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C7"The coin ts have decided that persons are ac
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subscribe for them, or not.
PtETEY.
MAY.
BY LEIGH HUNT.
May ! thou month of rosy beauty !
Month when pleasure is a duty;
Month of maids that milk the kine—
Bosom rich and breath divine;
Month of bees, and month of flowers;
Month of blossom-laden bowers;
Month of little hands with daisies,
Dover's love, and poet's praises;
Oh, thou merry month complete—
May!—thy very name is sweet !
May was maid in olden times,
And is still in Scottish rhymes;
May's tlie blooming hawthorn bough;
May's the month that's laughing now.
I no sooner write the word,
Than it seems as though it heard,
And looks up and laughs at me,
Like a sweet face, rosily;
Like an actual color bright,
Flushing from the paper's white;
Like a bride that knows her power.
Startled in a summer bower.
If the rains that to us wrong,
Come to keep the winter long,
And deny ns thy sweet looks,
I can love thee, sweet! in books—
Love thee in the poet's pages,
Where they keep thee green for ages,
Love and read thee, as a lover
Reads his lady's letter over,
Breathing blessings on the art
Which commingles those that part.
There'is NTWy in books fodever,
May will part from Spencer never;
May's in Milton—May's in Prior—
May's in Chaucer, Thomson, Dyer;
May's in all the Italian books;
She has old and modern nooks,
Where she sleep, with nymphs and elves i
in happy places they call shelves,
And will rise and dress your rooms
With a drapery thick with blooms.
Come, ye rains, then, if you will,
May's at home, and with me still;
But come, rather thou, good weather !
And find us in the fields together.
!i— 1 Jis!— . n ■ 'L'.-j'li" 1
miscellaneous.
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, j
BY EDGAR A. POE.
The "Rod Death" had long devastated the
country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal,
or so hideous. Blood was its Avator and its ;
seal— the horror ot blood. There w ere sharp
pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse .
bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. The
scarlet stains upon the body, and upon
the face of the victim, were the pest ban which
shut him out from the sympathy of his fellow
men. And the whole seizure, progress and |
termination of the disease were the incidents of
hdifan hour.
But the Prince Prospero was happy and
daunt less and sagacious. When his dominions
were half depopulated, he summoned to tiis
presence a thousand hale and light-hearted
friends from among the knights ami dairies of
his court, and with these retired to the deep j
seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys. This
was an extensive and magnificent structure, the
creation of the Prince's own eccentric jet au
gust taste. A strong and lofty wall girdled it
in. The wall had gates of iron. The courtiers,
having pntered, brought furnaces and massive
hammers anu welded the bolts. They resolved
to leave means neither of ingress or egress to 1
the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy
from within. The abbey was amply provisioned, j
With such precautions the courtiers might bid
defiance to contagion. The external world I
could take care of itself. In the meantime it j
was folly to grieve or to think. The prince had ;
provided all the appliances of pleasure. There
were buffoons, tlmre were improvisator!, there
Were ballet-dancers, there were musicians,
there was beauty, there was wine. All these
and security w ere within. Without was the
"Red D>ath." It was toward the fifth or sixth
month of his seclusion, and u hile the pestilence
raged inost furiously abroad, that the Prince
Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a
masked ball of the most unusual magnificence.
It was a voluptuous scene, that masquerade.
But first let me tell of the rooms in which it was
held. There were seven—an imperial suite.
In many palaces, however, such suites form a
long and straight vista, slide back nearly to the
walls on either side, so that the view of the
whole extent is scarcely impeded. Here the
case was very different; as might have been ex
pected from the Duke's love of the bizarre.—
The apartments were so irregularly disposed
that the vision embraced but little more than
one at a time. There was a sharp turn at every
twenty or thirty yards and at each turn a novel
eflfct. To the right and left, in the middle of
each wall, a narrow Gothic window looked out
upon a closed corridor which pursued the wind
ings of th* suite. These windows were of
I stained glass whose color varied in accordance
with tile prevailing hue of the decorations o
the chamber into which it opened. That at itu
eastern extremity was hung, lor example, in
blue—and vividly blue were its windows. The
second chamber was purple in its ornaments
and tapestries, an 1 here the panes were purple.
The third was green throughout and so were
the casements. Thefourth was finished and
lighted with orange—the fifth with white—the
sixth with violet. The seventh apartment was
j closely shrouded in black velvet tapestry that
hung 3! I over the ceiling and down the walls,
falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same
materia! and hue. Now, in no one of the sev
en apartments was there any candle or candel
abrum, amid the profusion of golden ornaments
that lay scattered to and fro or depended from
the roof. There was no light of any kind em
anating from lamp or candle within the suite of
chambers. But in the corridors that followed
: the suite, there stood, opposite to each window,
a heavy tiipod, bearing a brazier ol fire, thai
projected its rays through the tinted glass and
so glaringly illuminated the room. And thus
were produced a multitude of gaudy and fantas
tic appearances. But in the western or back
chamber the effect of the fire-light that streamed
upon the dark hanging through the blood tin
ted panes, was ghastly in the extreme, and pro
duced so wild a look upon the countenances of
those who entered, that there were few of the
company bold enough to set foot within its pre- !
cincts at all.
It was in this apartment, also, that there
stood against the western wall, a gigantic clock
,of ebony. Its pendulum swung to and ho with
. a dull heavy monotonous clang; and when the
minute hand made the circuit of the face, and
the hour was to be stiicken, there came from
i the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which
was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly
musical, but of so peculiar a note and emphasis
; that, at each lapse of an hour, the musicians ofj
the orchestra were constrained to pause, momen- '
j tarilr, in their performance, to hearken to the j
sound; and thus the waltzers per force ceased j
their evolutions; and there was brief disconcert 1
lof the whole gay company; and while the
ell imes of the clock yet rang it was observed
that the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged
; and sedate passed their hands over their brows j
as if in confused revery and meditation. But ;
when the echoes had fully ceased, a high laugh- i
' ter at once pervaded the assembly; the musicians I
| looked at each other and smiled as if at their |
; own nervousti- and folly, and made wtiispn- '
ing vows, each to the other, that the next chi
ming of the clock should produce in thern no
similar emotion; and then after the lapse of six
ty minutes, (which embrace three thousand six
hundred seconds of the Time that (lies.) there
came yet another chiming of the clock, and
then were the same disconcert and tremulous
ness and meditation as before.
But, in spite of these things, it was a gay and
magnificent revel.' The tastes of the duke were
peculiar. He had a tine eye for colors and ef
fects. lie disregarded the decora of mere fash
ion. His plans were bold and fiery, and his
conceptions glowed with barbaric lustre. There
are some who would have thought him mad.—
His followers knew that he was not. it was
necessary to hear and see and touch him to be
sure that he was not.
He had directed, in great part, the movable
embellishments ol the seven chambers, upon oc
casion of this great fete: and it was his own gui
ding taste which had given character to the
masqueraders. But sure they were grotesque.
There were much glare and glitter and piquan
cy and phantasm much of which has since been
s-en in "Hernani." There were arabesque
figures with unsuited limbs and appointments.
There were delirious fancies such as the mad
man fashions. There were much of the beau
tiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre,
and something of the terrible, and not a little of
that which might have excited disgust. To
and fio in the seven chambers there stalked, in
(act, a multitude of dreams. And these—the
dreams—writhed in and about, taking fine from
the rooms, and causing the wild music of the or
chestra to seem as the echo of their steps. And,
anon, there strikes the ebony clock which stands
in the hall of the velvet. And then, for a mo- i
merit, all is still, all is silent save the voice ol
the clock. The dreams are stiff-frozen as they
stand. But the echoes of the chime die awav
they have endured but an instant—and a light,
half subdued laughter floats alter thpm as they
depart. And now again the music swells, and
the dreams live, and writhe to arid fro more
merrily than ever, taking hue from the many
tinted windows through which stream the rays
from the tripods. Hut to the chamber which lies
most westward of the seven, there are now none
of the maskers who venture; for the night is wa
ning away, and there (lows a ruddier lio-ht
through the blood colored panes; and the black
ness of the sable drapery appals; and to him
whose foot falls upon the sable carpet, there
comes from the near clock of ebony a muffled
peal more solemnly emphatic than ar.v which
reaches Iheir cars who indulge in the more re
mote gaities of the other apartments.
But these other apartments were densely
crowded, and in them beat feverishly the heart
of life. And the revel event whirling on, until
at length there commenced the sounding ol
midnight upon the cioek. And then the music
ceased, as I have told; and the evolutions of the
waltzers were quieted; and there was an uneasy
cessation of all things as before. But now there
were twelve strokes to be sounded !>v the bell
of the clock; and thus it happened, perhaps
that more of thought crept, with more of time,
into the meditations ol the thoughtful among!
those who revelled. And thus too, it happened, j
perhaps, that before the last echoes of the last
chimes had utterly sunk into silence, there j
were many individuals in the crowd who had !
found leisure to become aware of the presence
ofa masked figure which had arrested the atten
tion of no single individual before. And the
rumor of this new presence having stirred itself
wbisperingly around, (hero arose at length •
from the whole company a buzz, or murmur, |
expressive of disapprobation and surprise—then, j
finally, of terror, of horror and disgust.
In an assembly of phantasms such as I have
painted, it may well be supposed that no ordi
nary appearance could have excited srfch sensa
tion. Ju truth the masquerade license of the
night was nearly unlimited; but the figure in
question had out Heroded Herod, and gone be
yond the bounds of even (he Prince's indefinite
decorum. There are cords in the hearts of the \
most reckless which cannot be touched without
emotion. Even with the utterly lost, to whom
life and death are equally jests, there are mat
ters of which no jest can be made. The whole
company, indeed, seemed now deeply to feel
that in the custom and bearing of the stranger
neither wit nor propriety existed. The figure
was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to
foot in the habiliments of the grave. The mask
which concealed the visage was made so nearly
to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse
that the closest scrutiny must have had difficul
ty in delecting the cheat- And yet all this
might have been endured, if not approved by
the mad revellers around. Put the murmur had
gone so far as to assume the type of Red Death.
His vesture was dabbled in blood —and his broad
! brow, with all the features of the lace, was be
j sprinkled with the scarlet horror.
When the eyes of Prince Prospero fell upon
this spectral image (which with a slow and sol
emn movement, as if more fully to sustain its
role, stalked to 3nd fro among the waltzers) he
was seen to be convulsed, in the first moment,
with a strong shudder either of terror or dis
taste; but in the next his brow reddened with
ragf
"Who dares ?" he demanded hoarsely of the
courtiers who stood near him "who dares in
sult us with this blasphemous mockery ? Seize
him ami unmask him—that we may know
I whom we have to hang at sunrise, from the
I battlements!"
It was in the eastern or blue chamber in
which stood the Prince Prospero as he uttered j
these words. They rang throughout the seven i
rooms loudly and clearly for the Prince was a j
bold and robust man, and the music had become j
hushed at tire waving of his hand.
It was in the blue room where stood the ;
Prince with a group of pale courfiers by his side, j
At first, as he spoke, there was a slight rushing j
movement of this group in the direction of the j
intruder, who at that moment was also near at
hand, and now wftn' .'SeUberrtvawf stßteJy-ntvpf*.
made closer approach to the speaker. But from ;
a certain nameless awe with which the mad as- i
sumptions of the murmur had inspired the whole j
party, there wire found -none who put forth j
hand fo seize him; so that unimpeded, he passed j
within a yard of the Prince's person; and while ;
the vast assembly, as with one impulse, shrank
from the centres of the rooms to the walls, he
made his way uninterrupted, but with the same i
slow and measured step which had distinguished •
him from the first, through the blue chamber to
the purple—through the purple to the green— ;
through the green to the orange—through this ;
again to the white—and even thence to the vio- .
let, ere a decided movement had been made to '
arrest him. It wis then, however, that the;
Prince Prospero, maddening with rage and the
shame of his own momentary cowardice, rushed
hurriedly through the six chambers, while none i
followed him on account of a deadly terror that
had seized upon all. He bore aloft a drawn
dagger, and had approached, in rapid impi tuos- j
ity, to within three or four feet ot the retreating
figure, when the latter, having attained the ex- j
tremity of the velvet apparlment, turned sud- ,
denly and confronted his pursuer. There was
a sharp cry—and the dagger dropped gleaming
upon the sable carpet, upon which, instantly !
afterwards, fell prostrated in death the Prince
Prospero. Then summoning '.he wild courage
of despair, a throng of the revellers at once
threw themselves into the black apartment, and
seizing the murderer, whose tall figure stood
erect and motionless within the shadow of the
ebony clock, gasped in unutterable horrcr at
finding the grave cerements and corpse-like mask
which they handled w i;h violent a rudeness,
untenanted by any tangible form.
And now was acknowledged the presence of
the Red Death. He had come like a thief in
the night. And one by on- dropped the revel
lers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel,
and died each in the despairing posture ol bis
fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out
w'ith that of the last of the gay. And the flames
ofthe tiipods expired. And Darkness,and De
cay and the Ri d Death held illimitable domin
ion over all.
Coon IICMOFI. —Keep in a good humor. It
is not great calamities that embitter existence;
it is the petty vexations, small jealousies, the lit
tle disappointments, the minor miseries, that
make the heart heavy and the temper sour.—
Don't let them. Anger is a pure waste of vi
tality: it is always foolish, and always disgrace
ful, except in some very rare cases, when it is
kindled by seeing wrong done to another; and
even that noble rage seldom mends the matter.
Keep in good humor.
No man does Ins best except when he is
cheeiful. A light heart makes nimble hands,
and keeps the mind fair and alert. No misfor
tune is so great as one that sours the temper.—
Lntil cheerfulness is lost, nothing is lost!
Keep in good humor!
Ihe company of a good humored man is a
perpetual feast; he is welcomed everywhere—
eyes glisten at his approach, and difficulties
vanish in his pres - ence. Franklin's indomita
ble good humor did as much for his country in
the old Congress as Adams' fire, or Jefferson's
wisdom; he clothed wisdom with smiles, and
softened contentious minds into acquiescence.
Keep in good humor
A good conscience, a sound stomach, a clear
skin are the elements of good humor! Get
them, and—be sure to keep in good humor !
Freedom of Thought and Opinion.
BEDFORD, PA., FRIDAY MORNING, MAY 28, im.
WE REAR NO WAR-DEFYINQ FLAG.
|
BY R. STORY.
We rear no war-defying flag,
Though armed for battle still ;
The feeble, if be like, may brag—
The powerful never will.
The flag we rear in every breeze,
Float where it may, or when,
Waves forth a signal o'er the seas
Of "Peace, good-will to men!"
For arms, we waft across the waves
The fruits of every clime ;
For death, the truth that cheers and saves: I
What mission more sublime !
For flames, we send the lights afar
Outflashed from press and pen ;
And for the slogans used in war,
Cry—"Peace, good-will to men !"
But, are there states who never cease
To hate or envy ours ?
And who esteem our wish for peace
As proof of waning powers?
Let them but dare the trial ! High
Shall wave our war-flag then,
And wo to those who change onr cry
Of "Peace, good-will to men!"
— ■—
NOVEL COURTSHIP.
Three months sincp, a young Parisian was
travelling per lailroad, in Germany, from Augs
burg to Berlin. The cars, unlike those here,
are divided into compartments, like the inside
oi a coach, the passengers sitting facing each
other. In the compartments he selected were !
four other persons, two mammas and two
daughters. The two mothers were face to face
in one corner, the young man took the other,
and found himself face to face with the young
ladies. Ife soon after fell into a brown study,
during which the conductor repeatedly deman
ded his ticket without success, and the young
ladies were laughing at his bewildered air.—
Suddenly resoiting to a ruse, to avoid ridicule,
he pretended not to understand German, and
transacted his business with the, conductor by
signs. A moment after the young ladies com
menced a conversation.
•'This young man is very handsome," said
one.
"Hist, Bertha," said the other, with a sort of
affright.
"Why, he does not understand a word of
German. We can talk freely. How do you
find him?"
"Only ordinary."
"You are diliicult. He has a charming fig
ure and distingue air."
"He is too pale, and besides you know I do
not love dark."
"And you know I prefer dark to blonde.—
We have nothing but blonde in Germany. It
is monotonous and common-place."
"You forget that you are blonde."
"Oh, for a woman, it is different. He has
pretty moustaches."
"Bertha, what if your mother should hear
you !"
"She is busy with her talk; besides, it is no
hurt to speak of moustaches."
"1 prefer the blonde moustaches of Freder- .
ick." j
"J understand that Frederick isengaged to
you, but I, who am without a lover, am free to ,
exercise my opinion, and to say that this young
man has beautiful eyes."
"They have no expression."
"You do not know. lam sure he has spirit;
it is a pity he does not speak German; he would
chat with us."
"Would you marry a Frenchman ?"
"Why not, if he looks like this one, and were
spiiited, well-born and amiable! But I cannot
keep from laughing. See lie doesn't mistrust
what we are saying."
The young man was endow ed with great
self-control. He looked carefully at Bertha,
and his resolution was taken. At a new sta
tion the conductor came again for tickets.
Our young man, with extra elaborations, and
in excellent German, said:
"Ob, you want my ticket. Very well, let
me see—l believe it is in my portmonnaie. Oh,
yes, here it is."
The effect was startling. Bertha nearly
fainted away, but soon recovered under Hip po
lite apologies o( the young Frenchman. They
were pleased with each other, and in a few
weeks Bertha latified her good opinion of the
young man, and her willingness to marry a
Frenchman.
They live at Hamburg.
BURSTS OF ELOQUENCE.
One of our exchange papers gathered up the
follow ing "bursts of eloquence," which it says
were delivered before a court of justice in Penn
sylvania ;
"Your honor sits high upon the adorable seat
of justice, like the Asiatic rock of Gibraltar;
while the eternal streams of justice, like the
cadaverous clouds of the valley, flow meander
ing at your feet."
This reminds us of the commencement of a
spepch of a lawyer in New Jersey—"Tour
honors do not sit there like marble statues, to be
wafted about by every idle breeze."
Another western orator commenced his ha
rangue with—"The important crisis which
were about to have arriven, have arroven."'
Another : "The Court will please to observe
that the gentleman from the East has given
them a very learned speech. He has roamed
with old Romulus; socked with old Socrates ;
ripped with Euripides, and canted with old
Cantharides—but what, your honor, what does
he know about the laws of Wisconsin?"
A voting lawyer in one of our own courts
commenced his defence as follows: May it
please your honor, the deluge has passed over
the earth, the Aik has rested upon the moun
tain, and the rainbow of justice shines as beau
tifully upon my colored client as it does upon
any in the court, including the jury."
"OLD HUNDRED."
CAN you find a tomb in the land where seal
ed lips lie that have not sung that tune? It
they were grey old men they had heard or
sung "Old Hundred." Sinner and saint have :
joined with the endless congregations where it j
has, with ana without the pealing organ, sound- j
ed on the sacred air.
The dear little children looking with won-j
| tier on this strange wot Id have lisped it. The j
sweet young girl, whose tombstone told of sis- ;
, teen summers, she whose pure innocent face'
haunted you with its beauty, loved "Old Ilun- I
dred"; and as she sung it closed her eyes and j
seemed communing with the who were i
soon to claim her. He whose manhood was i
devoted to the service of God, and he who with j
the faltering step ascended the pulpit steps with !
the white hand over the laboring breast, loved i
"Old Hundred."
And though sometimes his lips only move, j
away down in his heart, so to cease its throbs,
the holy melody was sounding. The dear while j
headed father, with his tremulous voice, how \
he loved "Old Hundred!" Martyrs hallowed
it; it has gone up from the beds of the saints.— j
The old churches, where generation after gen- j
I eration has worshipped, and where many scores j
; of the dear dead have been carried and laid be- ,
fore the altar, where they gavp themselves to J
God, seem to breathe of "Old Hundred" from j
vestibule to tower top—the air is haunted with
its spirit.
FIGHT ON A HOUSE Tor— MAN KNOCKED OFF. j
—The Detroit " Free Press " says:—"Two men I
named Mike Welsh and John Boyle, were en- j
gaged in putting a new roof on the two story ;
housp of Mr. Geo. Patfison, when a misunder- j
standing arose in regard to some part of the
work, in which Boyle refused to obey Welsh's
orders. Welsh thereupon struck Boyle on the
head with a shovel, and then, gave him a kick
which pitched him headlong from the roof.—
Boyle, who is a little chunky fellow, came down
turning numerous somersets through the air,
and astonished the passers-by by striking the
walk all sound and hearty. After examining :
himself to ascertain that he was indeed alive he
gave his antagonist, a few hearty curses ar.d
trudged off to the Police Court. Justice Bagg
issued a warrant, tried Welsh, and sent him up
for sixty days. The fall was a dangerous one,
and it is a wonder that Boyle was not krlled.
RESPECTABILITY. —The popular mode of esti
mating the respectability of an individual or fam
ily is very pointedly hit off in the following
street dialogue of two'"gemmen of color," which
we clip from an exchange :•
"Cato, does you know dem Johnsings up dar
in Congo Place is going to be berry '-spectable
folks ?" "Wall, Scipio, I thought dey war get
ting along berry well, but I doesn't know how
'spectable dey is." "flow 'sppctable does you
tink, Cato?" "Wall, guess about tree tousand j
dollars." "More 'spectable dan dat." "Watt,
how 'spectable is dey ?" "Wy, five tousand
dollars an' a house an' lot." "Whey ! good by,
Cato, I must give'em a call."
A ROMANTIC young-lady fell into the rivpr
the other day and was neaily drowning, but
succor being fortunately at hand, she was drawn
out senseless and carried home. On coming to,
she declared to her family that she must marry
him who had saved her. "Impossible," said
her papa. "What, is he already married ?"
"No," "Wasn't it that interesting young man
who lives herein our neighborhood!" "Dear
me, no—it was a Newfoundland dog."
OF"The learned Professor and Principal of
the Academy of Saumur, used to spend five
hours every morning in his study, but was very
punctual at dinner. One day, on his not appear
ing precisely at the dinner hour, his wife enter
ed his study, and found him still reading. "I
wish," said the lady, "that I was a book."
"Why so ?" replied the Professor.
"Because you would thpn be constant to me."
"1 should have no objection," rejoinpd the
Professor, "provided you were an almanac."
"Why an almanac, my dear?"
"Because I then should have a new one every
year
0 don't say, Mr. Judge, that the defen
dant was drunk; no, not by any means. But
this I will say, when I last seen him he was
washing his face in a mud-puddlp, and drying
it on a door-mat. Whether a sobpr man would
do this, in course I can't say." The Court
thought he wouldn't. The consequence was,
the 'defendant' went up for sixty days.
f)F""Madame,'* said old Roger to his board
ing-house keeper, "in primitive countries beef
is often a legal tender; but, madame," said he,
emphatically, thrusting his fork into the steak,
"all the law in Christendom couldn't make this
beef tender."
[IF*A beggar was arrpsted in Bognor, Eng.,
who had on his person $4-0 in specie, was wear
ing three shirts, three waistcoats, three pairs
of trousers, a jacket, a coat, a neck tie, a large
blanket, and had several shirts and stockings in
his pack.
[tF""My German Iriend, how long have you
been married ?"
"Vel, dat is a ting vat I seldom don't like to
tank about, put ven 1 does it seems to be so long
as it never vas."
OF""My character," said an alderman, who
had cleared himself from a charge of bribery;
"my character, sir, is like my boots—all the
brighter for blacking."
[IF"No woman should pairit except she who
has lost the power of blushing.
OF"A father called his son into a crowded
stage —"Ben-jam-in !"
OF"Greatness supported by goodness, is bard
to be overt brown.
WHOLE AMI in;it aros.
CHINESE SUGAR CANE.
A COMMITTEE of the United Slates Agricul
tural Society, who recently met at Washing
ton, made a report upon Ihe subject of Chinese
sugar cane, of which the following is a synop
sis :
1. The soil and geographical range of the Chi
nese sugar cane, correspond nearly with those
,of Indian corn. It produces the best crop on
dry lands, but the most luxuriantly in rich bot
toms cr moist loams.
2. It endures cold better than corn, and ex
periences no autumnal frosts. It will also with
stand excessive drought. Ilipens its seed in
September in dry warm soils, in many parts of
the New England States; at the extreme south
it may be planted as late as the 20th of June.
3. Its cost and culture are about the same a3
Indian com.
4. Height of plant when fully grown varies
to eighteen feet, and stalks vary from
half an inch to two inches in diameter. The
weight of the entire crop when fully grown, ta
ken before drying, is from ten to forty tons
Of seed the amount reported from fifteen to
sixty bushels.
5. During the early stages of its growth it
makes but little progress, so slow, indeed, as to
have discouraged many cultivators; but the ap
proach of warm weather imparts to it a wonder
ful rapidity. The period of growth varies from
ninety to one hundred and twenty days.
6. The yield of juice was about 50 per cent.
The number of gallons required to make a gal
lon of syrup varies from 6 to 10; in New Bruns
wick 10 to one; in Indiana and Illinois, 7 to 1.
7. A palatable bread was made from ttie
flour ground from the seed.
S. By accounts from all parts of the country
this plant is universally admitted to be a whole
some food for animals; all parts of it being greed
ily devoured in a green or dried state, by hor
ses, cattle, sheep and swine, without injurious
effects; the latter, especially, fattening upon it
as well as upon corn.
9. Paper of various qualities his been manu
factured from the fibrous parts of the stalk, some
of which appears to be fitted for a special use.
SALT FOR PLUM TREES-
It is almost impossible to cultivate any kind
of plums in this climate, unless salt enter liber
ally as an ingredient upon the compost applied
to them. When this article is used in conjunc
tion with house ashes there appears rarelv to be
much difficulty in producing good and healthy
trees which ultimately prove highly productive
of fair and well developed fruit. When trees
are set in situations in which application of
of compost is not feasible, or where it would
subject the operator to considerable fatigue or
expense, salt, in its crude state, may be appli
ed; or it may be dissolved and poured around
the roots.
If plum trees were carefully washed down
once or twice a year in whiskey ley and suppli
ed with two or three quarts each of salt—care
being taken to retain the soil around -he roots
light and free from weeds, we should hear far
fewer complaints of want of success in this de
partment of poinological enterprise. No fruit
commands a more ready sale or a higher price
in the market. Good plumsareat present soscarce
as to render them a luxury, and those who have
valuable trees in good bearing are realizing a
heavy profit from them. Let those who have
trees profit by the above suggestion, they indi
cate the only legitimate cures to be pursued,—-
.Veic Eng. Farmer.
[TP-CANADA THISTLES should be kept down
either by hoeing or plowing. A plant, weed,
or tree, can no more live without lungs; there
fore, if no leaves are permitted to grow, they
must die. This I know from experience, hav
ing killed several patches on my farm. It a
hoe is used, they should be cut off as deep in
the ground as you can strike the hoe ; and don't
leave it for the boys and hired men to do, but
do it yourself, and see that no green thing is
j left. If a plow is used, once in two or three
weeks will be often enough. One summer will
use them up, if it is thoroughly done. Be sure
to attend to them during the months of July
and August, for Nature will make powerful ef
forts during this time to produce seed for the
propagation of the species, for that is her great
object, and this effort on the part of Nature will
draw hard upon the roots, and weaken them so
much that if they are cut at this season of the
year they are pretty sure to die. I once cut a
patch of them regularly once a week. They
continued to sprout up all through the
without any diminution, until the latter part of
August, when I cut them fir the last time and
sowed the ground in wheat. Not a thistle has
shown itself there since.— Genessee Farmer.
CURE FOR THE AGUE. —A gentleman recent
ly from Central America—a great place for
shakes—informs us that he has seen many ob
stinate cases cured by wearing finely pulveri
zpd rock salt between the leet and the stockings.
VVe cannot vouch for the value of this remedy,
but consider it woithy ol trial.— Genessee Far.
VOL 1, NO. 43.