Newspaper Page Text
i. A/mhcl Enftmj
VOLUME 1.
Grininal.
fOR TiiK IN'I>KPKM>KN'T PRESS.
TO YOU!
By David L. Roath. ■
Brightest, fairest, sweetest, iteaivst 1
To my heart forever nearest!
Glancing on my dazzled eye,
like a seraph flitting by,
Hail thee! blessed spirit-balm.
As tlie traveler hails the palm
On the hot Sahara's breast,
Ere the Sun sinks in the West!
Where the stream is rolling ever—
(Humanstream, to quiet never!)-
Where the cry is almost single,
• Money!" at the golden jingle.
And eneh gazes on the other,
Knowing no such word,as " brother!"
Even there I linger, londv,
Dreaming of thee, dearest, only!
In the midnight, still and solemn,
Bv some ancient mystic column,
Or beneath the restless glory
Crowning forest monarch hoary,
When the World, with battle heated,
Lies to mourn its hopes defeated —
Then across my soul are driven.
Thoughts of thee, like thoughts of Heaven 1
Yes! I revel in my spirit,
Over wealth none can inherit ;
Tis a heart—a peerless treasure.
Leaving nought unknown of pleasure.
Stain will never dim its lustre—
Joys immortal round it cluster—
Time will only make it brighter,
Dearer, sweeter, purer, lighter!
miscellaneous.
FOR THE ISDFEXDENT PRESS.
MY UNCLE SIMON’S PLANTATION;
• OR
sketches of southern life, &c.
BY ABRAHAM GOOSEQUJLL, ESQ.
THE COON'-HUST.
' Yocat irigenti claniore Cithreron,
Taygetique canes.’'—Virg. Georo. hi.
r The echoing hilll‘ai«l "CBiaiifg hounds luvite.’ 1
My last two numbers were descrip
tive oi’ events which happened off the
plantation. My readers must not. how
ever, consider me as wandering from
ray proper bounds; for I design giving
accounts of many things which do not
occur immediately upon Uncle's plan
tation. Part of my title is “Sketches
of Southern Life, &c,” which will com
prehend almost any thing I choose to
write about. ''
Thus much I thought due to consis
tency, and I now proceed to give an
account of a scene which is often en
acted upon Uncle Simon’s premises.
Summer is passed and gone, and old
Boreas occasionally gives us a blast by
way of hint that winter will be upon
us presently. In the meantime, he has
sent before him a pleasant harbinger,
whose surname is Autumn. Now it is
that the pleasures of the chase are again
coming in vogue, and “echoing hills
Sad chiding hounds invite.” Until the
cotton is all picked out, Reynard may
still lie securely in his bed, and give
himself no uneasiness about dogs; but
in the meantime, the coon and some
other game must pay the penalty of the
negroes’ tardiness ‘ in harvesting the
snowy staple.
A day or two ago, Cousin Aristides
told me that if I could afford to get up
by day-break next,morning, w,e would
go out and catch a coon. To this I
readily gave my consent, for I have
always been remarkably fond of hunt
ing. So, after we liadJain down, and
enjoyed all the pleasures which Mor
pheus, by the aid of feather-beds and
downy pillows^could bestow upon us,
for the space of seven or eight hours,
we rose manned for the task before us.
Cousia Aristides’ first act was to take
down a liam’s horn, which hung sus
pended by a leathern string in the
porch, swing i| around his neck, and
blow as if a second Jericho was under
siege. Thereupon, eight eager hounds
rushed from their rating places, and
came running and howling to their
master, as if the walls of the aforesaid
besieged city were about to tumble
• down at their heels.
“All’s ready,” said Cousin Aristides,
'‘let’s go.” >
I should have mentioned that both
myself and my relative Nimrod, had
put on some old clothes, and our worst
boots and hats, The legs of our trow
sers were stuffed into those of our
boots ; for the cunning coon seeks the
muddiest place he can find to avoid his
pursuers, and we certainly did not
want our Sunday rigging
with mud, not even for “that samp old
coon,” himself, - :
Mvfflil| journal:—Pcbotrb to f iterator, politics, ant) CentralHisrcllanji.
We walked down to the creek, about
a, half a mile from the house, and my
companion kept up a continual halloo
ing bv way of encouraging the dogs.
We had been near the stream for some
time, and dusky morn was fast assum
ing the place of sombre night. St ill
not a single dog had once opened, ex
cept a puppy or two, which made an
astonished hare scamper at the top of
hts speed across a neighboring broom
sedge held. These were not yet ini
tiated into the mysteries of eoon-hunt
ing, having been reared since the last
season. No attention was paid them,
either by ourselves or by the dogs,
which had more experience.
Wo passed on by the creek, and by
this time Phoebus peeped over the
eastern bills with his merry face, and
told us that if we did not soon get a
trail, our sport would be up, as raccoons
always seek their dens long before lie
makes his appearance. At?this Cousin
Aristides hallooed louder and oftener
than he did before, and I joined , him.
There was a small lagoon just ahead of
us, and we knew that this was our last
chance. 1f we did not get a trail there,
we should have to go home without
any game. Soon we heard old Loud
er open once in the lagoon just before
we got to it. But he opened so hoarse
ly, and with so little spirit, we knew
it was a very cold trail. However, to
make the best of a bad prospect, we
cheered on the old dog with all our
might. He was immediately joined by
Bingwoodp and we heard them open
alternately, as they slowly proceeded
from us. We overtook them soon, and
tried to get the other dogs to join them;
but the trail was so cold, no others
could discover it.
There was quite a contest between
Louder and Bingwood, to see which
should be the first one to get the trail
■off; Now Uioy would smell tho wholo
length of a log, and now swim to a
chunk, or stump, or bunch of bulrush
es, to find whether the coon had been
there. They examined every tree par
ticularly to see if the game had gone up
any of them. But it all 'seemed like
poor business; for the farther they re
ceded in any; direction from the spot
where Louder first struck the trail, the
fainter became the scent, and the less
frequently either of them opened.—
Now might be seen the different plans
of different canine tacticians. Ring
wood circled round and round, each
circle he described becoming larger and
larger, to see if he could not get the
trail off in some other place; while Lou
der proceeded slowly on, running his
nose over every inch of ground, first
forwards and then backwards, now to
the left, leaving scarcely a hair’s
breadth untried. But our two dogs
worked in vain. They could not trail,
and they could not tree. The coon had
been to the lagoon in the fore part of
the night to get frogs, &c,, and had
left soon after; so that by this time his
trail had gotten so cold, even old Lou
der and Ringwood could not follow it.
We concluded that we would go
round the head of the lagoon, about a
half a mile off, and see if we could not
have better luck. No sooner had we
reached the head, than our two veter
an dogs simultaneously opened, as if
the scent of coon was tolerably hot.—
Some of the other dogs joined in with
them, and all who could smell the trail
buckled down to it like clever fellows.
After they had gone on in a galloping
trail for nearly a quarter of a mile, the
puppies raised their voices in concert
with the other dogs. Like an animat
ed torrent, the pack drove Toward, yell
ing as if old Nick was before them. —
Tire hills reverberated with the echo
of their cry, and the sound of their
voices was hurried along upon the glas
sy surface of the strearmfor several
miles. By and by, had run
very nearly a mile, they came to adcad
halt, and their voices ceased. We soon
came up with them, by taking the
chord of the arc they had described in
running, having thus saved, on our
part, a good de|l of traveling. When
we reached them, they were scattered
in all directions, smelling up all the
trees, or trying to take up the trail
again. Wc knew, by this, that the
coon had taken a tree close by.
It was not long before some of the
more inexperienced hounds began to
bark up a sapling of tolerable size,—
Ringwood and Louder went to the tree,
and commenced smelling on the roots,
and thence up the body, as high as
EATONTON, GA.. SATURDAY. JULY 8, 1854.
they could reach by standing on their
hind-legs. HHiey finally concluded that
their companions were barking up the
wrong tree, and so left them in their
error. As, soon as the two old dogs
were gone, however, the younger ones
left also, so much confidence had they
in their elders. It is a fact, notorious
to every huntsman, that each dog com
mands the respect of the pack in pro
portion to his ability and veracity.—
A puppy, (,r untrained dog, which is
running here and there, and every
where, opening whether he scents the
game or not, is never noticed by the
pack; while a stead) r , well-traineddog,
which never, opens without smelling
the trail, is heeded every time he barks,
and the other dogs run to him, know
ing that the can thereby be put upon
the light track. Such is the force of
veracity, even among brutes.
There is one thing to be observed
here, in regard to the cunning of the
coon. Just before getting to the hol
low tree which contains his den,
he runs up other trees all around
his lodging place, and then jumps off,
so as to deceive the dosrs by making
them bark up the wrong tree. Loud
er and Ring wood were, however, so
well acquainted with the tricks of the
game which they were pursuing, that
the one they were hunting could not
deceive them, as he did the younger
dogs. These latter barked up several
other trees besides the one I have al
ready mentioned, but their opinions
were not endorsed by the old heroes
in whom we had so much confidence.
But, by and by, we heard Louder and
Ringwood barking at a tree with a
great deal of fierceness. They were
soon joined by the other six hounds,
puppies and all. We knew, from their
manner of barking, that they saw the
game, and hastened on as fast as we
could. After emerging from the woods,
we came to a marshy place, all over
grown with saw-grass and small canc.
Looking up a small sapling, about twen
ty yards in the marsh, where the dogs
were barking, we saw a coon. Going
up to tlie tree, cousin Aristides threw
a stick at the animal, which caused it
to jump out. The hounds caught it,
and soon killed it. This was a fe
male.
As soon as the fight was over, Ring
wood circled around and soon struck
another trail. All the other dogs join
ed him, and after they had run about
a hundred yards up the marsh, they
treed up a gum-tree, whose top had
been blown off by the wind. Looking
up this tree, we saw a coon which, at.
sight of us, popped down into his hol
low. We knew, from the size of this
one, that lie was a male. The female
had also tried to reach this den, but
the dogs had pushed her so closely,
she was. compelled to take the small
sapling from which we made her jump,
when she was caught by the hounds.
They had botli been out late.
We bio wed the dogs off from .the
gum, where they had last treed, to go
home and eat our breakfast, and af
terwards bring John with us to cut the
tree down. After we had indulged in
some good hot coflee, nice ham and bis
cuit, which kind aunt Parmela kept
upon the hearth for us, and fed the
dogs, uncle Simon concluded he would
go with us, and enjoy the sport of
catching the second coon., He made
John saddle his horse for him, while
wc ate. As soon as all things-were
ready, uncle mounted his horse, and
cousin Aristides and myself preceded
him on foot. John laid a keen-edged
axe upon his shoulder, and followed
us. The dogs leaped for joy, and ran
off as fast as they could go to the tree
where wo left the coon. When we
got there they were barking, and gnaw
ing the tree with all their might.
John set in with a sturdy arm to cut
the gum down. The hills sent back’
alternately the hayings of the dogs
and the sound of the axe. By and by,
the tree began to totter, and we called
the dogs off a little distance to keep it
from falling upon them. Presently
there was a crash, as the gum flfcU iu a
very thick place of saw-grass and small
cane. The dogs were there in an in
stant, but the coon ran off, and was
hidden from their sight by the matted
growth which I have mentioned. They
bulged right through jhe grass and
cane, guided by their unerring nostril.
The thick vegetation offered but little
resistance to their impetuosity,'and, al
ter running it very .short distance, we,
•* . .L' L>.
If'tTliOlT M'l'.llC, Matron OH .1 i'f'KCTIO.V”
saw the coon bounce up a stump about
fifteen or twenty feet high-. As good
luck would have it, lie had run right
from the centre of the marsh, which
was only about fifty yards wide, out
to the bank, where uncle Simon sat
upon his horse. When we got to the
stump, up which he had run, there he
stood on its top, with back and tail
curved, and bristles erect iooking.fbr
all the world as cousin Dorothy’s tom
cat would look, if he were t\?ice as
large as he is, His eyes flashed with
rage, and his tusks, which were fully
a half inch, long and keen as needles,
together with the sharp claws of his
fore-feet, showed that lie would! do bat
tle ere he would die.
We determined to make John hold
Louder and Ringwood, for they, being
old and experienced in killing coons,
would have soon put an end to our
sport. So John caught these two dogs
by the backs of their necks, and cousin
Aristides threw, a stick up the stump,
at which the coon jumped down. As
soon as he touched the ground, the
puppies mounted him as if had been
only a hare. At this he reared on his
hind-legs, uttered a scream of indigna
tion, and, placing one paw on each ear
of one of the puppies, soused his head
into the mud and water, at the same
time burying his tusks in the poor fel
low’s nose, whose yells were now ad
ded tojlte squallings of the coon. This
was all done in a second. . In another
second, he had served the second pup
py in the same way. Both of these
contented themselves witlf howling
and barking during the remainder of
the fight. Nothing could induce them
again to take hold. There were now
only four dogs to fight, who were serv
ed in a way similar to that of the pup
pies. But they would return to the
onset. They snapped, barked and
yelled, and the coon screamed and
fought like a tiger; while cousin Aris
tides, uncle Simon and myself, halloo
ed at the top of our voices. It requir
ed all of John’s exertions to hold the
dogs Louder and Ringwood. Mud
and water splashed on every side, and
such a hubub and confusion was raised
as is rarely to be heard, except at the
death of a coon.
The coon kept fighting and retreat
ing, until he got to a small pond, into
the middle of which he swam, balanc
ed himself on the water, and bade de
fiance to his pursuers. The dogs swam
to him, and, as each one approached,
lie jumped on their heads, and sunk
them under the water. This was oft
en repeated, until the hounds began to
grow tired of the sport. It is impossi
ble for any number of dogs to kill a
coon in swimming water. But dogs
well trained have a way of managing
which shall be illustrated in this place
by old Louder. Cousin Aristides hal
looed to John to let go his dogs. Old
Louder swam directly to the coon,
caught him about the breast, and turn
ed immediately round to swim to a
dry place. In vain did bis coonship bite,
scratch and squall. The old veteran
pursued the even tenor of his way to
the bank, where, arrived, he pinned
the coon down to the ground, by re
taining his hold upon his breast. Ring
wood got hold of his head, and the
other four dogs catching hold in vari
ous places, soon killed him. After he
had been disabled, the puppies caught
him, and guawed and bit, him, to wreak .
their vengeance upon him for sousing
their heads in the mud—thus aping
their fellow-men when placed under
similar circumstances.
Cousin Aristides had both coons
skinned, and their hides nailed up on
the walls of the barn, among other
trophies of his skill as a huntsman. —
Old David barbecued the flesh, gome
of which we all ate, and which the ne
groes consider quite a dainty.
r
A Joke for the End of tjie Sea
son.—lt is not at all surprising that
the Grand Opera of Meyerbeer, should
have made such a hit at Convent Gar
den ; lor it stands to reason, or, in oth
er words, it is as plain as the nose up
on our own face, that the Huge-noso
(Huguenots) should be the greatest fea
ture of the season. Sineelhe .days of-
Oyidius Naso, or Ovid with the Nose,
we have met with no Opera equal to
the Opera we have named; in aptitude
for leading the public by the facial
prominence implied in the title of the
Huguenots.
A Stock'Company for trading with
Japan is now organizing in New
York '' • * :*
The Aristocracy oe Money, and
the Nobility of Learning.— The
following just reflections occur in an
address recently delivered by Hiram
Ketchum, Esq., on the occasion of the
death of Chief Justice Jones:
Sir, there are now living in Europe,
two very distinguished men, barons,
both very eminent in their line, both
known to the civilized world: one is.
Baron Rothschild, and the other is
Baron Humboldt; one distinguished
for the accumulation of wealth, the
other for the accumulation of knowl
edge. What are the possessions of the
philosopher ? Why, sir, I heard a gen
tleman whom I have seen here this af
ternoon, a distinguished member of this
community, say that, on a recent visit
to Europe, lie paid his respects to that
distinguished philosopher, and was ad
mitted to an audience. He found him,
at the age of eighty-four years, fresh
and vigorous, in a small room, nicely
sanded, with a large deal table uncov
ered in the midst of that room, contain
ing his books and writing apparatus. —
Adjoining this was a small bed-room,
in which he slept. Here this eminent
philosopher received a visitor from tlie
United States. He conversed with him;
he spoke of his works. “My works,”
said he, “you will find in the adjoin
ing library, but I am too, poor to own
a copy of them. I have not the means
to buy a full copy of my own work's.”
Now, sir, which of these barons do
you think, even in this age of gold,
receives the greatest amount of the ho
mage of the human race ? I speak
not of the homage of intelligent man,
but of the honor paid by the masses.
Let them both come here and pass,
through our streets, and see to which
of them the hat of the multitude will
be doffed with the most cheerfulness
and alacrity.
What they Won’t Own To.—
Punch says, in his Pocket-Book for
1854, “there are several things' which
you never can by any accident get a la
dy—be she ypung or old—to confess
to.” Here are some of them: “That
she laces tight. That her shoes are too
small for her. That she is ever tired
at a ball. That she paints. That she
is as-old sis clic loolc?. That oho hfts
been more than five minutes dressing.
That she kept you waiting. That she
blushed when a certain person’s name
was mentioned. That she is fond of
scandal. That she can’t keep a secret.
That she —she of all persons in the
world—is in love. That she doesn’t
want a now bonnet. That she can do
with one single thing less when she is
about to travel. That she hasn’t the
disposition of an angel, of a saint —or
how else could she go through one
half of what she does ? That she does
not know better than every one else
what is best for her. That she is a flirt
or coquette. That she is ever in the
wrong.”
The Gait. —One may judge of the
spirit and disposition of a man by his
ordinary gait and manner of walking.
He who habitually pursues abstract
thoughts, looks down on the ground,
lie who is accustomed to sudden im
pulses, or is trying to seize upon some
necessary recollection, looks up with a
kind of jerk. He who is a steady, cau
tious, merely practical man, walks on
deliberately, his eyes straight before
him; and even in his most musing
moods observes things at hand sufli
ciently to avoid porter’s knot, or a
butcher’s tray. But the man with
strong ganglions—of pushing, lively
temperament, who, though practical, is
yet speculative—the man who is emu
lous and active, and ever trying to rise
in life, sanguine, alert, bold—walks
with a spring, looks rather above the
heads of his fellow passengers, but with
a quick easy turn of his head, which is
highly set on his shoulders; his mouth
is a little open, his eye is bright, rath
er restless, but penetrative; his port
has something of defiance.
Grasshopper Roast. —The editor
of the Empire County (California) Ar
gus describes a great dish among the
Digger Indians, in the Districts where
the Grasshoppers are very numerous,
and gives the following account oftheir
mode of preparing the delicacy:
“A piece of ground is sought where
they most abound, in the centre of
which an excavation is made, large and
deep enough to prevent the insect hop
ping out when once in. The entire par
ty of Diggers, old and young, male and
female, then surround as much of the
adjoining grounds as they can, and
with each a green bough in hand, whip
ping and thrashing on every side, grad
ually approach the centre, driving the
insects before them in countless num
bers, till at last all, or nearly all, are
secured in the pit. In the meantime
smaller excavations are made, answer
ing the purpose of ovens, in which fires
are kindled, and kept up till the sur
rounding earth, for a snort distance,
becomes sufficiently heated, together
with a flat stone, large enough to cov
er the oven. The Grasshoppers are
now taken in coarse bags, and after be
ing thoroughly soaked in salt water for
a few moments, are emptied into the
ovens and closed in. Ten or fifteen
i minutes suffice to roast them, when
theyjre taken out and eaten, without
further preparation, anl with much ap
parent relish, or, as is sometimes tlie
case, reduced to powdi r and made into
soup. And having fro rn curiosity tast
ed, not of the soup, but of the roast,
really if one could but divest himself
of the idea of eating an insect as we do
an oyster or shrimp, wit iout other
aration than simple roas ing, they would
not be considered veryiad eating even
Uy iiiwvo i’«fi ut'd epicure* tluqji the nig
ger Indians.” "' . Vo .. .
What does a Northern doughface ev
er do but submit? The majority of
tlie House was put under the iron rule
of the slave plantation, and lashed in
to servile obedience with a single crack
of the slave-driver’s whip. — Tribune .
Why die dickens don’t you send folks
to Washington who are not doughfa
ces ? You have been talking ten years
about tlie unanimity of the Northern
people against slavery, slaveholders,
and tho South generally, yet these sla
very-hating people never send Repre
sentatives that suit Greeley, Garrison,
and Fred. Douglass. Every time they
vote with the South, no matter what
it is upon, they are called traitors, ac
cused of selling themselves, betraying
their trust, and other vi llainous things.
Still the people keep on sending them.
Even Gerrit Smith is accused of not
standing up to the rack as he ought.—
What in the name of common sense do
these fanatics want? Why don’t they
send Greeley again, or Garrison, or
Beecher, or Mrs. Stowe, or somebody
who isn’t a doughface?—New York Day
Book.
The Largest Cannon in the
W ORLI). —Among the objects of curios
ity preserved at Bejapoor, is a large
gun formed of a mixed metal, of which
there is said to be some portion of gold,
and a very considerable quantity of
silver. The weight is forty tons, and
it is allowed to be the largest piece of
ordnance of the same description in the
world. This splendid gun was the
work of Chuleby Koomy Khan, an of
flicer in the service of Iloosscin Nizam
Shah, at Ahmud-nuggur. The mould
in which it was cast is still in existence,
and lies neglected in the garden of the
tom of the founder, which has been
converted into quarters for an English
officer. This gun is supposed to have
been taken in 1562, by Ally Adi-
Shah.
Lusus Natural —Avery great cu
riosity may be seen at our office in the
shape of a chicken or a pair of chick
ens, we cannot exactly say which, or
whether Shanghai, or not, we are
equally at a loss to determine, having
but one head and two entirely distinct
bodies, with the usual complement of
wings and feet. The egg was laid
and the chicken or chickens ltatched
on the premises of the Victoria Hotel,
in this city.— Charleston Courier.
*laron Burr and Jflrs. Alex
ander Hamilton.
A correspondent of the Detroit En
quirer, under date of Allegan, March
6th, 1854, relates a striking anecdote
concerning Burr and the widow of the
distinguished man who fell by his hand
in a duel. He says lie was an eye
witness of a thrilling and painful inci
dent about the year 1822, on board one
of the old Fulton and Livingston line
of boats, on his way from New York
to Albany. All who travelled in
those day's will recollect that the din
ner hour was quite as interesting as
now. The ladies were of course pro
vided for first; and the gentlemen who
stood near the foot of the tables could
crowd upon the back seats (so that they
retreated as the ladies came down,)
until the latter were all seated; then
such as were not crowded quite oft',
could take a seat on the signal being
given.
Among the first that were passing
up next to the berths, and back of one
table, was Aaron Buit, and it was the
lot of the narrator to be next to him.
They got as far up as those ahead of
us could go, before coming to seats oc
cupied by ladies on that side, and all
came to a stand facing the table. At
that moment there came down oppo
site to them a large lady, richly dressed
in black, and veiled, and while yet
standing opposite to Burr, she put her
veil aside, and raising her eyes across
the table, she saw, with his eyes direct
ly upon her, Aaron Burr, arid 6nly
separated by the width of the table.—■
She gave a loud scream and fell, but
there being quite a number standing
by, they caught her and took her out.
The boat was then about approaching
Newburgh, and she insisted on being
put ashore at once, and she would go
no further in the boat with Burr on
board,"and it was done as she wished.
During the whole scene at the table,
adds the writer, Burr stood like a
statue, looking on with a stoic-lilce in
difference and composure, never mov
ing a muscle ; and, as soon as Mrs. H.
was removed, he sat down and ate a
very hearty dinner, and went on his
way as usual. It was remarked at the
time that Mrs. Hamilton said it was
the first time she had ever set her eyes
on Aaron Burr since the day he killed
her husband, and.no doubt, it was the
last. , .... : :
... -3- . ..
{terms, §2,00 A YEAR;
NUMBER 12.
Benefit of Action —SffTar from !
complete inaction being perfect enjoy
ment, there arc few greater sufferings
than that which the total absence of ocr
cupation generally induces. Count
Caylies, the celebrated French am
tiquary, spent much time in engraving
the plates which illustrated his valua-;
ble work. When his friends asked
him why he worked so hard at such
. i n£U?.]umui£il nPplinntlOTl- 110
said — u Je grave,pour ne pas rue
—I engrave lest T should hang my
self. When Napoleon was slowly
withering away from disease and ennui
together, on the rock of St. Helena, it
was told him that one of his old friends,
an ex-colonel in the Italian army, was
dead. “What disease killed him?”
asked Napoleon. “ That of having
nothing to do,” it was answered.-
“Enough,” said Napoleon, “even had
he been an emperor.'’
Aijrunltnval.
How to Determine the height a
Colt will attain when full
Grown. —Mr. Jarhes 11. Martin of
Kingston, Kentucky, gives out the fol
lowing upon tins point, which is cer
tainly novel and perhaps it may be
true:
“I can tell you how any man may
know within half an inch, the height a
colt will attain to when full grown.—
The rule may not hold good in every
instance, but in nine out of ten it will.
When live colt gets to be three weeks
old, or as soon as it is perfectly straight
ened in its limbs measure from the
edge of the hair on the hoofs to the
first joint, and for every inch it will
grow to the height of a hand of four
inches when its growth is matured. —
Thus if the distance be found sixteen
inches, it will make the horse sixteen
hands high. By this means a man
may know something of what sort of a
horse, with proper care, he is to expect
from his colt. Three years ago I bought
two very shabby looking colts for
twenty dollars each, and sold them re
cently for three hundred dollars. So
much for knowing how to guess prop
erly at a colt.”— Kentuchy Yeoman.
How to Plant Cucumbers, &c.,
to avoid Bugs. —As the cost of seed
is trifling, we have for the past few
years succeeded in getting good vines
by the following process: Instead of
planting a few seeds in hills at the dis-.
tance they would ultimately be requir
ed to grow, we have put in a large
quantity over the whole ground; so
that at first we have had a hundred
plants where only pne was needed.—
Sometimes we have had a plant come
up on every two inches over the whole
bed.
As fast as the expanding leaves of
the vines interfere with each other, we
cut off the weaken ones with a pair of
shears, so as not to disturb the roots of
those remaining. The “bugs” have
always materially assisted in the thin
ning process, but we have never failed
to find twice or thrice the needed
number of plants entirely untouched.
When beyond the reach of danger*
from insects, all the weaker points are
removed ; and a solitary vine left here
and there has been enough to cover the
ground. . ’ / '' '
The same ground will yield much
better, by having the vines at equal
distances from each other, than if two
or three are left together in the same
hill, since the roots have more room to
grow, and they find a greater amount
of nourishment when thus isolated.- —
The fruit will also be more solid and
of better quality.
It should also be remembered that
air and light are essential to the growth
and maturity of the fruit; and it is
better to occasionally cut out a thrifty
plant, than that the ground be too
densely covered. Just vines enough
to thinly cover the ground, will pro
duce better than double this number.
[American Agm.ulturist
The Sugar Crop. —The New Or
leans Picayune says the sugar crops>f
Louisiana will not be inferior, either
in quantity or quality, to what it
in either of the last two years. SagjPP
planters in various parts of the State
have commenced grinding.
African Cotton.— ln LibeHriteh
rica, there is a plaid which grows
enty feet high, and bears cotton in bolls
similar to the common cotton plant of
this country. The staple is very short,
but has a soft silken texurc arid is of
a delicate fawn colour. The odor is
exactly like cotton/though its appear
ance is quite unlike it. •
: ■■ ■■ t ,r - 1 '2 iiljjMi
The Island Creek bottpm laais in
McCracken county, Kentucky# are
growing over with beautiful Clover;! ust
as thick as if it had been sown. The
growth is spontaneous, rendering those
landslip that section of the State, very
larger yield known this year tha; ;