; and des¬ 
patching presently my light repast, which was often no more than 
a biscuit, or a slice of bread and a handful of raisins, a tart from 
the pastry cook’s and a glass of water, had the rest of the time till 
their return for study, in which I made the greater progress, from 
that greater clearness of head and quick apprehension which ge¬ 
nerally attends temperance in eating and drinking. 
“ Now it was, that being on some occasion made ashamed of my 
ignorance in figures, which I had twice failed learning when I was 
at school, 1 took Crocker’s book on arithmetic, and went through 
the whole by myself with the greatest ease. I also read Seller’s 
and Sterney’s book on navigation, which made me acquainted with 
the little geometry it contained ; but I never proceeded far m that 
science. I read about this time, Locke on the Human Understanding , 
and the Art of Thinking, by Miss Du Port Royal. 
