Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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HOYT & CO., Proprietors. ANDERSON 0. H., S. C, THURSDAY MORNING, JULY 15, 1875. VOLUME X.?NO. 52. ? From the Spartanburg Herald. The Grass-Hopper Plague Vividly Described. Kansas^City, Mo., June 2,1875. Dear Herald :*Our immediate section just now presents a curious spectacle. Hundreds and thousands of acres of as rich prairie lands as can be found in the United States are, on ?the 2nd day of June, as bare of vegetation as if it were January. This section is occasion? ally ravaged by insects. The potato bug, the chinch bug ana the grass-hopper occasionally lay 'waste whole counties of our richest and best lauds. We are at this time suffering from one of these plagues. There are about 25 counties in Missouri and probably as many more in the State of Kansas, where there has been literally nothing left in the shape of corn, wheat, oats or grass, all having been devoured by these ll?rrid insects. In most Of these counties the vhole face of the earth is now as barren of corn, wheat, oats, vegetables as it was any day in the past winter. And since destroying all the vegetation on the grc und, they have begun on the foliage of the trees. Our only hope is, that when the insects get a little older, and their wings develbpe, they will fly away. This County (Jackson) is one of the wealthiest as well as most fertile of soil in the State, and yet there is not one-tenth of the tillable land of the county that Has a stalk of corn or a head of wheat or oats, all that was growing having been devoured by the grass-hoppers. Public meetings are being held in the afflicted counties, and the absorbing topic is, how to procure the means to make another crop, i. e. seed corn and corn enough to feed horses du? ring ploughing season. You will not infer from this that the grass-hoppers have destroyed the corn in the farmers' cribs, but few farmers in this county, or any of those now infected with grass-hoppers, have had any corn in their cribs worth mentioning for more than two ears. The past two years have been marked y absolute failures of the crops on account of drouth. In this county, since I have been here, corn has been delivered at the railroad depots for 15 cents per bushel?and in some of the counties of this State and also in Kansas, corn has been so abundant as to be burned for fuel. And now the financial ability of the whole farming portion of this and many neigh? boring counties is puzzled how to raise the the money needed to buy seed corn and keep the plough horses up through ploughing sea? son. And from what lean learn that is always the way with farming in this country. If crops "hit," so much is made that it does not bring anything scarcely, and if they do not "hit," starvation stares everybody full in the face. The grasshopper, of which I write are classed by scientific men as a species of locust. It is about two inches in length?not of green color, but of iiearly every other color. Its legs are red, and its body a variety of colors. It comes from small eggs laid in the autumn under the j surface of the soil, and hatched out in spring. When first hatched, they resemble fleas in everything but'color; when grown, they have wings like a horse-fly. They came here last autumn from Colorado, and laid their eggs, destroyed late fruits and vegetables and grass, and were killed out by the cold rains. They travel when full grown by flying. They appear to be able to fly miles at a time. They travel in swarms of millions, filling the whole atmos? phere like a swarm of bees. They some times attack large wheat and oat fields in the "milk state," and in a few hours have it as though a thousand starving army horses had been pas? tured on it for a week. They have so entirely consumed everything green that farmers in timbered regions have cut down forest trees to keep their cattle alive. In several instances ? they have stopped the railroad trains. On the railroad between here and St. Louis, which uses, the largest locomotives, the grass-hoppers have on two different occasions stopped the passenger trains so often and long as to throw the trains more than two hours behind schedule time. Perhaps I had better explain. In the evening they always pitch their tents, and seek for the most dry and elevated spots, and some? times climb on each other for a foot deep. This is the case on the iron and cross ties of the railroad track?being so thick and being mashed up for awhile, soon greases the wheels of the locomotive so thi.t there is not enough friction to move the train. In some places the grass-hoppers have eaten clothing, carpets and snch things. Fortunately they do not bite or sting, for they will come into our houses and get on our persons; even in church in almost any direction you can see one or more of these familiar visitors crouch down on some lady's, collar or other part of her apparel that has starch, busily munching at it. Those acquain? ted with the habits of these insects say that when they have cleaned out vegetation, they devour each other, unless their wings are suffi? ciently developed to fly away to other "pas? tures green." Not only have the farmers here to suffer this plague, but there are great fears that the chinch bug will also destroy even such corn as the wished for departure of the grass-hoppers may allow to be planted. This insect is a much more frequent visitor than the grass-hopper, and though tb6y do not so much resemble an army in occupation as the grass-hoppers, they are much dreaded and verv injurious raiders. I have been thus extended in my account of the grass-hoppers and the ruin they work for the information of the farmers of Spartanburg. They may have thin lands, but they do not have grass-hoppers and chinch bugs. They have a climate unsurpassed anywhere, and a soil, whTch, if not rich by nature, is susceptible of high cultivation. I was called on a week ago by a gentleman from Sonth Carolina in search of land in which to invest, and I advised him to go into the upper portions of South Caroli? na. He looked at me with astonishment, and in a few hours went "West!" If he lives twenty years he will acknowledge tho sound? ness of my advice. Only let a stable and efficient State govern? ment be known abroad as having been firmly established, no matter whether it be Democrat? ic or Eepublican, and every portion of South Carolina would grow marvelously in population, and wealth. AULD LANG SYNE. ? It is said to be a fact that some very learned gentlemen, well known in the literary and scientific world, made a visit last year to Cape Cod to gain the opinion of an old sea captain there about some peculiarity of the tides on its coasts. He had studied the subject all his life, and was considered an oracle. They found him peacefully Bmoking at the door of his cottage, and stated their errand. "Well, gentlemen," said he, "I have thought a deal on this cur'ous pint, and I've come to the conclusion that it's the moon, and one darned thing or another.". ? A few men here and there?principally there?pass through life peacefully and go down to the tomb with a quiet mind. In a monastery in Turkey there are twenty-three monks who haven't seen a woman since they were babies. ? "It's generally the case with bad boys," philosophically remarks Miss Anthony, "that they look like their mother and act like their father." Gen. Preston's Oration. The oration delivered by Gen. John S. Pres? ton, at the University of Virginia, last Thurs? day, demands some notice in his native State, lest silence shall be construed to give consent to the monstrous propositions he advances and attempts to demonstrate. For example, he says: "Not space, or time, or the convenience of any human lav/, or the power of any human arm, can reconcile institutions for the turbu? lent fanatic of Plymouth Bock and the God praying Christian of Jamestown." The peo? ple of New England, according to Gen. Pres? ton, are rotten in root and branch. "The Mayflower freight, under the laws of England, was heresy and crime; the Jamestown emi? grant was an English freeman, loyal to his country and his God, with England's honor in his heart and English piety in his soul." The Pilgrim Fathers left England for "the lucre of traffic;" the Southern colonists "to obtain a more perfect law of liberty." The robes of Washington were "stolen and misfitted?' on the shoulders of the elder Adams. The people of New England are "adverse to the principles of English constitutional liberty and of English religious freedom." And for Southerners to visit the North "is to crawl on our bellies to negro arid New England temples, and at the outer gates pray them, not to give us back our happy homes, not to give us back our slaugh? tered children, not to give us back our perfect liberty, but to let us be of them, that we, too, may celebrate their altar with warbled hymns ambrosial odors, our base and servile offerings." This is the strain in which one South Caroli? nian speaks at a time when the patriotic heart beats nigh at the approach of a true, generous and lasting peace?a peace as thorough and complete in the forests and savannahs of the South as in the mines and marts of the West and North. Than Gen. Preston's invectives nothing could be more out of keeping with the spirit of the day or with the temper of the people of Vir? ginia. One of the most influential newspapers in the Old Dominion says: "The day is too full of living issues to make dead ones accep? table, and the people of Virginia are too anx? ious for peace and prosperity under the Repub? lic which their fathers assisted to establish to welcome the revival of old causes of quarrel. Their University is a peculiar institution which they can cherish without any feeling of dis? trust; but they have no desire of advancing backward as to other institutions, and no dis? position to mistake a parade of intolerance for a sacrament of intellect. The address of Gen. Preston is alike unjust to his own admitted abi|ity, and to the people and the institution on whose behalf it wa3 made. While the college commencements elsewhere throughout the country are instinct with peace, tolerance and good will, it is a shame that our leading Southern University should even for a day be prostituted to uses which every sensible Vir? ginian condemns." This is the feeling in Vir? ginia, and it is the feeling of the vast majority of the people of South Carolina. Gen. Preston is no longer a spokesman for the people of this State. With a small class of equally sincere and equally unreasonable men his words will have some weight, because they express a stubbornly cherished opinion ; but he, and such as he, however venerable or respectable, are no longer leaders in this land of active purpose, high emprise and liberal opinion. The men who control South Caroli? na, although their strength has never been fully felt, are the men who were young when the war began, and went into the army and stayed there. Of the older men there were two classes: those who were physically unfitted for the marching and fasting of active service, and the much larger clas-s who were first in war?and first out of it. For those who were really unable to do more than they did, there is the most kindly consideration. Their errors are not treated as crimes. For those who promised more than they performed, there is indulgence and repose?as long as they remain iu the rear. Neither class can mould public opinion in this State, or in any Southern State. Early in Virginia, Toombs in Georgia, Preston in South Carolina, cannot arrest the march of events. The men who fought through the war, and have grown up since the war, are not blinded by prejudice. They love the South devotedly; they honor the Confederate dead. But they respect the brave men whom they met in battle on a hundred fields, and they see and know for themselves that there are juntas good Christians, just as gallant gentlemen, in the North as in the South, and they cannot doubt that there are fanatics in the South as in the North. Wendell Phillips, in Massachusetts, is the complement of John S. Preston in South Carolina. It is best for the old leaders that they remain in honorable privacy. Their words, the words of 18G0, are out of time and tune. This is one country, this is one people. We know it, and feel it. Surely, then, we should pity those who closed their eyes in the darkness before the dawn, and waken not, though the light of the new day makes beau? tiful the land. Only a few years ago the oration of Gen. Preston would have been accepted everywhere as proof conclusive that the bouth was unre? conciled and irreconcilable. It would have served as an excuse for vexatious legislation, and as a pretext for insults and wrongs without number. But wo have changed all that! The oration will cause gentle surprise and mild amusement, but will do no harm.?Charleston News and Courier. Nut Grass.?The Union Times says it is really amusing to hear so many people tell how they intend to get rid of the Nut Grass. One is going to plow it to death, another is going to smother it to death, another is going to spado np the garden, pick out every nut and then sift the soil, another says, don't let it go to seed and keep it cut down, another is going to turn all the hogs in town into his garden, while an? other says, plowing it in the month of July and August is sure death to it. One says it don't hurt anything in the garden, and another says he would not have a garden without it, because it makes him work the garden oftener and bet? ter, to keep it down. We like the last idea more than all the rest, for we have come to the conclusion that it was a waste of time and labor to try to get rid of it after it is pretty well "set." We know a gentleman who has taken out three barrels of nuts from his garden, and he thinks it is worse now than before. A lady suggested to us the use of a fine-toothed comb. She says she has raked out lots of nuts to crack with such a comb. There's more in her head than hair pins. sure. ? The Mobile Tribune commences an edito? rial by saying: "There are 40,000,000 people within these United States. Deducting the girls from tho aggregate, what will be the re? siduum?" We give it up. Wouldn't have a single girl deducted for all tho residuumsin tho world. ? If a man has got something to say, it is l proper to let him say it. If he is a reasonable man he will be satisfied with the permission to speak, and not expect you to quit work and listen to him. hallelujahs, and breathe for them Old-Time Dueling; in Louisiana. In the winter of 1837 a very extraordinary fight occurred on the floor of the House of Representatives of Louisiana, then in session. The cause of the affair was always wrapped in mystery. Alcee La Branche, a popular Creole planter, was Speaker of the House, of which Col. John R. Grytnes was a distinguished mem? ber. One day, just as the Speaker ascended the desk and was about to call the House to order, Col. Grymcs stalked down the main isle in front of the Speaker's chair, having a brace of dragoon pistols in his hand, and approaching the Speaker, aimed one of the pistols at him and fired. The ball grazed the Speaker's head. He quickly drew a pocket pistol and fired at Col. Grymcs, but without effect. The Speaker then retired, Col. Grymes pursuing him into the street, where several ladies who were prom? enading Canal street passed between the com? batants. They were separated, and the affair here ended. Grymes was arraigned before the House for violating its privileges, and his course indicated a bitter spirit and, as was believed, with a bit? ter determination to cause a personal difficulty, in order to attract attention and secure a lib? eral patronage from the party Tor which he was laboriug with such vigor and earnestness. In the contest for Congress in the fall of 1844, the Democrats had as their candidate in the Fourth District, Gen. Bossier, who, a few years before, had killed a distinguished Whig leader, Gen. Gaiennie, in a duel with rifles, and in the Second District, Mr. Alcee La Branche, form? erly Speaker of the House of Representatives, and subsequently first Charge from the United States to the Republic of Texas. Mr. Huston, editor of the Baton Rouge Ga? zette, noticing the candidates in a very sarcas? tic and bitter article, referred to the personal affair of Mr. Bossier and La Branche as dis? playing very opposite qualities in these gehtle meu, the one being selected for his powers in battle, the other for his skill and agility in retreat. Mr. La Branche's attention was called to the article, and he was about to set off for Baton Rouge to call Huston to a responsibility, when he learned that he was then in the city, at the St. James Hotel. Accompanied by two Creole friends, he proceeded to the hotel, and hearing that Huston was in the billiard saloon, he entered that room, being directed to a small man, who was playing billiards, as Mr. Hus? ton. Mr. La Branche walked up to him and in? quired if he was Mr. Huston, of the Baton Rouge Advocate. He answer, "Yes, sir."? "Then, sir," was the rejoinder, "I am Alcee La Branche, whom you have grossly slandered." At the same time he raised his cane and struck Huston several severe blows on the head, which stunned him, and he fell on the floor. Huston was badly injured, and several days elapsed before he was in a condition to consider the steps to be taken in the case. As soon, however, as he felt sufficiently strong, he sent for his friends and dispatched a challenge to La Branche, who immediately accepted it, choosing double-barrelled shot guns, to be loaded with balls, as the weapons, at the distance of forty paces. Huston, reck? lessly impatient for the combat, accepted the terms, and before he had recovered from the effect of the blows he had received from La Branche, rode out with his friend to tho Gen tilly ridge, where more than the usual number of friends of both parties were assembled. The guns were loaded and the parties placed in position. At the first fire both missed. It was evident, however, that La Branche han? dled his piece with more quickness and steadi? ness. There was a parley between fires.? Neither principals nor soconds manifested or felt the slightest desire for reconciliation or settlement. It was a duel to the death. Hus? ton, the Northern born and educated man, was as determined as the fiery Creole. Several times did they fire without effect. Their impatience to destroy one another ren? dered the aim uncertain. At last, at the sixth fire, La Branche's ball passed through the hat of Huston, producing a slight abrasion of the skin, and causing the blood to trickle down his cheek. "Another pop," cried Huston, fearful that his seconds here might interrupt the com? bat. They took their stand again for the la?t time. It was quite noticeable, that La Branche had got the range, and a general presentment was felt that he would make a finish at the next fire. The word was given. Hustou fired first, La Branche more siowly and steadily, and, alas, fatally. Huston staggered and fell. In a sec? ond he was in the arms of that eminent surgeon, Dr. Warren Stone, who detected at a glance the locality and the character of the wound, and placing his hand upon the naked breast, from which he tore the shirt, arrested the gush? ing torrent of the life-ebbing current. He saw that the wound was mortal. He was already insensible and gasping. The ball i_i_3 jj_it.. xi_1. t*_ r._ TT_ ton was borne to a carriage, in which he was supported on the knee of Dr. Stone and one of his friends. Long before the carriage reached the city he had breathed his last, without a word escaping his lips.?New Orleans Bulletin. The Bed Bug.?Wc knew it would come. The Scientific American announces that an insect, hostile to housewives and slumber, has been purged of its pestilential qualities by a simple scientific method, and rendered a de? lightful and indispensable article of the dress? ing-table. By soaking nice fat bugs in a satu? rated solution of nitrate of potash and water, a perfume, delicate, delicious, penetrating, and like nothing else in the wido world, is ob? tained. Impressed by this revelation, the Chicago Tribune says : What an impetus this will give to the slaugh? ter of insects of this persuasion 1 Nitrate of potash is cheap, and bed bugs are plentiful. The underpaid clerk on five dollars a week, living at a dingy, third-class boarding house, has in this announcement the wherewithal to accumulate a competency. Such is the value science, and benefactor of the helpless and needy. Now for the discovery that cockroaches can be used as flavoring extracts for puddings, pies, etc. Gabriel, blow your horn !?Augusta Con? stitutionalist. ? A country editor in Tennessee, who once loved a local politician, now says: "At au election not more than a thousand years ago, this paper supported a gentleman for office du? ring the whole campaign. It stopped its press to print tickets for him, and the editor stood in the court-house yard all day and neglected his private business to electioneer for him, and now he tells us to stop his paper, ho can't pay for two county papers. Comment is unnessa ry." ? An old bachelor geologist was boasting that every rocky was as familiar to him as the alphabet. A lady declared that she knew a rock of which he was ignorant, "Name it, madainc," said he. "Rock the cradlo, sir," re? plied the lady. had passed directly through his lu of tho dail The Storm Kin?. Plagues of grasshoppers, potato bugs, locusts, buffalo gnats, army worms, caterpillars and in? numerable other insect pests, in the United States, have been followed by earthquake shocks, thunder-storms of extraordinary vio? lence, cyclones and other calamitous visitations of this kind in and beyond the valley of Missis? sippi. In the States north of us, to the South of us and even within the boundaries of this commonwealth the storm king has of late been given to fits of unusual anger. In Europe there have been disastrous floods as, in the valUy of the Garonne, of the Tyrol, in Bohemia and elsewhere, sweeping away the crops right and left, entailing a fearful sacrifice of human life and inflicting upon the great body of the population unspeakable suffering, the effect of which will probably be felt for years to come. The ordinary forces of nature seem to be breaking, a moment, away from the laws that usually govern them, as if to see how much trouble of one kind and another they could inflict upon mankind. Our exchanges from every quarter come to us bearing the intelligence of disaster from wind, rain and hail, throughout this continent and Europe. In this State the middle and upper sections have been visited with storms of unusually de? structive violence, the hail-stones in one in? stance, measuring eleven and a quarter inches in circumference, and covering the ground to the depth of several inches. Reports from numerous points in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Mis? souri, and Southern Illinois, indicate that the storm which has passed over those sections, lasting from Saturday till Monday night last, in most localities did great damage, killing a considerable amount of live stock, tearing down houses, barns and fences, inuudating whole farms, and injuring the crops to a great extent. Railroad bridges and culverts were swept away, many persons were injured and some were killed. In the little city of Detroit alone, on the night of the 28th ult., the tornado swept away twenty-three houses, and it was owing to the fact that the part of the city which it princi? pally visited was sparsely settled, that no more than seventeen persons wore killed aud wound? ed. On the same night the city of Philadelphia and adjoining counties likewise were visited, great destruction to property and life ensuing from wind and lightning. The*accounts which reach us of the effects of the storm in Europe are startling. In the south of France the loss of property by the overflow of the river Garonne, and other streams, is of itself equal in amount to the wealth of an empire, two thousand and six hun? dred houses, amounting, with other property, to the value of sixty millions of dollars, being destroyed, and two thousand souls perishing in the floods at Toulouse alone. It is now pro? posed to bombard and destroy the St. Cyprien quarter of the city to prevent further danger to life from the crumbling walls of the houses that yet remain. From the Hungarian capital, BudaPesth, we receive a dispatch which brings the intelligence of a furious thunder-storm which passed over that city on the 29th. The lightning was in? cessant, and hail fell in such qualities that the roof of the houses and the surrounding hills were covered two feet thick with ice. The wa? ter fall was extraordinary, eveu for that coun? try. Torrents swept through the streets of | Buda, carrying men, vehicles and everything movcable down into the river Danube. Many houses were suddenly flooded and destroyed be? fore the inmates could escape. Five hundred of the inhabitants were drowned, and one hun? dred killed by falling walls. Other provinces of Germany have been no less severely scourged. All Europe is holding a low ear to catch the first sonnd of preparation that the Kings and Princes may make for another struggle at arras; but ere their equipments for battle are made complete the might cf the Storm King may well cause them to pause and consider how in? significant is their?] to His I These stornM are remarkable, aside from their violence, for two things?the accompani? ment of severe hail, and their almost simulta? neous appearance on this continent and the continent of Europe. They will no doubt af? ford a subject for reflection to the scientists, and make another contribution to the growiug science of Meteorology. The phenomena attending the formation aud fall of hail, are not yet well understood with the scientific world. There is a theory con? nected with them which is cognate to the theo? ry connected with the formation and fall of rain. In addition to this the scientific world hold it to be an unquestionable fact that elec? tricity is in some way connected with the phe? nomena attending the formation and fall of j hail. This faot wo find noticed by tho great Jewish law-giver, who relutes that "the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground."? Wilmington Journal. People will Talk.?You may get through this world, but 'twill be very slow, if you listen to all that is said as you go; you'll be worried and fretted, and kept in a stew, for meddlesome toueues will have something to do, for people will talk. If quiet and modest, you'll have it presumed that your humble position is only assumed; you're a wolf in sheep's clothing, or else you're a fool, but don't get excited, keep perfectly cool, for people will talk. If generous and noble, they'll vent out their spleen, you'll hear some loud hints that you are selfish and mean. If upright, houest and fair as the day, they'll call you a rouge in a sly sneaking way, for people will talk. And tlien if you show the least boldness of heart or a slight inclination to take your own part, they will call you an upstart, conceited and vain ; but keep straight ahead, dou't stop to explain, for people will talk. If threadbare your dress, or old fashioned your hat, some one will surely take notice of that, and hint rather strong that you can't pay your way ; but don't get excited, whatever thoy say, for people will talk. If you dress in the fashion don't think to es? cape, for they criticise then in a different shape; you're ahead of your means, or your tailor's unpaid; but mind your own business, there's naught to be made, for people will talk. Now, tho best WHy to do is to do as you please, for your mind if you have one, will then be at ease. Of course you will meet with all sorts of abuse, but don't think to stop them, it aint any use, for people will talk 1 ? A Chicago husband, aged sixty-five years, becoming jealous of a wife of forty summers, relieved his mind by killing the lady and mortally wounding himself. What the deuce arc men and women coming to in this country ? Have honor and virtue become the rarest things on earth ? ? The wise man of the Petersburg Naps says it is too hot to write editorials. We think so too, and only scribble away to keep the printers from making a similar excuse about betting type. On Pruniug Trees and Vices. The subject of pruning trees and vines of all kinds, the mode, and the time and the amount of pruning to be done, is receiving much atten? tion from pomologists. As might be expected from the various experience or theories of ob? servers, and the stand point from which they draw their conclusions, there is much diversity of opinion, some condemning it altogether, and others advocating the free use of the knife. These decrepancies are more apparent than real, if we keep in mind the true and ultimate object of pruning, and the effect we wish to produce. It may safely be asserted as a general princi? ple in vegetable physiology, that all pruning is more or less injurious to the well being of the living plant. In a state of nature, or when a tree or vine is left to itself, there is a gradual adjustment and equilibrium established between the roots and branches. There are roots enough to ab? sorb and carry up the nutritive fluid, and there are branches, with their leaves, enough to work it up and assimilate the nutrition. When this equilibrium is disturbed, injury, disease, or death follows. The degree of injury will de? pend upon Buch circumstances, such as the amount of pruning, the time when it is done, and the constitution and habits of the particu? lar plant. Some bear pruning better than others, and in winter better than in summer. We may take a lesson from the manner in which nature does her pruning. It is always a sure and safe process. Take a young tree, a pine, for example. There are a number of small laterals. As the tree grows upwards and the trunk enlarges, the sap has a tendency to pass on to the upper portion ; these laterals be? gin to lose their vitality, and at length die out and fall to the ground." In the old tree there is not even a trace left of these primary branches, and their very scars are obliterated. Very different is the effect when, by artificial means, a vigorous, healthy limb is lopped off. The equilibrium between roots and branches is suddenly destroyed, and the plant receives a shock to its system, which impairs vitality to some extent. But in all kinds of cultivation, whether for ornament or for fruit, we find it better to sacri? fice somewhat the health or longevity of the plant for some other advantage to be gained, of greater value. We prune our fruit trees and grape vines to keep them within bounds and give them shape better to resist the effect of a too hot sun, or high wind3, and also by reduc? ing the amount of woody growth, to obtain better fruit. So also of hedges, or other artifi? cial shapes we may desire to produce. A hedge is a collection of stunted, half starved, ill con? ditioned individuals, but when taken as a whole, its general effect (which is the thing sought after) is useful or pleasing. Whatever may be the chief object in cultivation, whether it be the perfection of fruit or flowers, or usefulness as a hedge, or ornamental shape, we seek that, and not the longevity of the plant. If the plant could not furnish these requisites, it would not be worth the cultivation at all. The true end and aim of all pruning, therefore, is to do just so much of it and no more, as will give the best results, with the least injury. And this must be ascertained by practical observa? tion and experience. The above remarks are of course intended to apply to such things as are growing and fixed permanently for life. In transplanting it is necessary to prune. No matter how carefully a tree may be taken up, the roots are injured more or less, according to the care used. In proportion as the roots are lessened, so must we lessen the branches. Even in trans? planting small things from the nursery bed when all the roots can be secured, it requires time for the absorbing functions to commence their supply of fluid, and so it is best always to pinch off a portion of the leaves, and thus re? store the equilibrium.?H. W. Bavenel, in Eu ral Carolinian for July. Regular Eating. Half of all ordinary diseases would be ban? ished from civilized life, and dyspepsia become almost unknown, if everybody would eat but thrice a day at reguiar times, and not an atom between meals, the interval not being less than five hours, that being the time required to digest a full meal and pass it out of the stomach. If a person eats between meals, the process of digestion of the food already in the stomach is arrested until the last which has been eaten is brought into the condition of the former meal, just as if water is boiling and ice put in, the whole ceases to boil until the ice is melted and brought to the boiling point, aud then the whole boils together. But it is the law of nature that all food be? gins to decay, to rot, after exposure to heat and moisture, for a certain time. If a meal is eaten and in two hours another, the whole re? mains undigested for several hours, before which time the rottening process commences, and the man has his stomach full of carion? the very idea of which is horribly disgusting; but that such is the case, the unendurable odor of the belching demonstrates. As, then, all the food in the stomach is in a rotten coudition, in a state of fermentive decay, it becomes unfit for the purposes of nutrition and making pure blood in tho whole body ; hence the nerves, which feed on this impure and imperfect blood are not properly nourish? ed, and, as a consequence, become diseased. "They complain" they are hungry?and like a hungry man are peevish, fretful, restless. We call it nervousness, and no one ever knew a dyspeptic who was not restless, fidgety, fretful, and essentially disagreeable and uucertain. The stomach is made up of a number of muscles, all of which are brought into requisi? tion in the process of digestion. But no mus? cle can work always. The busy heart is in a state of perfect repose one-third of its time. The eye can wink twice in a second, but this could" not bo continued five minutes. The hands and feet must have rest, and so with the muscles of the stomach ; they can only rest when there is no work for them to do?no food in the stomach to digest. Even at five hours' interval, and eating twice a day, they are kept constantly at work from breakfast until the last meal is disposed of, usually ten o'clock at night. But multitudes eat heartily till within an hour of bedtime; thus, while the other por? tions of the body are at rest, the stomach is kept laboring until almost daylight, and made to begin again at breakfast-time. No wonder it is that the stomach is worn out?has lost its power of action. Many girls become dyspep? tic before they are out of their teens, in conse? quence of their being about the house and nib? bling at everything they lay their eyes on that is good to eat.?Hall's Journal. ? The feeling which some people have, that it is best never to offend a person who can do them a bad turn, is shown by an Indiana editor who refers to the devil as "the principle of evil." ? Somebody says that "large ears denote broad, comprehensive views and modes of thought." What magnificent ideas (thinks the Boston Journal) a jackass must have. The Long Branch Capital. In defiance of law, which requires his pres? ence at Washington, and of propriety, which forbids a prolonged absence from the post of duty, the President has carried out his well known purpose of giving a quasi-official char? acter to his residence at Long Branch. A few days ago Count Corti, the late Italian Minister to the United States, was compelled to go from the capital to the sea-side, accompanied by Mr. Cadwallader, the First Assistant Secretary of State, in order to present his letters of re I call. Thus one of the highest functions of the Executive was performed far away from the seat of Government, for no better reason than because the President would not disturb his ease by discharging that duty at the place de? signated by law, and where every such act is supposed to be executed. This incident is but another of the many violent innovations on the honored practices of the Government which have marked the reckless career of Grantism. It is the first example in our history of the President receiving the representative of a for? eign power formally, divested of all official surroundings and remote from the capital. No king in Europe would venture to trifle with the attributes of his office in this shameful way, or to treat a foreignjninister with the gross indignity shown to Count Corti, in com? pelling him ?o leave Washington and follow thfr President to a summer resort wholly un? known to the law as an Executive residence. Besides the personal gratification which Grant derives from being at Long Branch, with nothing to do except to enjoy the society and share in the tastes of cor genial compan? ions, he takes very good care to combine busi? ness with pleasure, and to make his stay there a source of" profit to himself and his immedi? ate circle of friends. In addition to the cottage which was pre? sented to him by seven or eight gentlemen owning large property at Long Branch, Grant has become the owner of a second cottage, now rented for the summer. He knows quit3 as well as the hotel keepers and real estate proprietors do, that the presence of any Presi? dent there will necessarily attract a throng of visitors and give a certain degree of attraction to the spot in the eyes of the curious and snob? bish. It follows naturally that the value of prop? erty is enhanced by this cause, just as a crowd is attracted to Barnum's by some sensational noveky. G^r. Porter and Measurer Babcock, who ,.eie so poor five years ago that they and others messed together at Washington for the sake of economy, are the owners of cottages near the President. So is the poet laureate of the Administration, George W. Childs, A. M., proprietor of the Philadelphia Ledger. So are many others known to fame. The parties holding these interests at Long Branch can very well afford to give Grant a house, and to stock his cellars every summer with the best wines, liquors, and cigars, upon condition that he will go there and give it the reputation of being a summer capital. Thou? sands of office-holders and others having pub? lic or private business with the President, and multitudes of sight seers, will flock there, who otherwise might never have gone near it. So four months of the years for which the people are required to pay double the salary of any former President, and four times the emol? uments, are in this way turned to profitable account by Grant and his friends. The Presi? dential office is thus converted into a show and a speculation.?N. Y. Sun. Apoplexy. If there is any one disease that the diligent brain-worker, a little past middle life, has reasoned to fear, it is apoplexy. Although statistical evidence is wanting, the experience of the physician confirms the popular belief that more of our distinguished men are carried off by this disease, or one of its sequels, para? lysis, than by any other cause. The influences which tend to produce such a result, and the best means of avoiding them, are the objects we propose briefly to discuss. A middle aged physician said one day to the wr'ter: "As I was walking'down the street alter dinner I felt a shock in the back of my head, as if some one had struck me; I have not felt well since. I fear I shall die, just as my ancestors have, of paralysis. What shall I do ?" The answer was, "Diminish the ten? sion on the blood-vessels, and there need be no fear of tearing them iu a weak place." Now, this expresses iu plain terms the exact cause of apoplexy in the great majority of instances ; and it is one, too, which every one has it in his power to prevent. A blood-vessel of the brain, from causes which will presently be mentioned, has lost some of its elastic strength ; food is abundant, digestion is good ; blood is made in abundance, but little is worked off by exercise; the tension on every artery and vein is at a maximum rate; the even, circuitous flow is temporarily impeded at Home point, throwing a dangerous pressure on another ; the vessel which has lost its elastic strength gives way, blood is poured out, a clot is formed, which, by its pressure on the brain, produces complete unconsciousness. This is the apo? plectic stroke. It will be perceived that there are two leading conditiana upon which the production of the stroke depends; a lessened strength in the vessel, and an increased ten? sion on it. There are no vessels carrying blood to and from the various organs of the body which so frequently rupture as those in the brain. The causes that produce this result are the fatty degeneracy of the middle art jrial coat of the cerebral vessels, whereby their elastic strength is much impaired, the great regularity of blood distribution to the contents of the cranium, and the little support which the pulpy sub? stance of the brain gives to the weakened ves? sels imbedded in it. The forms of degeneracy that are found in the arteries of the brain are the fatty and the calcerous. The microscope has made some startling revelatious on this fatty decay. The strong, elastic fibers, that should make up the substance of the middle arterial coat, are in places here and there no longer to be seen, their place being occupied by fatty globules, which have very litte resisting power to a dis? turbing force.?Popular S'icncc Monthly. ? A correspondent of the Maine Farmer says: Cucumbers iu the early part of July are not unwholesome. They should always be picked early in the morning, when dew is on them. Gathered later in the day, under a broiling sun, they are wholly unfit to eat. This is, no doubtj one reason why they are consider unwholesome by many persons. ? The New Orleans papers must have sensa? tions. The Picayune publishes a romance of the sea, telling how some parties were wrecked in IS 10 and have just been heard of on an un? known island. We advise them to stay where they are. Times are harder now than they were 26 years ago. ? One of the best proofs of the nation's progress is the papers keeping up with every change in the style of ladies' stockings.