making a violent effort to preserve my gravity, for her keen eyes were fixed on my face.

"O, I reckon folks that's college larnt as you be, needn't ax me when the moon's in parrighee. I expect you can tell any time when you look at it."

"I am not college learned," I replied, "you know ladies never are, and I presume my husband has forgotten all about the parrighee of the moon long since."

"Well you can find it any time by looking in a nalmanic; that's whar we found it. Some folks" added the old lady, "don't allow there's anything in the moon about fruit and so on, but I reckon they don't know so much more than other folks as they think they do. I know a heap of things that does better when they're planted at sartin' times o' the moon, and there can't nobody make me think 'taint so, cause I've tried it. "Taint so much account about some

things; I reckon taters does as well planted one time as another, and so does beets and so on, but cabbages and onions and all them 'dought to be planted in the new o' the moon, if you want 'em to be of any 'count."

Such edifying conversation usually occupied the time spent at the old lady's house. If you were particularly deferential and received instructions meekly, you were always rewarded by having your pockets or basket filled with the choicest apples for your own especial gratification. I know of no other way in which the good woman ever corrupted the morals of her visitors, but this was bad enough. Whose integrity could stand unshaken before a dish heaped with apples such as money could not buy? Who would venture to correct the friendly old woman's orthoëpy at such a risk? Certainly not one who had such a longing for the apple bins of the Eastern cellars as I had.

AUGUST is in all probability that month in which general business is the most quiet. A large proportion of the leading merchants and capitalists leave the city for a few weeks' recreation, and the dealers and traders who arrive here from the South and West, for the most part spend the time at watering places, until the fall goods shall have been opened, and the fresh assortments afford a better field for purchase. In the country the progress of the harvests, rather than trade, occupies the attention of the active portion of the community. These circumstances conspire to produce a degree of languor which precludes any variation in the aspect of local affairs, while they unite in producing an accumulation of funds, and a cheapness in its market price. This period of the present year has, in addition to the war panic, been marked however with a very serious calamity in the destruction by fire of a goodly portion of the business part of the city. Since the great fire of December, 1835, so great a calamity has not befallen the city. In the present case, however, the positive loss has fallen mostly, if not

Part of these losses fell upon the agencies of foreign companies, which by a mere relaxation of the tax formerly imposed upon foreign capital for the protection of the local property, has of late largely increased its risks in this city. The complete destruction wrought by the great fire of 1835, in the capitals of the fire companies, exposed the impolicy of prohibiting other capitals from taking part in the risks. The reduction of that tax on the capital, from 10 per cent. to 2 per cent. has increased the operations as follows:

Average,

2,369.98

3,183.09

premiums, 23,699.80
risks, 3,385,685.71

This has become an important safeguard to the city. It has brought as it were into the common stock of the city, a large portion of the surplus capital of other cities, to make good any dilapidation of the working capital of this. The calamity has therefore, although, it has interrupted the business of some firms and destroyed some stocks of goods, neither broken up nor diminished the variety and assortment always offering here for sale; as we have remarked the insurance stockholders have suffered to the greatest extent, more particularly the mutual companies, which, being but of recent formation, had not acquired sufficient strength to withstand so serious a blow, and several have gone into liquidation, and the dividend certificates of all the balance will be cancelled. The joint stock companies generally divide all their earnings, and these of late years have been very large. The blow has fallen heavily upon their capitals, and to make them good the stockholders will refund them a portion of the inordinate profits they have received. The business of the city generally has not been affected much. The prices of one or two articles, of which considerable stocks were consumed, have slightly advanced, -say coffee, of which 13,000 bags were destroyed, rose 3-8 to 1-2 cent. per lb. The Insurance companies were, by the general abundance of money, enabled to borrow sufficiently to meet the payments without pressing their securities too heavily upon the market. The event has passed, therefore, with much less distress than could reasonably have been expected. This is more particularly the case, in as much as there has been far less of credits outstanding than in former periods. The wholesome restrictions growing out of the experience of

159,154.50 22,736,358.14

late years, have served to confine the business of merchants more within the limits of their own bona fide capitals. Hence a loss like that of the fire is confined within comparatively narrower limits in its effects, than would otherwise have been the case. The federal government postponed for sixty days, the sales of forfeited goods, to avoid any pressure that might exist. The New York fire added to that of Pittsburgh, ands ome other cities, formed the calamitous close of the crop year, which has not been of a very lucrative character, although it has been much better in relation to our foreign trade, than the preceding year. In that year a disposition to speculate in cotton on this side of the water, ran the prices up to a level, which not only could not be sustained, but could not be reached in Liverpool; a consequence of this was that export value of the cotton as given in the returns of the Secretary of the Treasury, represented a sum far higher than was actually realized abroad, to the credit of United States shippers. The exports of the United States instead of, as is usually the case, realizing more than the export value, produced less, and the difference fell upon shippers here. During the last year there has been no disposition to speculate in cotton. Prices have rated very low but under a greatly increased consumption, they have been steady in the face of large receipts, and have rather shown a disposition to advance. In our number for August, 1844, we inserted a table of the current prices of the leading agricultural products in the city of New York at that time. In order to preserve the range of prices, we continue that table.

Here is the fact that the increased consumption of dutiable goods was 40 per cent. more than the large estimate of the minister as the consequence of his relaxations. It will also be remembered that the duty on 431 articles, including cotton, was entirely removed, consequently no enhancement of the revenue could take place directly from their increased consumption, which must have been very great. The increase of the Customs has also been in that quarter of the year when the smallest revenue is derivable from foreign corn. Hence the regular articles of import must have given this result. It will be remembered that the reduction in the price of certain articles by the removal of the taxes on them also tends to increase the consumption of those articles on which the duties have not been touched. Because the reduction in the money value of any considerable portion of the articles which enter into the necessary consumption of the people, enhances the ratio which their money means bears to the whole sum of their wants. In this view it is that the whole customs revenue has advanced so much beyond what even the minister estimated. Nor has England alone given evidence of the increasing ability of the people to consume dutiable produce. The indirect taxes of France have, for the first six months of the year 1845, reached 389,904,000 francs, or $73,107,000, exceeding those of the same period of last year, 11,778,000 francs, or $2,208,375. In Belgiun the customs for the same period were 35 891,716 francs, an increase of 1,325,170 over the corresponding period of last year. These unerring indications of the general health of the foreign markets are highly favorable to the continued advance of those articles which we have mentioned as deriving their chief

value from the extent of the export de mand.

The farm produce of the Western country has not been so well supported in price, notwithstanding that the crops of many large sections, Illinois and Michigan in particular, have been far from large. It would seem to be the case that the prices of farm produce are doomed to the most violent fluctuations in consequence of the absence of a steady foreign market for the surplus. If we follow the price of wool, beef, and pork, in the above table, we shall observe that they vary from year to year 50 to 200 per cent. The leading cause of this violent vacillation may be found in the fact that the high price of one year for a particular article influences a very large production of that article in the next, and as there has hitherto been no foreign market to carry off the surplus when the price sinks below a certain point, the market rates fall as far below a healthy rate as it was before above it. This again produces a short supply in the succeeding year. Beef that sold at $14,25 in June, 1840, sold at $5,50 in 1844, and is now up again to $9,75. Wool more particularly, has undergone these speculative variations ruinous to the interests of the farmer. From 1841 to 1843 it fell 10 cts. per lb., and in the fall of last year, from various combined causes, it advanced 10 to 12 cts., rising to the point it occupied in 1841. This advance in prices naturally produced an extended cultivation and increased imports; a large portion of the latter being smuggled, a heavy fall in price has been the result. This is more especially the case in consequence of a large diminution in the actual consumption of manufactured goods, by reason of the advance which those goods have undergone under the operation of the tariff tax. In this particular the policy of the United

States in the last few years has been the reverse of that of Great Britain. We have shown that the policy of that government was to increase consumption by diminishing the cost. The United States have by increasing taxes enhanced the cost of goods, and by so doing diminished the consumption of the raw produce, thus furnishing an additional cause for its decline in value. As thus, the duty on woollen cloths is 40 per cent. on the raw wool suitable to make such cloths 3 cts. per lb., and 30 per cent. which is equal to 33 per cent. If the manufacturers therefore paid for wool on a price equal to the foreign wool with the duty added, the farmer would get 10 cents per lb. more for his wool although he would have to give $1,20 per yard more for his cloth. A great deal of the fine wool has been imported however at the 5 per cent. duty, causing the price of wool to fall while the price of cloths has been maintained. This has seriously affected the woolgrowing interests. Notwithstanding that the wheat harvests of last year were short in some sections the year has closed with flour at a point lower than ever before, good Genesee selling at $4,31 on the eve of a most bountiful harvest in all sections of the country. The hope of relief from this pressure must come therefore only from a foreign demand. The state of the English harvest was such at our latest dates as to hold out the prospect of a moderate demand from that quarter, and the price of flour in bond was such as to warrant shipments. Indeed under the modified corn laws of England she requires now in years of good harvest a large supply of grain. The countries of western Europe are becoming less able to furnish the requisite supply, not so much because they produce less, but because from the improving condition of the people they consume more. It has been estimated on good authority, that of a

population of 32,000,000 in France, 7,500,000 never eat wheat bread; and that of those who consume it a large number use it in a less proportion than in the United States or even in England. This matter is now becoming remedied, and already we have the fact that France and Belgium are wheat importing countries, sustaining the prices for wheat in all the other ports of western Europe which have materially advanced under the continued demands of England, since the failure of her crop in 1837, since when the price of wheat in Hamburg has averaged $1,27 per bushel, or 37 cents higher than the present price in New York. Under these circumstances any extraordinary demand for breadstuffs on the part of England will afford material relief to the farmers of the United States. With all the disadvanges under which the country has labored for the past year, a new season is about opening, showing apart from political affairs, in the continued equalization and low rate for exchange, a perfect freedom of commercial debt and an uncommon healthy state of the currency.

The currency of the United States has of late years approached a specie level in a very great degree; that is to say, the volume of the currency as furnished by the banks has been far less in proportion to the specie in circulation than ever before. While this has been the case on this side of the Atlantic very large sums in specie have been accumulating in the vaults of the leading banks of Europe, and also left Europe for the United States; by which means the actual volume of the currency abroad must also have undergone a great diminution We may compare the circulation and specie of the Banks of England, France, New York, and New Orleans, as the four leading points of Europe and America, for the fall of 1839 and June, 1845, as follows, reduced to United States currency :