Newspaper Page Text
agriculture, ftlnuttfidurrs, fcx.
From Wilrncr & Smith’s Times, June 29.
The end of the Cotton Commission,
EAST INDIA AND UNITED STATES COTTON.
The House of Commons was occupied for seven
hours with the Cotton question. Mr. Bright’s Royal
Commission was of course, by common consent
consigned to the tomb, but upon the whole the dis
cussion to which the lion, member for Manchester’s
motion gave rise was valuable, and showed that
Parliament lias made some advance in its aeqain
tance with India.
India cannot furnish Britain with a great supply
of cheap and good cotton. The experiment has
been fairly tried for thirty-six years—and failed. In
dia cotton forms now, as it did thirty years ago, in
quantity about one-tenth and in value about one
twentieth part of our consumption. American Cot
ton has increased in the same time to the enormous
amount of TOO millions of lbs. and by it is maintain
ed a manufacture of the value of some £50,000,000
through which subsists, directly or indirectly, at
least one-sixth part of the population of the empire.
American skill and industry, with boundless fertile
lands, and no rent have proved a sufficient compen
sation. American Cotton has improved in quality
as well as quantity. Not so Indian: What it was
when first imported, near sixty years ago, and what it
probably was in the time of Alexander the Great, or
even of the great legislator Menu, so it is at this day.
The weaver who wore Menu’s robe had to tree his
raw material of 25 per cent, of sheer dirt, and so has
the Manchester and Glasgow manufacture of the ar
ticle now imported.
Let us for a moment, refer to the causes which
have led to the failure in producing Cotton, contras
ted with our success in other branches ot industry.
The culture of a Cotton fitted to our demands, so
far as the processes of agriculture are concerned, a
great deal of care and skill is required, to which In
dian industry is unequal. This is a branch of indus
try into which no Europnan has engaged without
loss. The opinions of two distinguished botanists
who have specially attended to the subject, Doctors
Wallich and Boyle, deserve attention. These high
authorities are distinctly of opinion that the climate
and seasons of continental India are unsuited to the
successful growth of all the better varieties of the
Cotton plant.
In the lower Gangetic provinces of India, cotton
for home use is largely produced; but there is none
for exportation. On the contrary, the provinces im
port it from the poorer and less populous countries
of the South and West, and, as the greatest Indian
authority says —Henry Colebrook for TO years.
China, it may be added, is in the same state with
the Gangetic provinces. She has been a great cot
ton growing country for many ages. Let ns sup
pose, however, that they consume only to one-half
the value, or at the rate of os. for each individual of
300 millions; leaving the remainder estimated TO
millions for the inhabitants of the Northern provin
ces; clothed, for the most part, in wool or hair; and
we shall have for China a consumption of cotton
cloths of the value of £50,000, which is probably
equal in value to our own; and it is well ascertained,
that the cloth which it receives from India, and Siam
and other countries, forms but a trifling amount of
its whole consumption.
It would not have been reasonable in us to have
expected, sixty years ago, that Great Britain, grow
ing in wealth and commerce, was to become a great
corn-exporting country, simply because, at that time,
Britain exported a little wheat; neither is it reasona
ble to expect that India is to become a great cotton
exporting country, when India is moving, merely
because she exports driblets of bad cotton to Eng
land and China.
We have territories of our own, with abundance
of fertile and unrented land, perfectly well adapted
to produce cotton of every requisite quality, and
with climates unquestionably more congenial to the
plant than any part of the American Union, through
out all of which the~winter kills the plant, and for
bids the possibility, when it is desirable, of a second
crop. In British Guiana and our Antilles we have
about 112,000 square miles of territory, much of
which is well situated to the growth of cotton, al
though comparatively little to the growth of sugar
cane. They contain a population exceeding < 00,000,
which can entertain no prejudice to the mild, easy,
and to them obsolete cultivation ot cotton, as they
do to the service and slave-reminiscent culture of the
cane, and manufacture of sugar. W e must really
hear no more of scarcity of labor, since the A\ est
Indians are now known to waste it, as the Irish do
their potatoes. Sugar-growing in Bengal has been
just as disastrous to the planters of Bengal with
600 inhabitants to the square mile, and twopence a
day, as to any of the complaining planters of the
\V est Indies. Both had alike carried on their busi
ness, by bounties paid out of the pockets of the peo
ple of England; and as there is an end to this forev
er, they must direct their industry and capital to le
gitimate channels. The British West India Islands,
down to IT9O, furnished the largest supply of cotton
and wool to our manufacturers. Guiana, when taken
possession by us from the Dutch, hardly furnished
anything else than cotton. By the operation of the
protection to sugar and coffee, this legitimate branch
of agricultural industry in the West Indies, after
Guiana and Trinidad have been added to them, has
dropped down to about one-tentb part of what it was
half a century ago. We recommend to the mer
chants of Manchester to sail from East to “W est, and
although, as the companions of Magellan did, they
may lose a day (the latter not in idle talk,) they
will be gainers in the long run by the change of
course. The people of Jamaica have already, we
observe by the last arrival, actually commenced the
cotton ouiture; and we heartily wish them all suc
cess, for their own sakes as well for that of the un
easy men of Manchester.
Tomato. —This belongs to the potato family, and
like the potato, is found wild in South America. It
is of quite recent introduction to the kitchen garden
and now ranks among the highest of the culinary
vegetables. Tomato seed may be planted from a
bout the middle of March through the month of A
pril. They are as tender as beans, and those who
would have them early must look out for frost. They
may be sown broadcast or in drills, and may be
transplanted as safely as cabbages. It is found to
improve the quantity and quality of the fruit to
stick the vines and train them up on the bushes like
English pea*. The fruit ripens earlier, is not as much
inclined to rot, and is much better flavored, than
fruit that ripens on the ground. To save the seed,
select the earliest and ripest, mash them with the
hand and wash the pulp from the seed, spread the
seed in shallow dishes and dry in the shade ; when
thorougly dry, put away in paper hags for future
use. The large smooth red tomato is the best for
cooking, and the pear and cherry shaped, for pick
ling.— Columbus ( Oa .) Enquirer.
Herd’s Grass.— No grass has succeeded so well
iir Georgia as the llerd,s grass. It flourishes on wet
soils and reclaimed swamps, but will thrive on most
soils ; makes an excellent spring and winter pasture,
and can bo mown twice in one year. This valuable
grass is more extensively cultivated in Habersham
county than any other section of the State. — South
ern Cultivator.
Clothing for a Field Hand.— The clothing for
a field hand should be made entirely of wool, as it
is not only a poor conductor of heat, but produces
friction under the movements of the body, thereby
irritating the skin and inviting an increased flow of
blood to the surface, to the relief of internal parts.
Peppermint Culture. —The town of Florence in
Michigan, has full 10 per cent, of the land cultivated
in that town devoted to the culture of peppermint.
The returns give 962 acres of peppermint, from
which was realized SI6,TTS. White rigeon sent to
market 1000 ponnds of oil.
Tiießose. —Professor Agassiz, in a lecture upon
the tress of America, stated a remarkable fact in
regard to the family of the rose, which includes
among its varieties not only many of the most beau
tiful flowers which are known, but also the -richest
fruits, such as the apple, pear, peach, plum, apricot,
cherry, strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, &c.; name
ly, that no fossil plants of this order have ever been
discovered by Geologists! This he regards as con
clusive evidence that the introduction of this family
of plants upon the earth was coeval with, or subse
quent to the creation of man—to whose comfort
and happiness they seem especially designed by a
wise Providence to contribute.
Jonning’s Patent Rifle.
We have before alluded to this effective weapon, with
which a portion of the Cuban invaders was armed, and which
did such terrible execution at Cardenas. The following de
scription of the rifle, we take from the New York Courier
and Enquirer: %
“ There are two kinds, the one a single loading gun and
the other a repeater, which throws twenty-four balls in suc
cession. The principle is very simple and easy to be com
prehended, and the only wonder, as in all such inventions, is
that no one found it out before.
In the single loading rifle, the trigger sides about one inch
forward and back. As it sides forward it turns a small rag
wheel, which in turn opens the barrel by sliding back
the breech pin and opening the barrel at the breech, so that a
cartridge may be thrown in with the hand. The trigger
slides back, closes the breech pin, and throws a strong steel
block behind it to take the recoil, and thereupon discharges
the gun which has primed itself by a simple contrivance that
drops a pill of percussion powder under the hammer. The
finger may immediately open the barrel by sliding forward
the trigger, and a cartridge thrown in is instantly discharged,
so that a person with practice may discharge from fifteen to
twenty balls per minute.
The repeater is like the other, with this modification. In
place of a ramrod it has a tube capable of containing twenty
four cartridges. These slide down, and a finger or cap ar
ranged at the breceh lifts one cartridge up to the level of the
barrel, as the trigger opens the breech, and then the breech
pin slides forward, pushes it in, and tire gun is discharged,
opened, closed and discharged again, as rapidly as the hand
can work. The whole twenty-four are discliarged in quick
succession, and a second load of twenty-four can be slipped
into the tube in thirty seconds. The gun is remarkably
clean. After the discharge of thirty-four rounds, it appear
ed to be as capable as ever of continuing its work.
The cartridge used in the gun is especially ingenious. It
is a leaded ball, with a cork cap over the cylinder end, which
is perforated to receive fire. This ball is about the usual size
of United States’ rifle balls, but its force is prodigious. The
power of the gun has never been fairly estimated yet, though
it has been known to carry over nine hundred yards. The
balls perforated green trees, and it is not to be doubted that
the rifle will throw three-quarters of a mile. A friend of
ours has tried its accuracy at forty rods, and says it is equal
to any rifle he lias ever used. The shape is graceful, scarce
ly differing from an ordinary rifle, and the weight is that of
the mos: approved single barrel rifles. There is no external
evidence of its tremendous power, but its ability is almost in
credible, end its greatest recommendation is its simplicity.
There is no complication of work about it, but, on the con
trary, it is so simple that any ordinarily ingenious workman
can repair any accidents which may happen to it.’*
Another nimbly Valuable Invention.
We had the pleasure of having exhibited to us, a few
days since, the working model of a very important improve
ment for safety from danger of explosion in the use of steam
engines, lately invented by a gentleman named Grimes, of
Philadelphia. We are not at liberty yet to give a specific
description of the invention, but to state its object and our
fullest confidence in the successful results of its operation. It
is an apparatus which can be placed in any part or room of a
building, as, for instance, over the desk in the office of a
manufactory, or other establishment where a steam engine is
used in the yard, basement or other room, and which, by
connection with the boiler, is a certain and uncling indica
tor both of the pressure of steam upon the boiler, and the
exact height of the water within it, thus affording not only to
the engineer, but to all others engaged in any part of a build
ing, a safe-guard at one and the same time, and by the same
operation, against the* two only sources of danger—over
pressure of steam and lack of water. Its operation is by
natural laws, and so extremely simple that it is to us a wonder
that its discovery and application have not been made before;
especially as the disastrous results of the numerous explosions
throughout the country within a few years past, have arrested
the attention and enlisted the ability of so many scientific
and inventive minds in remedial contrivances, some of which
have possessed great practical merit.
But this invention seems to us to combine all the advan
tages of those which have preceded it, and, at the same
time, to establish important advances upon them all in its
general utility and certainty. Ingenuity, by the use of fusible
metals and a concurrent expedient,.has provided for the es
cape of steam at a given degree of heat and force, and for
the safety of the boiler under a casual diminution of the
necessary quantity of water. And more recently the scien
tific and delicate arrangement of the magnetic guage” lias
been introduced, by which the height of the water in the
boiler is accurately determined by au exterior index, affected
by a permanent magnet within, connected with a float upon
the surface. But the test is here, as a rule, only exhibited to
the eye of the engineer; while the information to be derived
from the trial cocks is to be obtained from his hand alone,
and is only certain to an experienced ear.
Now admitting the efficiency of the invention to which we
allude, its great services as an indicator will be apparent to
all who have any experience in this department of mechani
cal labor. Its unerring character constitutes an invaluable
feature in its use. But add to this the facility of multiplying
the indices to any reasonable extent, and the vigilance of the
engineer is multiplied in the same degree, not only in the ob
servation of others, but in that of the engineer himself; at
the same t ime, every one employed within the reach of danger
can be the guardian of his own safety.
The simplicity of the apparatus renders its application so
cheap as to be burthensome to none, and thus to leave every
one witnout excuse for not adopting it. The author of this
invention is entitled to esteem, as a public benefactor.— Balt.
Sun.
Iron House.
A young man in New York has invented anew mode of
constructing iron houses, of which the Tribune , of a lato
date, gives the following description :
“ It embraces a rigid frame of east-iron pillars, with other
parts of sheet iron. Pillars of peculiar construction are
placed at equal distances, and each interlocks with the girdle
and cross-sills, as well as lintlets, door and window frames,
and all the parts which require to be firm, or to brace other
parts. The panels aro of sheet iron, as are also the floors,
Ceilings and shutters tor the doors and windows. To every
part of the house there is an interior and exterior wall, leaving
an air chamber between ; this renders each room fire-proof.
The roof is also of iron, and couples to the walls and floors.
The frame may be ornamented in the casting as taste shall
dictate, and the whole painted to perfection, equal to the
finest fresco work. The house will resist any kind of at
mosphere in the most ]>erfect maimer, and when put to-
?IS ISIIIIA SHSSII.
gctlier is so strong that it may be turned over and back again
without injury. These buildings will bo more desirable than
any other, and may be taken apart in a few hours, and put
together again on another site, with entire facility. Having
been taken apart, one may be packed in a small space, as the
whole is in small sectional pieces, so as to be fitted for rebuild
ing and for changing the form, or extending in either direc
tion or in the height within a few hours, without preventing its
use while being so altered or added to, and without loss of
any of the material of the original building.”
‘• ‘
Important Discovery.
The secret of manufacturing diamonds lias at last
been discovered, according to the Paris correspon
dent of the London Times, who says ;
The scientific world has been in a state of com
motion during the whole week, in consequence of
the publication of the discovery of the long sought
for secret of the fusion and crystallization of carbon.
The Sorbonne lias been crowded for the last few
days to behold the result of this discovery in the
shape of a tolerably-sized diamond of great lustre,
which M. Desprezt, the happy discoverer, submits
to the examination of every chemist or savant who
chooses to visit him. He declares that so long ago
as last autumn lie had succeeded in producing the
diamond, but in such minute particles as to be visi
ble only through the microscope, and, fearful of rais
ing irony and suspicion, he had kept the secret, un
til, by dint of repeated experiments and great labor,
he had completed the one he now offers to public
view. Four solar lens of imrnese power, aided by
the tremendeous galvanic pile of the Sorbonne,
have been the means of producing the result now
before us. M. Desprezt holds himself ready to dis
play the experiment whenever it may be required.
The diamond produced is of the quality known in
the East as the black diamond, one single specimen
of which was sold by Prince Rostoft’ to the late
Duke of York, for the enormous sum of twelve thou
sand pounds!
Dfjuirtntrnt.
To pour the fresh instruction o’er the mind,
To breathe th’ enlivening spirit, to fix
The generous purpose, and the noble thought.
The Four Words.
“ Four little words did me more good, when I was a boy,
than almost any thing else,” said a friend to me the other
day. “ I cannot reckon up all the good they have done;
they were the first words my mother taught me.”
“ Indeed 1 what were the four little words ?” said I.
lie answered by relating tlie following story :
“ My father grafted a pear tree : it was a very choice graft,
and he watched it with great care. The second year it
blossomed, but it bore but one pear. It was said to be a very
nice kind of pear, and my father was anxious to see if it
came up to the promises of the man who gave him the graft.
This singular pear, then, was an object of much concern to
my father. He wanted it to become fully ripe. The high
winds, he hoped, would not blow oft* the pear; and he gave
express directions to all the children on no account to touch it.
The graft was low, and easily touched by us. It grew finely.
“ I think that graft will meet my expectations,” said my
father many times to my mother. “ I hope now there is
some prospect of our having good pears.”
Every body who came into the garden he took to see the
graft, and every one said, “ It will prove to be a most excel
lent pear.” It began to look very beautiful. It was full and
round, a rich glow was dyeing its checks, and its grain was
clear and healthy.
“Is it not almost ripe? I long for a bite,” I cried, as I
followed father one day down the alley to the pear tree.
“ Wait patiently, my child, it will not be fully ripe for a
week,” said my father.
I thought I loved pears better than anything else. I used
to often stop and look longingly up to this. O, how good it
looks! I used to often think, smacking my lips, 1 wish it
was all mine. The early apples did not taste as good, the
currants were not as relishing, and the damsons I thought
nothing of in comparison with this pear. The longer I
stopped under this pear tree, the more I longed for it. Oh, I
wished I had it! was the selfish thought that gradually got
uppermost in my mind.
One night, after we were in bed, my brother fell fast asleep
before I did ; I tossed about and could not sleep. It was a
warm, still summer night; there was no moon; no noise
except the hum of numberless insects. My father and mother
were gone away. I pftt my head out of the window, and
peeped in the garden; I snuffed pleasant smells. I traced
the dark outlines of the trees. I glanced in the direction of
the pear tree. The pear —then the pear! My mouth was
parched; I was thirsty. I thought how good a juicy pear
would taste. I was tempted.
A few moments found me creeping down the back stairs,
witli peithcr shoes, stockings nor trousers on. The slightest
creaking frightened me. I stopped on every chair to listen.
Nancy was busy somewhere else, and John had gone to bed.
At last I fairly felt my way to the garden door. It was fast
ened. It seemed to take me ages to unlock it, so fearful was
lof making a noise, and the bolt grated. I got it open, went
out, and latched it after me. It was good to get out into the
cool air. I ran down to the walk. The patting of my feet
made no noise on the moist earth. I stopped a moment, and
looked around, then turned in the direction of the pear tree.
Presently I was beneath its branches.
Father will think tlie wind hits knocked it off—but there
was not a breath of air stirring—father will think somebody
has stolen it—some boys came in the night and robbed the
garden; lie’ll never know. Such were my thoughts. I
trembled at the thought of what I was about to do O, it
will taste so good ! and father will never kuow it. He never
would think I took it. On tip-toe, with my hand uplifted,
and my head turned upwards, I beheld a star looking down
upon me through the leavep. “ Thou God seest me !” I
could not help saying over and over again. God seemed on
every side. He was looking me through. 1 was afraid to
look; and hid my face. It seemed as if father and mother
and all the boys, and every body in town, would take me for
a thief. It appeared as though all my conduct had been seen
as by the light of day. It was sometime before I dared to
moved, so vivid was the impression made upon my mind by
the awful truth in these four words, “ Thou, God seest me.”
I knew he saw me.
I hastened from the pear tree ! nothing on earth would at
that moment have tempted me to touch the pear. With
very different feelings did I creep back to bed again, I lay
down beside Asa, feeling more like a criminal than any thing
else. No one in the house had seen me, but O ! it seemed as
if every body knew it, and I should never dare to meet my
father’s face again. It was a great while before I went to
sleep. I heard my parents come home, and I involuntarily
hid my-face under the sheet. But I could not hide myself
from the sense of God’s presence. His eyes seemed every
where diving into the very dephths of my heart. It started
a train of influences, which, God bo praised, I never got
over.— School Friend.
Respect for Parents.
It is reported of a Polish Prince that he carried the minia
ture of his father in his bosom, and on particular occasions
was in the habit of looking at it and exclaiming—“ Let me
do nothing unbecoming so excellent a parent /” Happy
is the child who is blessed with a parent worthy of such re
gard—thrice happy is the parent who has thus engraven his
excellence and dignity upon the heart of his offspring !
Asa general thing, children aro too forgetful of those
who nurtured them, after they have left the parental roof,
and gone out to strive for self in this selfish world. It is
next to an impossibility for a son or daughter to pay the vast
debt of obligation which they necessarily owe, even to an
indifferent father and mother. Who watched over them
with sleepless vigilance through the long periods of infancy
and childhood ? Who nursed them in sickness—cared for
them in health, and in a thousand ways contributed to their
physical, mental and moral well-being ? The parent. Who
is generally tenderly alive to every thing concerning a reckless
and disobedient boy ? The mother who nurtured him, the
father who loved him, even before he knew the meaning of
the word. If children could but realize how much anxiety
is felt for them they would often make glad the hearts of
those at home by kind letters and tokens of affectionate re
membrance. — Fumtly Fist tor.
€'lje Imnurist.
* Let dimpled mirth his temples twine,
With tendrils of the laughing vine.”
“Not quite the Cheese.”
On entering my room a few evenings since, I
found a large package lying on my table, and tear
ing off the wrapper 1 found it was Vol. 19th of the
“Spirit,” fresh from the bindery. Opening it I com
menced carelessly turning over the leaves when my
eyes fell on the sentence above —“Not quite the
Cheese.” Now what the deuce gave rise to that
saying ? thought I, as the words recalled to memo
ry a scene which was of rather a cheesy nature, and
it made rather a strong impression on a sensitive or
gan, I did not easily forget it.
Some years since, I was employed as warehouse
clerk in a large shipping-house in New Orleans, and
while in that capacity, I came across something that
wasn’t “quite the cheese,” as the sequel will testify.
One day a vessel came in consigned to the house,
having on board a large lot of cheese from New
York; during the voyage some of them had become
damaged by bilge water, (the ship having proved
leaky,) consequently the owners refused to receive
it, as it was not as the bills of lading said, “delivered
in good order and well conditioned;” they were,
therefore, sent to the consignees of the ship, to be
stored until the case could be adjusted. I discover
ed a few days afterward, that as to perfume, they
were decidedly too fragrant to remain in the ware
house in June, and reported the same to the concern,
from whom I received orders to have them overhaul
ed, and send all that were passable to Beard & Cal
houn’s auction mart, (then in old Camp street thea
tre,) to be disposed of for the benefit of underwri
ters, and the rest to the swamp.
I got a gang of black boys to work on them, and
when they “stirred ’em up,” by the bones of Moll
Kelly’s quart mug! but the smell was illegant in
tirely! I kept a respectable distance, believe me,
for strong nigger and strong cheese, on a hot day,
just bangs all common essences, including a certain
varmint we read about.
Presently the boys turned out an immense fellow
about three feet six, “across the stump,” from which
the stump had rotted oft’; in the centre, a space ot
about ten inches was very much decayed, and ap
peared to be about the consistency of mush, or a
bluish tint, which was caused by the bilge water. —
The boys had just set it up on its edge on a bale of
gunny bags, when I noticed over the way a big dar
key, (then on sale at S. <fc Ik’s,) from Charleston, S.
C. who was notorious for his butting propensities,
having given most of the negroes in the vicinity a
taste of his quality in that line. I had seen him and
another fellow the night previous practising; they
would stand, one on each side of a hydrant some
ten yards distant, and run at each other with their
heads lowered, and clapping their hands on the hy
drant they would but like veteran gods.
A thought struck me that I might cure him ot
his bragging and butting, and have some sport al
so, so 1 told the boys to keep dark (which by the
way, caused very little exertion,) and I called “Old
Jake” over.
“They tell me you are a great fellow for butting,
Jake?”
“I is some, Massa, das a sac—l done butt de wool
’tirely ors ob old Pete’s head last night, Massa Nich
ols was gwinqto gib me goss ! 1 kin jiss bang de
head of any nigger in desc parts, myself-—I kin!”
“Well, Jake, I’ve a little job in that line for you
when you haven’t anything else to do.”
“l’se on hand for all dem kin of jobs myself —I is.”
“Well, you see that large cheese back there \ ’
“l does dat! I does mysel.”
“Now if you can butt a dent in it, vou shall have
it.”
“Golly, Massa ! you foolin’ dis nigger.”
“No, I’m not Jake —-just try me.”
“Wot! you gib me de hull of dat cheese if I butt
a dent in um V ’
“Yes.”
“De Lor! I’ll bust ’em wide open, I will, mysef.
Jess stan back dar you Orleans niggers, and clear de
track for Ole Sous Carlina, case I’se a cornin’ myself
—I is!”
And Ole Jake started back some fifty feet, and
went at it at a good quick run, and the next instant
I heard a dull, heavy sound, a kind of squllish, and
Old Jake’s head disappeared from sight, with the
top just visible on the other side as he arose with
his new fashioned necklace, the soft rotten cheese
oozing down all around him as it settled down, so
that just his eyes were visible. From the centre of
it Jake’s voice was scarcely audible and half smoth
ered, as he vainly tried to remove the immense
cheese.
“O-o-o-o ! er de Lor! Mas —took um ors! O-o-o-o!
bress VI Lor! Lit’ um up! Gor a mighty ! 1
Meanwhile, I was nearly dead myself, having laid
back on a cotton bale holding myself together to
keep from bursting, while the boys stood round Old
Jake paying him oft’.
“De Lor ! how- de nigger’s breff smell! You
does'nt clean your teeth, Old Jake.”
“I say ! you did’nt make more dan four times dat
han, did you, old boss
“Well, you is a nasty nigger, das a sac!”
“Well, you is de biggest kine of Welch Rabbit,
you is!”
“Wliar you git your hare greese !” and thus the
boys run Old Jake —now half smothered —until I
took compassion on him, and told them to take it
off. Jake didn’t stay to claim his prize, but put out
growling —
“Gor amity! I done got sole dat time! I’se a
case ob yaller-feber —I is myself!”
Ole Jake was never known to do any more but
ting in that vicinity after that, and I am still of the
opinion that it was “not quite the cheese /”
Important Convention of Fashionable Ladies
of Boston.
The Boston Transcript says that at a recent,
though informal , Convention ot highly respectable
Ladies of that city, the following resolutions were
proposed, discussed and adopted nemine contradicen
te :
Resolved, That we approve of fashion, and the
change of fashion —so far as it is necessary to en
courage the artist, and to elevate the standard of
true taste.
Resolved, That in making changes, however small,
it is our duty always to insist upon undoubted im
provement.
Resolved, That all fashions in any degree objec
tionable, should be improved without fear or hesi
tation, and without delay.
Resolved, That it is a self-evident truth—that all
garments should be madft subservient to the wearer,
and not the wearer to the garment.
Resolved, That long dresses are provoking ob
stacles to convenient walking; are literally brooms
in dry weather, and mops in wet weather ; —and,
that it is the duty of all ladies to propose, and gen
tlemen to encourage a change of fashion, in this
respect, so that our sex may enjoy the comforts and
healthful advantages of all proper exercise without
restraint, and without a sinful exposure to the in
jurious effects of mud and water to our feet and an
kles, and sore vexation to our tempers.
Our special correspondent informs us that the fol
lowing Proviso was offered to the last resolution, but
was rejected after a very excited debate.
Provided, That nothing in this resolution shall
be so construed as to prevent ladies from wearing
long skirts, who from a sense of delicacy or other
cause may see fit to adopt them.
The Proviso, says our correspondent, was at first
warmly supported, and such was its popularity that
the friends of the original resolution were not with-
out apprehension of a defeat, despite their powerful
arguments and parliamentary manoeuvering. But
the short skirts were not without able and zealous
friends among the younger members of the Conven
tion, some of whom spoke beautifully and eloquent
ly in their behalf. One young lady, in particular,
distinguished herself in the debate, and it was
doubtless owing to her address that the Proviso was
defeated by a unanimous vote. In the course es her
argument she remarked that she was not to be de
ceived by the artful wording of the Proviso. She
well understood why “a sense of delicacy” was lug
ged in to cover the “other cause.” She well knew
the true meaning of that “other cause.” A sense
of delicacy had nothing to do with the matter. She
trusted she had as delicate a sense of propriety a3 any
other lady in the room, and yet she could see no
reason why a sense of delicacy should require ladies,
in this weather, to be the street sweepers of the city.
She did not approve the extremes, even to the points
of the toes, to which some ladies carried their “sense
of delicacy.” For her own part, she saw no impro
priety in allowing her feet to be seen—(here the
speaker was observed to stamp the floor with her ex
quisitely formed foot) —sh& was perfectly willing to
let the world see that she had been provided by na
ture with feet, and that she used them in walking :
and if in walking it should be discovered also that
she had ancles, she could assure that meeting that
she would not feel the least disconcerted by the ex
posure. There was too much fastidiousness among
the sex; it was mawkish, ridiculous; and, for one,
she was ashamed of it. She was aware that some
had private reasons for voting for this proviso, but
she congratulated herself that she did not belong to
that party. She hoped the vote would be taken,
aud she would be satisfied w ith the disclosure which
that vote would make, assured as she w as, that no
lady who had ancles ft to be seen would vote for the
proviso.
The hist remark settled the fate of the amend
ment. The ayes and rtays being called, not a vote
was recorded in its favor, the mover declining to an
swer when her name was called.
Progress of Knowledge.
THE PRESS IN MOTION.
The St. Louis Reveille gives !he following graphic descrip
tion of the removal of that office, anil the mysteries of the
craft thus exposed to the gaze of the day : .
“ Before sunrise, every window and house-top in the vicini
ty was occupied by curious spectators, anxious to behold the
extraordinary procession; and it is said, that at 8 o'clock, pre
cisely, a barber, whose shop commanded a full view of the
scene, refused five dollars for a seat upon his pole. The half
square, through which the procession was to pass, was beauti
fully adorned in honor of the occasion. Among the chaste
ornaments hung out, we particularly noticed Mr. Byron’s
garland of fresh mint, which was tastefully’ displayed at the
door of the Byron house, with the following appropriate
motto from Milton’s Comus :
“ And first behold this cordial Julep here.
That flames and da rices in his chrystial bounds,
With spirits of balm, and fragrant syrups mixed.”
“ The spectators seemed to be highly exhilirated ; anJ as
the dense crowd which nearly blocked up the street were on
the tip-toe of expectation, it was announced, at half-past eight
o’clock, by one of the devils falling down stairs with the
second volume of Richardson’s Dictionary, that the proces
sion was in motion, which was confirmed by another devil
following with the first volume, and an apprentice appearing
immediately afterwards with ‘ Webster unabridged.’ The
procession then moved on in the following order:
Two Compositors —each bearing a case of small pica, aud
apprentices on each side with sticks of the office.
Four Compositors, with weekly forms . surmounted by a
beautiful medley of pi.
Foreman —Armed with shooting-stick.
Twelve German Gentlemen, bearing the imposing stone,
and singing in their native tongue—compositors on either
side with cases of minion and nonparielT
Editorial Chair —Carried young gentlemen who
kindly volunteered for the occasion—young gentlemen
on either side with bottles of bitters.
Editors smoking segars and carrying inkstands.
„ Clerks, with pens.
Bust of Franklin —Carried by a member of the Typo
graphical Association.
Scissors —Carried on a green cushion.
“ The procession moved in beautiful order, and was ap
plauded as it marched an entire half square. Though the
crowd was great, and the pressure, occasioned, by a desire to
see the sight, was excessive. We are happy to announce
that no accident occurred during the interesting ceremony,
with the exception of a slight scratch received by the devil in
his fall with the dictionary'.
“Seriously, for the ‘noise and confusion,’ hot weather, etc.,
has led us to make light of a troublesome affair, the Reveille
office is now’ once more located near the very spot, whence
for*many years have been sent forth daily missives for the
amusement of the public, and where, it is hoped, we may
still be allowed to call up those peculiar creations, for the
gratification of those who have always kindly received them
with favor, and whom we trust yet to and gratify.
To all, our new office is open, and our hands extended to
give them a hearty welcome.
A “Webster Boy.”
The Wtbsteriau aphorism, “ I take no step backwards,” is
becoming a pet phrase with the people, and, like other nota
ble sayings, is beginning to be applied in ways quite foreign
to its original signification. The New Orleans Delta tells of
a case in point. A Yaukee from the Old Bay State—“a
Bunker Hiller, and nothin’ shorter,” as ho declared himself—
winl ljj>d strayed down South, applied to a Terpisehorean pro
fessor in the Crescent city to induct him into the mysteries
of the “poetry of motion”—or, in his own words, to “learn
him how to dance them Polkas and other foreign fixins:”
[Yankee Blade'.
“ The terms were made known and agreed to, and the
pupil was- placed on the floor to le-aru the first of ‘advance
and retire.’
‘ Look-e-here, Mister,’ said this young scion of Massachu
setts, ‘ I may as well tell you before we begin, that I go my
death for Dan Webster—for Old Black Dan. He is a real
Massachusetts monument in that ere Senate, 1 tell you; and
if you have any Southern prejudice against him, I may as
well clear out right off; for I can’t stand it, no how.’
The professor assured him he had not, and the lesson com
menced.
The’pupil was first instructed how to make his obeisance to
his partner; next, the ‘positions,’ and next to advance and
retire.
Professor : 1 Advance, one, two, three-—dal, al, al. Very
good; retire now—same step—one, two, three, dal, al. al.’
Instead of retiring, however, the pupil stood at the point
to which he had a<L’aneed,as if he were transfixed to it.
Professor : 1 What are you about, sir? retire—tread the
same steps backwards—just as you advanced.’
Pupil: ‘No, I’ll be darn’d if Ido; I told sou I was a
Webster boy, and I ain’t any thing else—l believe in Old
Dan. Now, he has said that he ain’t ngoin’ to take no step
backwards; and I’m blam’d if I will, any way you can fix
it—good mornin,’ stranger.’ Saying this, he picked up his
hat, placed it on his head, and sloped.’
Thankfulness for Safety.
One of the passengers on the ill-fated Troy at the time of
the late explosion, writes to his friends at Cincinnati ‘lhere
were fifteen or twenty killed or wounded, but thank God we
saved our lives and baggage /” This expression of grati
tude over the safety of “ our baggage ,” amid the saerifioe of
human life, reminds us of a melancholy anecdote that a
facetious friend of ours was in the habit of relating in years
gone by. It was connected with tho history of the pioneers
of Western New York, while the “ Genesee Country'* was
mostly an uninhabited wilderness. The characters of the
narrative oonsistod of an old farmer and his two boys, Peter
and George, and a favorite dog named Bose. They left the
valley of the Mohawk, with a span of horses and covered
wagon in search of the far West —the family and farm re
maining in charge of the eldest son John. The party pro
ceeeded without incident worthy of note, until they reached
the Genesee River, near the present city of Rochester. Th
being no bridges in those primitive days in the west, the rir *
was crossed at a ford. Unfortunately, when our m
reached its banks it w'as somewhat swollen. The farmer J.
tempted to cross, but the current set so strong that it carn t 4
the horses, wagon, old gentleman, one son and the dog down
stream, and they were dashed over the falls. Peter aH e 1
the party escaped to tell the sad tale. With a heavy
he returned to vhe homestead bearer of these dreadful tiding
John, on seeing him alone, inquired for Dad and George bn;
Peter shook his head mournfully. He was too fall of
tion to speak. John became rather impatient, and urm \
him to speak and not make a darned fool of himself jj,’
spoke—the tale was told—and after John began to r<yv, Tt .
from the first shock of the dreadful catastrophe, he went oft)
the particulars, in this wise—“ Pete, did yon say that Iw
went over the falls ?”
“ Yes!” was the moumfal response.
“ And the horses, w-agon and that new harness 7”
“ Yes.”
“ And George and Dad
“ Yes.”
•“ And you got out f”
“ Yes.”
“ Well! you be a darned fool! Why the 4 — J didn't
you save Bose — he's so good for coons!”
Powerful Reasoning.
At a young men’s debating society- somewhere down itj
Indiana, the question for discussion was “ Which is 9*,
greatest evil, a scolding wife or a smokey chimney.” After
the appointed disputants had concluded the debate, a spectator
rose and begged the privilege of “ making a few remarks on
the occasion.” Permission being granted, he delivered him
self in this way : “ Mr. President, I've been almost mad a
listening to the debate of these ’ere youngsters. Thev don’t
I know nothing at all about tho subject. Wliat do they- know
about the evils of a scolding wife. Wait till they have had
one for twenty years, and been hammered, and jammed and
slammed all the while, and wait till they’ve been scolded be
cause the baby cried, because the fire wouldn’t burn, because
the oven was too hot, because the cow kicked over the milk,
because it rained, because the sun shined, because the bear
didn't lay, because the butter would’nt come, because the
old cat had kittens, because they camo too soon for dinner,
because they were one minute too late, because they sang,
: because they tore their trowsers, because they invited
neighbor woman to call again, because they got sick, or be
cause they did anything else, no matter whether they
could'nt help it or not, before they talk about the evils of a
scolding wife ; why, Mr. President, I'd rather hear the clat
ter of hammers and stones and twenty tin pans and nine
brass kettles, than the din, din, of the tongue of a scolding
wife. Yes sir-ee, I would. To my mind, Mr. President, a
smokey chimney is no more to be compared to a scolding
wife, than a little negro is to a dark night.”
mmmm
MILITARY INSTITUTE
I3lue Licks , Ky.
BOARD OF~VISITORS.
THE ADJUTANT GENERAL, together with five fit person*. to l*
annually appointed by the Executive, to attend examination, at
least once a year, according to law.
WA e flit.
Incorporated with all the powers, and rights excjcieed by the Tmi
tees and Faculty of any other College.
COL. T. F. JOHNSON, Oennral Superintendent.
‘COL. E. W. MORGAN. Joint Superintendent and Professor of J**.
gincerinfr and of A'atureii History.
•LIEUT. COL.’ 15. R. JOHNSON, Professor ef.Vatural and Irpaee
mental Philosophy.
+SIAJ. VV. W. A. FORRES, Prnfrsssor of .Mathematies.
RICHARD N. NEWELL, A. 31. Professor of .dnoient and Mod**
fsingungrx.
JAMES G. ELANE. A. E. Jljunrt Profrssnr of languages.
REV. J. R. SWIFT, A. M. Professor of F.thirs and Belles letters.
J AMES 11. DAVIESS, Esq. Professor of lair.
REV. 11. V. D. NEVIUS, A. M. Principal of the .Icadttoy.
CAFT. C. E. MOTT, Tear her in V.r .leaden,?.
CAPT. W. IV. GAUNT, .Idjutant of the Institute.
•Educated at West Point.
fEducated at the Virginia Military Institute.
Two hundred and thirty Odets, from fifteen different States, hare
entered this Institution since it was organized, in 1817. It is entire
ly free from the control or domination of any sect or party, either po
litical or religious. Economy in dress, by tfie adoption of a cheap
Uniform, for Winter and Summer, is rigidly enforced. Every student
is required to select a College guardian, with whom all funds brought
or received must lie deposited, and no debt must be contracted without
the consent of such guardian.
An Institution combining the science of the West Point Academy
and of I’yh-techiiic Institutes, with the classical literature of our best
Colleges, adding the modem languages, and superadding practical
schools of Law and Engineering, nearly realizes the long-felt denitr
ation of a university able to meet the wants of Western progress—a
university where all may select a course of steady to suit their tint*,
means ond professional destination.
Mr. Davikss, the Professor of Law, is known is the varioat
Courts as a practitioner of great ability, varied learning, long experi
ence and exalted character. His eminent qualifications, the whole
some exercise and discipline of the Institute, and the convenient ob
servation of the forma of judicial proceeding, offer unusual induce
ments to those who arc earnest to achieve distinction as sound Lawyer*
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Will be thoroughly and prertical!y taught in the Western Military In
stitute—the Professor. Col. Morgan, being one of the most skillful and
experienced Engineers in the United States. Alt the instrument* con
nected with that deiiartinent, have been procured at considerable cost,
and are of the best quality.
The Superintendent takes the liberty of stating that be is now oflrr
ed $75 per month, for compliant assistant Engineers. One of bi* for
Bier pupils receives at this time $2,500 per annum, as Principal En
gineer of a Railroad now under construction in Kentucky—whilst
others of the same class are receiving in different parts of the United
States, $2,000, $1,500, or $l4lOO a year as Assistant Engineers.
The time is rapidly approaching when there wtil he a great demand
for such as have been prepared for that vocation, at the Western Mil
itary Institute. Nothing is hazarded in saying that they will readily
command $1,200 or $1,500 per annum. Every man of observation
must see that the gigantic enterprises already proposed, will give birth
to hundreds of others, tributary to them. The rapio advancement of
onr whole country, and the eagerness of our people, for exploring the
hidden resources of the new states and the newly acquired territory,
will give ample scope for ages to couie, to the skill and enterprise of
the Engineer, the Geologist, the Mineralogist, the Purveyor and ths
Architect. Young men who have an aptitude for the Mathematical
and Physical sciences will have a wide field opened to them for enga
ging in an honorable, a healthful and a lucrative pursuit, for which
they may be thoroughly and practically qualified, in a short tint*, aad
at small expense, at the Western Military Institute.
TERMS.
In the Academy - - - s3<> no per *****
In the College - - - - 10 00 “ *
For Music and use of Arms and Accoutrements 3 00 “ *
For Fuel - - - - 2 00 ““
BOARDING can be had in private families, at from two to two and
a half dollars a week. When in Barracks, it is designed to furnish
Commons at a uniform rate. Student* from a distance will be require
*ed to board at the Institute- -ind have no communication with the
town, except as allowed by written permits.
ZIT The next session will commence on the first of September, tad
continue ten months.
March 21st, 1850. I—ts1 —ts
3000 DOLLARS REWARD?!
Reuben Rich's Patent, Centre Vent, Water Wheel
made entirely of Iron with Iron gates—a
gainst Turbine, Hotchkiss and all other Wheels*
I WILL give SSOO Reward to any person who will produce* a Pa
tent Water Wheel, that will do as much business with the sam
quantity of water under any given head from three feet to thirty feet,
or
I will give 8500 to any person, who will produce a Breast Wheel un
der a head of eight feet or less that shall ..quel it, in saving of water, or
I will give the same amount to any one who will produce an ver
shot or under-hot, that will last with roy wheel and not cost more mo
ney sooner or later, or
I will give ibe same Reward to any man w ho wiU produce an over
shot undershot or Breast Wheel, that will run as steady as my wheel,
or
I will give SSOO to any one who will produce a wheel of any sort or
kind patented or not, that will combine to the same extent, cheapness
durability,power, speed or simplicity so easily applied in all situations
and so universally applicable to all purposes and every location, or
I will give SSOO. to any one, who will produce a Hotchkiss Hkse
that does not consume fifty per cent mere water to do the same Saw!
ng or Grinding.
Those who doulit can visit the Coweta Falls Factory in this city
end they will see my wheel, driving all their machinery without a
Governor, where a French Turbine made in the great city of Lowell
failed to do the business at all. Or if they will visit Pleasant Macon's
in Macon county Alabama they will see one of my wheels only 2 feet.
8 inches in diameter, under a head of 9 feet, grinding 9 to ten bushels
of corn per hour. Or in a short time I will show at Winter’s Mills in
this city, one of my wheels 3 1-2 feet in diameter, grinding, 50 to 60
bushels per hour with two pairs of stones. In the State of New York
there are at least 500 of oiy wheels, Grinding, Sawing anil Manufac
turing in a style never yet done by any other. With sufficient head
can turn 5000 Spindles and 100 Looms with one of uiy wheels but 2
eet in diameter, I
Gindrat St 00. at the Montgomery works Alabama, who are manu
facturing roy wheels, will execute orders for them, and deliver them in
any place South of the Potomac, and furnish directions for putting
them to their work, with models if required. Post paid letters addres
sed to meat Montgomery care of Gindrat & Cos. or at this place enterof
G. VV. Winter Esq. wiU meet with prompt attention. Iq ad ease*
when the Purchaser is not fully satisfied with the performance et my
wheel, the money will be returned.
REUBEN RICH, Patentee,,
from Oswego County New York.
Columbus Ga. March ljd> 1850. I— tJ j.
