1868.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
45 9 
3S©Y-§ 4 ©U1ILS 5 
A HasidFiil of I>ust. 
The tidy housekeeper would vigorously drive it from 
her kingdom with the broom; the little child would take 
it to make mud pies with; the philosopher thinks it 
worthy to be carefully examined—there may be some 
grains of precious truth in it. Let us borrow his spectacles 
and try to find them. Of course these spectacles are mi¬ 
croscopes, showing us what a fly might see “ with his 
little eye.” Presto! change ! The little brown heap has 
suddenly become a large pile of many colors and curious 
shapes. The glass shows what appear to be smooth peb 
bles, of many different kinds, bits of rocks broken from 
larger masses, ground small under many a wheel that has 
passed over them in the well-traveled road, their sharp 
corners worn away by exposure to the weather, and con¬ 
stant hard usage. Each bit has a marvelous history from 
the time when the frost, or the prying root of some plant, 
or the blow from some quarryman's hammer, or other 
sufficient force, loosened it from its long-time home and 
started it on its travels. When ground a little finer, and 
acted on by the elements, these fragments will be chem¬ 
ically changed, seized upon by growing plants, and trans¬ 
formed into portions of their organized substance, to 
start on a new round of experiences. Volumes of sci¬ 
ence and history would be needed to complete the record 
of a single one of these grains. Another look at the heap 
shows many rusty fragments of iron—brought perhaps 
from distant mines; they have done service in many 
forms, finally were struck off from the wheel-tires or the 
horse-shoes, and are slowly rusting away—not to be lost, 
but made over in new combinations. Here are shreds of 
leather—the boys and girls, who wear out shoes so fast, 
with almost tireless feet, can tell something of how these 
came there. Scraps of woolen, silk, and cotton, have done 
their part for awhile in the service of man, and are here 
awaiting further use. Fragments of bones, chips from 
insects’ wings, bits of down from the bodies of birds, 
hair, wood, leaves — in short, mementos from almost 
every department of life, give food for abundant thought 
and fancy. Whoever can spend an hour or more in care¬ 
fully studying a handful of dust with a microscope will 
find that Nature has abundant materials at hand for work¬ 
ing over into the new patterns which she so lavishly dis¬ 
plays yearly in the fields and forests, and by noting the 
wisdom there displayed, may add much to his own store. 
E>ifl*eresit Ways of JLamg-2iin"-. 
Man is the only animal that laughs. Some creatures 
make a noise resembling laughter, but as “ there is no 
fun in it,” as the boys would say, it does not deserve the 
No. 1.—A QUIET SMILE. 
name. It is both amusing and instructive to observe the 
different ways of laughing; the varieties are ns numer¬ 
ous as individuals, for almost every person has his own 
style, so distinct that he may be easily recognized by 
his laugh. Our artist presents three specimens, which 
No. 2.— FULL OP PUN. 
are fair samples of different classes of laughers. In each, 
the character is quite plainly indicated by the stylo in 
which pleasure is expressed by the muscles of thq face. 
First (No. 1,) we have a natural, quiet smile. The man 
enjoys anything comical, but has sense and self com¬ 
mand enough not to be overcome by it. He has natural 
strength of character, which has been polished by educa 
tion, so that his faculties are under control. Contrast 
his expression with either of the following. No. 8 is 
brimful of fun, and running over with laughter, which he 
vainly tries to hold in with his hand upon his mouth. 
He will giggle at the merest trifle—at a mistake of a 
companion, an odd motion by an animal, at almost any¬ 
thing unexpected. He is good natured, weak, easily led, 
uncultivated, requiring great care to make him a useful 
member of society. No. 3, the “ Simperer,” has been edu 
cated in a very different school from No. 1. ne believes in 
outside appearances ; knows what is the latest fashion, 
wears much jewelry, carefully cultivates his whiskers, 
thinks all the ladies are in love with him, applauds him¬ 
self with a continual smirk, and is altogether a silly, 
shallow-brained fop. He might be cured by sending him 
to the forests of Maine, to chop wood a few winters, but 
there is little hope of his having pluck enough to try 
this treatment, or any other requiring real manliness. 
Our Presidents. 
Every American boy and girl should know the follow¬ 
ing table by heart, and should also be able to give some 
account of the principal acts of the different men named. 
Those who will begin by committing it to memory, and 
then follow it up by reading some good biography of 
each President, will have a better knowledge of the his¬ 
tory of the United States than is possessed by more than 
one-half the men and women in the United States. 
Presidents of the 
United Slates. 
George Washington 
Jolm Adams. 
Thomas Jefferson.. 
James Madison. 
James Monroe. 
John Quincy Adams 
Andrew Jackson... 
Martin Van Buren.. 
William H. Harrison 
Jolm Tyler. 
James K. Polk... 
Zachary Taylor.. 
Millard Fillmore 
Franklin Pierce. 
James Buchanan 
Abraham Lincoln.. 
Andrew Johnson... 
Native of 
Virginia 
Massachusetts 
Virginia 
do. 
do. 
Massachusetts 
S. Carolina 
New-York 
Virginia 
do. 
N. Carolina 
Virginia 
New-York 
N. Hampshire 
Pennsylvania 
Kentucky 
N. Carolina 
Inaugurated. 
April 
March 
Continu¬ 
ance in 
Office. 
3, 17S9 S years. 
4, 1797 4 “ 
4, 1801 8 ' 
4, 1809;S “ 
4, 1817 8 " 
4, 1825 4 -‘ 
4, 1829 8 “ 
4. 1837 4 “ 
April 
4. 1857 4 
4. 1861 4 y 40 d 
15, 18651 
A E B ict»re for Hoys. 
A correspondent writes to the American Agriculturist: 
“ I have indulged the habit of using tobacco in various 
ways, for more than twenty-five years. I learned it when 
a boy, because I wanted to do as men did. For a long 
time I could not perceive that it hurt mo, except making 
my breath disagreeable, and my company unpleasant to 
those who disliked the smell of tobacco smoko. But 
lately I have beguu to believe what friends used to tell 
me. My throat, head, and nerves are suffering from the 
effects of the use of the weed, and I know that I can have 
good health only by giving it up. This I am now doing, 
but it is like the struggle of a slave with a cruel master. 
I pass miserable days and sleepless nights ; my spirits 
are low, every thing looks gloomy, I cannot fix my wan¬ 
dering thoughts; I have headache, heart-achc, and aches 
I never imagined before. The worst of it is, I feel contin¬ 
ually that just one cigar would drive away all these symp¬ 
toms, make me feel natural, and bring back all the hopes 
and friends that now seem to have deserted me. Why 
not take it and end my troubles ? Alas I it would only 
soothe my distressed nerves a little while, and then the 
old symptoms of tobacco poisoning would come back in 
full force. It’s a terrible battle; I do not know how long 
it will last, or how it will end. Without some relief I 
fear I may go crazy. What shall I do ?”-There, boys, 
look at that picture before you light a cigar, or try a 
chew. It expresses the experience of almost every one 
who lias formed this habit. Will it pay to, lose health, 
and become a slave 1 If you want more evidence before 
deciding, ask the next friend you may meet who lias long 
used tobacco, whether he thinks it best. Wc never yet 
found a man who would advise another to form the habit. 
To the sufferer who writes for advice, we would say, 
“ fight it out on this line.” It will not “take all sum¬ 
mer.” In a few weeks, at furthest, the habit will be 
broken and you will feel the happiness of a clear head, 
elastic limbs, improved general health, and a free spirit. 
Asa Amusing- Toy. 
Almost any boy can whittle out from a soft pine stick 
two figures like those shown in the engraving. The 
body and head of each are made of a single piece about 
half an inch thick. Two thin pieces a little curved in the 
middle, for the elbows, represent the two arms joined 
together as in wrestling. The legs are each made of one 
thin slip of wood, and are attached to the body by pins, 
so as to hang loosely. The arms are pinned on at the 
shoulders in the same manner, and the figures are thus 
made to look like two boys in a position for wrestling. 
They can be painted, if convenient, or merely marked 
with ink, to suit the fancy. When all is ready, pass a 
thread about six feet long through the holes in the arms 
near the elbows. Fasten one end of it around the leg of 
a table or chair near the floor, and hold the other end in 
the hand. The images should ho two or three feet from 
the lower end of the thread. Now by gently twitching 
the string the images will be made to wrestle in a very 
comical way; sometimes one will go down, then the 
other, then both, and l;y a little management they can ho 
made to perform an almost numberless variety of very 
queer antics, to the great amusement of the little folks. 
New Puzzles to toe Answered. 
No. 332. Illustrated Rebus. —Truth painfully acknowledged. 
No. 333. Illustrated Rebus.— Something for all to know. 
Answers to Problems- anil Puzzles. 
The following arc answers to the puzzles, etc., in the 
November number, page 419. No. 330. Enigma. —Ink... 
No. 331. Illustrated Rebus.— Manse in human eye t tome 
man in aches scow lit less thousands morn; or, man's 
inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn. 
