late autumn is a good time for setting out young shade trees. Enlist the boys of the district in the work and it will be done. One word more. In planting out trees, don't set them in stiff, ugly rows, but here and there, singly and in clumps, so that they shall seem to have been planted by nature. THE HOME. The Welcome Back. Sweet is the hour that brings us home, When the world hath spent its frowns and wrath, Oh, joyfully dear is the homeward track, What do we reck, on a dreary way, Though lonely and benighted, If we know there are lips to chide our stay, Politeness Necessary among Intimate Friends. The common fallacy is, that intimacy dispenses with the necessity of politeness. The truth is just the opposite of this. The more points of contract there are, the more danger of friction there is, and the more carefully should people guard against it. If you see a man only once a month, it is not of so vital importance that you do not trench on his rights, tastes, or whims. He can bear to be crossed or annoyed occasionally. If he does not have a high regard for you, it is comparatively unimportant, because your paths are generally so diverse. But you and the man with whom you dine every day have it in your power to make each other exceedingly uncomfortable. A very little dropping will wear away a rock, if it only keep at it. The thing that you would think of, if it occurred only twice a year, becomes an intolerable burden when it happens twice a day. This is where husbands and wives run aground. They take too much for granted. If they would but see that they have something to gain, something to save, as well as something to enjoy, it would be better for them; but they proceed on the assumption that their love is an inexhaustible tank, and not a fountain depending for its supply on the stream that trickles into it. So, for every little annoying habit, or weakness, or fault, they draw on the tank without being careful to keep the supply open, till they awake one morning to find the pump dry, and instead of love, at best, nothing but a cold habit of complacence. On the contrary, the more intimate friends become, whether married or unmarried, the more scrupulously should they strive to repress in themselves everything annoying, and to cherish both in themselves and each other everything pleasing. While each should draw on his love to neutralise the faults of his friend, it is suicidal to draw on his friend's love to neutralize his own faults. Love should be cumulative, since it cannot be stationary. If it does not increase, it decreases. Love, like confidence, is a plant of slow growth, and of most exotic fragility. It must be constantly and tenderly cherished. Every noxious and foreign element must be carefully removed from it. All sunshine, and sweet airs, and morning dews, and evening showers must breathe upon it perpetual fragrance, or it dies into a hideous and repulsive deformity, fit only to be cast out and trodden under foot of men, while, properly cultivated, it is a Tree of Lfe.-Atlantic Monthly. Punishment to Children. In a late number of the Atlantic Monthly, the "Country Parson" has a charming little essay on "Sorrows of Childhood." In the course of which he makes these remarks: dren is by shutting them up in a dark place. An extremely wicked way of punishing chilDarkness is naturally fearful to human beings, and the stupid ghost stories of many nurses stupid and wicked thing to send a child on an make it especially fearful to a child. It is a errand in a dark night. I do not remember passing through a greater trial in my youth than once walking three miles alone (it was not going on an errand) in the dark, along a road thickly shaded with trees. I was a little fellow; but I got over the distance in half an hour. Part of the way was along a wall of a churchyard-one of those ghastly, weedy, neglected, accursed-looking spots where stupidity redress some supposed, perhaps some real wrong; silence that tongue, about to utter words which would poison like the venom of asps; expel that wicked imagination, that comes into your thoughts as Satan came into the Garden of Eden; for if you do not drive that out of your paradise, it will drive you out.-Horace Mann. YOUTH'S CORNER. The Wasp and the Bee. A wasp met a bee that was just buzzing by, has done what it can to add circumstances of The Babie. Nae shoe to hide her tiny tae, Her simple dress of sprinkled pink, She is the budding of our love, SELP SACRIFICES -There is not one of us who has not a brother or a sister, a friend or a schoolmate, whom we can make better as well as happier. Every day calls upon us for sacrifices of small selfishness, for forbearance under provocation, and for the sujugation of evil propensities. Drop the stone you were about to throw in retaliation for insult; unclench that fist with which you were about to From this little story, let people beware: All About my Friends.-No. 3. Early in May, there came a pair of bluebirds and made a nest in a bird-house which was in a wild cherry tree that stands very near the front gate. Every day they sang their sweet little songs, which was ample payment for their house rent; but they did more, they daily destroyed a great many worms and insects. They would perch themselves on the fence, the well, or the low branch of a tree, and whenever they espied anything such as they use for food, they would dart down and pick it up, and then go back to their station, to watch for more. About the same time, a pair of Brown Thrushes came. Just across the road from the house is a wild crab apple tree, and a woodbine has run up on the tree and made a complete bower at the top; and there the thrushes made their nest. The nest was composed of roots, sticks, and the stubble of grass, with never a bit of moss, or wool, or feathers for a lining. The male bird came, every morning, and took his station on the very tiptop of the hick ory tree that stands in the yard, and trilled is the ocean. Isn't it grand-this almost his roundelays of etherial notes, imitating boundless "waste of waters?” nearly every other song bird. When cherries and currants were ripe, he took his pay for his musical entertainment. I believe that this bird is the Ground Thrush. It is sometimes called the Mocking Bird. It usually makes its rest on the ground, by the side of a bush, a stump, or a large stone. Its eggs are speckled. UNCLE WILLIAM. Some Things about the Sea. In the last number of the FARMER we intimated to our young friends, that we might have many things to tell them in the future about what we saw in our voyage upon the ocean and our journey in foreign lands. Very well, we mean to keep our promise, and will begin by telling you some things about the Sea. Some of you have seen the great Atlantic, and have heard the roar of his mighty waters. Possibly a few have crossed in a ship from shore to shore, and with your own wondering eyes seen some of the strange sights-such as icebergs, whales, sharks, and other monsters of the deep, and even fierce storms-of which we are going to tell you. But even if you have, perhaps we may tell you something you had not learned before. WHAT AN OCEAN IS. An ocean is often called "the sea," but a sea is never called an ocean. A real sea is a large body of salt water nearly shut in by land. Take your atlas and see the difference. Thus you will find the Mediterranean, the Black, the Baltic, the Caspian, and many other seas-all less than any of the great oceans in size, and quite nearly surrounded by land. "But why," you ask, "do you, then, sometimes call the ocean the sea ?" Just because a sea is almost an ocean, and the word sea has a more pleasant and poetic sound to the ear and mind; nothing else. "What, then, is the ocean ?" That great body of salt water which surrounds the continents such as America, Europe, Asia, and Africa-and which covers more than three-fifths of the whole surface of the great globe. That WHAT THE OCEAN IS MADE OF. "What the ocean is made of? Why, water, of course!" I hear some little boy say. Not all water, my boy; one part in thirty parts is salts-chiefly common salt. That is, in every thirty pounds of the water there is one pound of salt. Or, in other words, every bucket-full (ordinary wooden bucket, holding three gallons) of sea water contains a little over one pound of salt. You see, then, a good reason why the ocean is called the "briny deep."— There are, also, many other kinds of salt, besides common salt, in the sea, but they are in very small quantity, and have long, hard names, and so our little readers must wait until they study chemistry, when they will learn all about them. DEPTH OF THE OCEAN AND ITS BOTTOM. Because there are strong currents in the sea it is difficult to find out just how deep the water is, in many places, and at great depths.— It is very well known, however, that the bottom is uneven, just like the land, with its mountains and valleys and plains; and hence, in some places, the water is] very much deeper than in others. Scientific men have measured, or sounded the depth a great many times in a great many places, and estimated the average depth at two miles. That is, if the bottom were perfectly level like the floor of a room, then the depth of the ocean wherever its waters cover the globe, would be two miles.— Think of it! Isn't it wonderful? Let's see, now, how much all this water of the whole ocean would weigh. By a calculation, which your parents or teachers will tell you how to make, we find that a single cubic or solid mile of water would weigh forty-etght billions, one hundred and eighty-one millions, one hundred and eighty-six thousand, one hundred and eighty-four tons. But the water of the entire ocean is sufficient in quantity to make four hundred millions of such cubic or solid miles. So that to ascertain the weight of the whole ocean in tons, we must multiply these two vast numbers together. Expressed in figures the 600.000,000 tons !!-a number so vast that the mind of no one can comprehend it. To give you a better idea, we will suppose a train of cars, water tight, to be loaded with the water of the ocean-each car carrying four tons, and being twenty feet long. How long would the train be? Why, it would reach entirely around the world seven hundred and thirty billion, seventeen million, nine hundred and eightythree thousand, and ninety times!! But the numbers are still too vast for your comprehension. And so we will suppose this enormous train of cars to move, and at the rate of a mile in a minute. How long would a man have to stand in his place, day and night, in order to see the last car pass? Over a billion of years! or more than five hundred millions of lifetimes of sixty years!! If a train were loaded with the salt of the water alone, it would be over fifteen millions of life-times in passing! Sesostris, King of Egypt, led against his enemies 600,000 men, 24,000 cavalry, and 27 scythe armed chariots, 1491 B. C. Hamilcar went from Carthage and landed near Halermo. He had a fleet of 2,000 ships and 3,000 small vessels, and a land force of 300,000 men. At ihe battle in which he was Of the color and the currents of the sea in defeated 150,000 were slain. the next number. WAR MISCELLANY. The Soldier's Grave. BY GEO. W. BUNGAY. I. "Touch him tenderly," gently raise Under the arch of blue. II. Then bear him to the sylvan shade, Where dew falls from the drooping blade, Like tears from a sad-hearted maid Whose grief no words unfold; Where the soft wind in sorrow sighs, Among the flowers whose pleasant eyes, Repeat the beauty of the skies, Starlight and blue and gold. III. Brush from his brow the wind-tossed hair, Fold his white hands upon his breast, There let him sweetly sleep. IV. Dig his grave where the soft green sod A Roman fleet led by Regulus against Carthage consisted of 330 vessels with 140,000 men. The Carthagenian fleet numbered 350 vessels with 150,000 men. At the battle of Cannae, there, were of the Romans, including allies, 80,000 foot and 6,000 horse; of the Carthagenians 40,000 foot, and 10,000 horse. Of these 70,000 were slain in all, and 10,000 taken prisoners-more than half slain. Hannibal, during his campaign in Italy and Spain, plundered 400 towns, and destroyed 300,000 men. Ninus, the Assyrian King, about 2,200 years B. C., led against the Bactrians his army, consisting of 1,700,000 foot, 200,000 horse, and 16,000 chariots armed with scythes. Italy, a little before Hannibal's time, was able to send into the field nearly 1,000,000 men. Semiramis employed 2,000,000 men in building the mighty Babylon. She took 100,000 Indians prisoners at the Indus, and sank 1,000 boats. Sennacherib lost, in a single night, 185,000 by the destroying angel. 2 Kings, xix, 35–37. A short time after the taking of Babylon the forces of Cyrus consisted of 600,000 foot, 120,000 horse, and 2,000 chariots armed with scythes. An army of Cambyses, 50,000 strong, was buried up in the desert sands of Africa by a south wind. When Xerxes arrived at Thermopylae, his land and sea forces amounted to 2,641,610, ex-three battles-the 1sst at Newberne. The army of Tamerlane is said to have amounted to 1,600,000, and that of his antagonists, Bajazet, to 1,400,000. The army of Artaxerxes, before the battle of Cunaxa, amounted to 1,200,000. When Jerusalem was taken by Titus, 1,100,000 perished in various ways. The forces of Darius, at Arbela, numbered more than 1,000,000. The Persians lost 90,000 men in this battle, Alexander about 500. So says Diodorus. Arian says the Persians in this battle lost 300,000, the Greeks 1,200. Ten thousand horse and 100,000 foot fell on the fatal field of Issus. The above items are from notes taken during my ordinary reading, and set down without any reference ta chronology. By this it will be seen that 200,000 is the largest number of horsemen in any of these armies; that the largest number slain (except account in II Kings) was 150,000; or, if we credit Arian, 300,000; that the largest number of prisoners taken was 100,000. I hope that any one who may see this will add other instances of large numbers mustered for war in olden times. eter. FIRING THE MORTARS.-The operation of firing the mortars is interesting. The shell weighs 230 pounds, and is 13 inched in diamFor a family illustration, it is about the size of a large soup plate. The boat is alongside the shore, so as to withstand the shock firmly, and the men go ashore when the mortar is to be fired. A pull of the string does the work, and the whole vicinity is shaken with the concussion. The report is deafening and the most enthusiastic person gets enough with one or two discharges. There is no sound from the shell at this point of observation, and no indication to mark the course it is taking, but in a few seconds, an attentive observer with a good glass will see the cloud of smoke that follows its explosion, and then the report comes back with a dull boom. If it has done the execution, the enemy may be seen carrying off their killed and wounded. When finding her husband missing, she went in pursuit, and in her travels found young Smith lying in low ground, apparently dead, but on turning him over found that he had life. She gave him some cordials, he revived, and she sent for an ambulance and carried him to the hospital, where, if he had remained longer, he would probably have lived. Liquid Fire. Some experiments were recently tried at the Washington Navy Yard with an apparatus for the ejection of liquid fire, which to all intents and purposes, is the famed Greek fire revived, the secret of which has been lost. The chemical composition of this fire may not be the same, but its eeffets are as terrible as those attributed to the inextinguishable fire of the Greeks. The composition and the apparatus for ejecting it are the inventions of Prof. B. F. Greenough, of Boston, who, though for many years nearly blind, has parsued his chemical investigations with unabated zeal, until he has produced what promises to be a terrible auxilliary in warfare. The experiments were made under the direction of a Board, consisting of Capt. G. V. Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Capt. Dahlgren, Capt. Wainwright, and Lieut. Dadger. A target was erected upon a platform fifty feet long by thirty wide, the target being made of solid oak timber three feet in thickness.The fluid was ejected, in an inert state, from a pipe three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter, ard was thrown some thirty to fifty yards before it reached the target. At a distance of several feet from the muzzle the fluid ignited, expanding to a diameter of two feet, with an immense combustion, which covered the target and platform with liquid fire. The fire was apparently inextinguishable, burning rapidly on the water and consuming the target. It emitted fumes of smoke which darkened the atmosphere, and would have suffocated any human being being who had come within its influence. The experiment was quite successful. We understand that experiments have also been made with shells filled with this liquid, and with great success. The composition, the secret of which is known only to the inventor, promises to be a very effective auxilliary of war. A ROMANTIC STORY.-A few days since, a young man named Smith died at Wolcottville, Conn., from wounds contracted at the battle of Newberne. He was in three battles, and was wounded at Newberne by a shot through the arm, which, from want of attention, caused "FATHER'S CHIMNEY."-A few days since a his death. In the battle at Newberne he was number of prisoners of war, who had been reprovidentially saved by a woman who accom-leased on porole, passed over the P. S. & P. panied her husband into the army. Finding her husband was determined to go, she said: "I go with you to take care of you and help you fight the battles." She dressed herself in the true Bloomer costume, and with Minie rifle in hand she went into the fight, and was in Railroad, (Maine,) on their way to their homes. Among the number was a blue-eyed, pale-faced boy, not more than seventeen, whose shoulders seemed scarcely equal to carry a forty pound knapsack. For some time he had been looking intently out of the car window, and suddenly, |