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THE REFLECTOR.
MILLEDGEVILLE, G. TUESDAY, AUGUST 11,1818.
NO. 40.
biography:
H OK THE LIKE OF MR. MONROE.
es Monroe was born in the year 1759.
istmoreland county, Virginia. The
f liis birth, a farm on the banks of
tomac, has been held in his family up-
of one hundred and fifty years. Mr.
e was educated at William and Mary,
a mater of many of our most distin-
statesmen. In the memorable year,
hen bis rountrv summoned all her
c to the tents, and all her wisdom to
binet, young Monroe’s name was en-
as that of a cadet, in the third Yir-
pgiincut; a gallant baud, command-
general Mercer, who fell at the battle
nceton. lie soon received the com-
n of a lieutenant in Thornton’s coin-
anil marched, under the command of
il Weedon, to Ncw-York, where his
lent joined the army of general Wash-
. Lieutenant Monroe was in the ac-
f Harlaem Heights, and White. Plains;
retreat through Jersey, and in the sit-
in Trenton he bore a share. In the
air be received a wound, and his good
t during the action, was rewarded by
al promotion, in a new regiment raised
ncl Thurston. Captain Monroe was
vited into the family of lord Sterling,
whom he served as an aid-de-camp in
paignsof 1777 and 1778. He was
I in the battles of Brandywine, Ger-
n and Monmouth ; and his conduct
arked by the distinguished approba
tin' commander in chief,
tain Monroe being anxious to regain
k in the line, which he lost when lie
; a member of the family of lord Ster-
proposed, in 1778, to raise a corps
native state. General Washington
recommended this measure, and the
iture authorized the raptnin to enlist a
nt, of which they promised him the
id. In this laudable attempt he did
ced ; and, in the latter part of the
> commenced the study of the. law, in
e of Mr. Jefferson, who was then go
of the state. In 1780, after the cap-
Chavleston, he visited the southern
hen under the baron de Kalb, at the
of governor Jefferson, in the charac-
military commissioner. In 1782 hi 1
icted by the voters of King George
member of assembly ; from which,
mmediately elevated, by that body,
in the executive council. In the
; year, we* find him placed in eon-
liere he continued during the legal
three years. From the journals of
it would appear that he was an ac-
hcr. The county of Spottsylvania
a a member of tbe legislature in 1787,
788 he was one of the convention for
a constitution for the United States.
90 to 1794 he was a member of the.
the United States; and in the lat
he was appointed a minister pleni-
y to the court of France, by gene-
ington. In this mission he was clo
ve years, when he was recalled,
tience of his conduct having dis-
e president. He published a book
of himself; which, like all other
ms respecting the matters on which
d outs are to decide, had the effect
lent vindication with his own par
furnished the other with the most
y evidence of the propriety of
ashington’s derision. In 1799 he
1 governor of Virginia ; in \viiich
remained three year,,. On the
of this time, li# was appointed, by
Jeffcrso*;,, In conjunction with Mr.
> Vncn resident minister in France,
aordinary and minister plrnipo-
) that country ; and he was eni-
j ac't, in concert with Mr. Charles
in the same character, in Spain,
bassy, the purchase of Louisiana
cted, the preparatory measures, it
, having been previously arrang-
LivingSton.
nroe next repaired to London, in
of 1808, to succeed Mr. King
■quested permission to return
1804 lie left England for Spain
ty with tbe original plan of his
o early as that year, it was found
policy to call at Paris on the way
and, accordingly, Mr. Monroe
,cli his place of ultimate destina-
805. He continued at the court
six months and returned to Lon
lie remained two years A. a half,
nter of 1805-6 the British nation
severe loss in the death of Mr
was succeeded in the administra
te affairs by Mr. Fox. The hos
is statesman to the principles
overned his country for many
ig been evinced in a clandestine
with one foreign and inimical
an open admiration of another,
casnnablv supposed that a satis
ngement might be made, be
tween Great Britain and America, under bis
auspices. But lie followed bis illustrious ri
val too soon to enable these calculations to
he realized. In 1806, Mr. Pinkney, a dis
tinguished advocate of the Maryland bar,
was associated with Mr. Monroe, under a
special mission, to negotiate with lords Hol
land and Auckland, for Great Britain. By
these commissioners a treaty \>as formed;
but its provisions were so exceptionable, in
the view of president Jefferson, that he. took
upon himself the responsibility of returning
i, without submitting it to bis constitutional
advisers. Several attempts were made by
our commissioners to bring matters to a more
acceptable resuit, but without success. The
affair of the Chesapeake produced a rupture
between the two governments, and Mr. Mon
roe returned to his home. He was now o-
bligcil to re-com nence a political career, be
ing. in 1810, again elected to the general
assembly of Virginia. Shortly after the
meeting of the legislature he was once more
called to the gubernatorial chair, in April,
1811, while in the exercise of this office, he
was appointed secretary of state. In the
following year Mr. Madison succeeded Mr.
Jefferson in the presidency. Hostilities
commenced against Great Britain, and Mr.
Monroe was obliged to take the department
of war under his charge. At tbe end of the
t Tin for which Mr. Madison was elected, he
was succeeded by Mr. Monroe, who now
saw himself, in the close of a long and ac
tive career, at the pinnacle of liis ambition.
On this height, we may gaze at him, and call
to mind, without any difficulty, all, the steps oi
liis progress in political life. But it behoves
is to remember the caution of a wise peopl
who did not pretend to judge until the actoi
oad retired from the scene, and all Hie pomp
and circumstance of authority bad vanished.
Tbe constant intercourse which Mr. Mon
roe has enjoy ed with the most polished courts
of Europe, must have enlarged liis views of
men, and his country is entitled to expect
from him more than ordinary dignity, up
rightness and intelligence. That lie con
tends, on the very tlireshhold, with great
prejudices, must be acknowledged ; but it is
in bis power to redeem what lie may hav
lost with some.; with others, to establish the
most irrefragable title to their gratitude
and, from all, to win that applause wiiicl
follows those who regard principles and nut
men. This has long been a common cant
tnnng inferior candidates for popularity ; but
we bail the adoption of the sentiment, in
public a manner as it has been avowed by
tbe President, because it seems to challenge
our scrutiny of its practical application un
der bis administration.
It will be perceived that we have confined
ourselves, in this sketch, to the narrow path
of chronology. As a military man, it is
probable that the name of Mr. Monroe
would not have been found in the annals of
liis time, if it had not become connected by
other services with the history of liis coun
try. It is only as a statesman and a jurist
that his character may be contemplated. To
view him in these aspects Would he to pre
sent to the reader a new edition of a history
of restrictive systems and neutral rights,
which is too stale for garrulity herself. In
our relations with Spain liis labors will he
remembered while tiie stream of the Missis
sippi is subsidiary to American enterprise ;
but a large account with that ignoble court
still remains for other negotiators to adjust.
We trust the time rapidly approaches when
tlic last resort shall excite apprehension
where we have sued so long for justice.
That he did not succeed in liis negotiations
in forming a treaty with the British govern
ment Was not thei fault of either of tiie com
missioners. The times were out of joint,
and if Mr. Monroe had had a Richelieu for
Ids successor, he could have done no more.
Mr. Monroe takes the helm of state at a
moment particularly auspicions to the de
signs of a ruler, who is sincerely impressed
with the duties of that station. The people
of other countries have groped their way in
to political existence, by means so gradual,
that they are not perceptible to tbe keenest
optics of national pride ; but America, like
her own emblem, at a single spring has reach
'd the loftiest branches. She lias contended
against the greatest power that ever existed.
With the arms, and on tlie favorite clement
f her adversary, she lias won laurels of fair
renown. In the arts of peace, she surpas
ses many of the European nations; and in
those comforts which constitute tiie real hap
piness of a people, she may be envied by the
civilized world. To the ruler of such a
country a great trust is confided. In the ar
rangement of the materials of which the po
litical machine, is composed, he will be re
quired to perform the most difficult objects of
bis office ; and on these occasions it would
be the part of a good man to act upon pub
lic principles and national grounds. Thus
would be occupy a place in tbe gratitude of
the worthy, and history would inscribe liis
name among those who have been the bene
factors of mankind.—1‘ori Folio.
WASHINGTON IRVING,
Who stands at tbe bead of American wits,
is endued with a keen and intuitive percep
tion, a taste the most delicate and refined, a
uinuur rich and plajful, and a mind stored
with brilliant conceptions and ludicrous com
bination of images. Enclosed I send you
is Salmagundi and Knickerbocker, works
which lasli with sportive severity the reign-
follies ol' the day, which abound in tine
touches of humour and sparkle with the
brightest rorruscatinns of wit.
The mental powers of this elegant satirist
were early ripened into excellence. Prema
ture exuberance of genius, so frequently
portending sterility, was, in this instance,
lie forerunner of a rich and fruitful harvest.
Mr. Irving’s acquirements in polite litera
ture arc as extensive as his imagination is
iioundless and excursive; his intellectual
features bold yet finely proportioned, like,
the Apollo of Belvidere, unite firmness to
delicacy, and strength to elegance.
In his manners to strangers reserved, and
occasionally laboring under slight embar-
•assment; he is easy, open, affable and com
municative to tbe companions of bis social
hours.—In colloquial entertainments liis wit
seldom, as might naturally be expected,
flashes on the brain or kindles the heart into
merriment. Deficient in readiness of ex-
presssion, his words follow at a distance the
celerity of Ins conceptions. In his strict-
ires on the fine arts, and his reflections on
men and manners, he displays a knowledge
of polite learning and of human nature ex
tensive. critical and just.—Dennie.
AGRICULTURAL.
PEACH TREEsi.
The peach may be ranked with the most
delicious fi uit that can be produced in any
country. It is generally raised from the
stone, but the best kinds are. those propagat
ed by innoculation or grafting.
The peach tree is subject to many calami
ties, and is in general short-lived ; its pre
servation to any considerable age, is only
to be ensured by skill and attention—its pre
cious fruit is, therefore, forbidden to the
slothful, the negligent, and the ignorant.
'The peach tree is liable to three misfor
tunes or calamities—first, the fly—second,
the breaking of limbs, which brings on a
decay—third, to wounds received on the
body by bursting of the bark by severe frosts
in winter, and tbe injuries done to it by birds,
insects, 6cc. But the most general decay of
peach trees, is owing to a worm, which ori
ginates from a large fly, that resembles a
common wasp. This fly perforates the bark
and deposits an egg in tbe moist or sappy
part of it. The most common place of per
foration is at the surface of the earth where
the rougher and harder hark which is expos
ed to atmospherical influence, begins to
change to the softer character of that which
covers the roots. In this particular part the
fly is able to puncture tbe surface and there
introduce itseggs. This they perform in our
climate from the middle of July through Au
gust and September. In August, for the
most part the worms assume the chrysalis
state, and in eight or ten days are transfor
med into flies. Then they immediately be
gin to deposit their eggs, which are soon
batched into worms, and thus the round of
transformation common to the insect tribe is
completed. The eggs deposited by tbe fly
at the time and manner just stated, are chan
ged into worms ; and it is in the worm state
they do the mischief, by prey ing upon the
soft inner bark of the tree which i^s the me
dium of circulation for the sup, thus inter
rupting the flow of the sap—the immediate
consequence of which is, the destruction of
the fruit, and finally the destruction of the
tree. Gum issuing out of a peach tree near
the surface of the ground is a sure sign that
there are worms under the bark.
Various means have been resorted to and
with various success, for the purpose of de
stroying these worms or of preventing them
from doing injury to the trees. These vari
ous methods shall now he given as practised
by some of the most respectable and distin
guished farmers of our country.
Dr. Tilton of the state of Delaware.—I shall
say but little on the cultivation of this useful
tree ; but will barely remark, that it should
always be planted shallow, with the soil rais
ed about it in the form of a bill; that For
sythe’s method of heading down the peach
tree a year or two after planting, insures the
most vigorous growth ; and that tilling the
ground, for some years, after sitting them
out in orchards, is essential to the rapid and
successful growth of the trees. The diseas
es and early death of our peach trees, is a
fertile source of observation, far from being
exhausted. Among the insects which arc
great enemies to these trees is a little beetle,
called curculio, about the size of a pea bug,
which punctures the fruit and occasions it to
fall off and rot before it comes to maturity.
These inserts may be exterminated hv means
of hogs. This voracious animal, if Butter
ed to go at large in orchards, devours all the
fruit that falls,, and among others the curcu-
lions, in the maggot state, which may he con
tained in the shell. Being thus generally de
stroyed in the embryo state, there will be few
or no bugs to ascend from the earth in the
spring, to injure the fruit. Many experienced
farmers have noted the advantage of hogs
running in tlicir orchards. The best method
of destroying the wasp-like insect (which
bores tlie*bark of the tree, and delights in
that region just below thesurfaceof the earth)
that I have ever employed, is to draw the
dirt from the root of the tree, in the fall, and
pour boiling water on the roots. In tiie
spring my practice is to return the soil to the
tree in the form of a hill. By means of this
sort, a tree may be preserved many years.
Richard l’etcrs, Venn.—The worm or grub,
produced by the wasp, depositing its proge
ny in the soft bark near the surface of the
ground, is the common destroyer of tiie
peach tree. I remove the earth a few inches
round the tree in August or September. Af
ter J uly the wasji ceases to pierce the hark
and to make its deposits. I pour round the
butt of the tree, beginning about one foot a-
bovc tbe ground, a quart or more (not being
nice about the quantity) of boiling iiot soap
suds or water. This kills the egg or worm
lodged in the tender bark ; and, of course
prevents its ravages tbe next season. I also
have the trees bared at the roots and expo
sed to the winter. 1 have lost some in this
way ; but I still continue the practice. I
have been in the habit of doing this fur ten or
twelve years, and prefer it to any other treat
ment. To supply deficiencies, 1 plant young
trees every year. When trees become sick
ly, I grub them up; I find that sickly trees
often infect those in vigor near them, by
some morbid effluvia. The young trees sup
ply their loss, and I have no trouble in nur
sing those in a state of decay; which is com
monly a hopeless task.
li'm. Vo,re, Burlington, JV", Jersey.—I al
ways search the roots of my trees twice in
the season, last of July and September. On
the first of October, 1 open the ground a-
l’ound the roots so as to leave a basin of the
size of a common wash basin—in this state
they are left until the next spring—the ice
and snow which fill the hole during the win
ter, effectually kills the worm should it have
eluded my search. 1 also endeavor to pre
vent the limbs from breaking and from hear
ing excessively, by close prunning, which I
have long found more efficacious in peach,
than in any other fruit trees.
John If. Cocke, Virginia.—I think I have
discovered a remedy for the worm which
preys upon peach trees at or near tlicir roots,
and which is so destructive to their existence
This remedy consists in tobacco. As much
cured tobacco as is tied up in a bundle, viz :
from four to six leaves is sufficient for a tree
The tobacco in a moist state, so as to render
it flexible, is bound round the body of the
tree just at the surface of the earth, encir
cling the part where the fly deposits its eggs.
This precaution is to be taken before' the
hatching of the flies—the first of July is
early enough, but to make the experiment
successful it should not be put off longer than
this period. The tobacco, so generally de
leterious to the insect tribe, is so also to this
destructive fly, and thereby prevents its ap
proach.
My first experiments with tobacco were
confined to ten or twelve peach trees ; the
next spring 1 found (bat the trees still threw
out their gum near tbe surface, and I fear
ed the experiment had failed ; upon a close
examination however, I perceived that the
guin had issued out from the old wounds of
the former year, which were not yet perfect
ly heated. The last summer 1 again applied
the tobacco, and this spring have assiduous
ly examined the trees. I pon the w hole, 1 fmd
that those trees which have enjoyed the tobac
co application for two years, have all their
wounds completely healed and throw out no
gum ; and in no instance have I found the
worm to have existed, when the tobacco was.
applied. From these farts, it is evident that
tobacco stalks, when stripped of their leaves,
would be excellent to throw around the roots
of fruit trees—Raleigh Register. t
ST01’ THE RUNAWAYS.
RANAWAY from the subscri
ber's plantation, near Eatonton,
two negro fellows, one named El-
lick, 40 or 45 years of age,about
six feet high, and proportionate
size, of a yellowish completion,
or a full blooded negro, and of humble manners:
The other named Solomon, 18 or 19 years of age,
of middle size, smooth skin, and rather dark
complexion, thick pouting lips, full eyes, and
bends more than usual in Ins knees when he
walks—had on oznaburg and tow linen clothes
when they went away. They will make for Vir
ginia. A liberal reward will be given, for their
apprehension and securement, and in case of de
livery all expenses paid.
C. B. STKOXG.
• F.atonton, Georgia, July 1, 1818.
JOB HUNTING,
Of all kinds,done at the Office of the ‘ Reflector f