Sacramento daily record-union., 1883-10-20
HOBBIES.

People who indulge their tastes for par
ticular things apart from their ordinary
pursuits are often laughed at as hobby
riders; but proper hobbies are worth rid
Ling, none the less /; and it would be we'll if
every person had one or two OF them. A IA
nous English writer has wisely said {" One
should know something of everything and
everything of something" and the study
or practice given to good hobby is sure
to be repaid by the enjoyment it gives, if
not by the benefit received from it. Of
course there are foolish and useless hob
bies, that may or may not be vices-like
excessive indulgence in silly games or the
collection of things of trifing consequence.
A man in London recently made and ex-
hibited an enormous collection of cigar
stumps.
Only those hobbies are to be recommended
which pleasantly occupy and entertain
ones hours of leisure, and tend to develop
both mind and body. Walking tours,
athletic exercises, boating, shooting, mill
tary drill, sketching, painting, modelling,
carving, embroidery gardening, practical
study of plants, rock and animals; expert.
ments in chemistry, photography and
physics reading and book study on various
topics; collecting of minerals, shells, coins,
stamps, relics, curiosities, books, pictures,
autographs and stereoscopic views the
tanning and training of animals; the prsc-
tice of music, elocution and acting; liter
ary work observations with telescope or
microscope; bee, poultry and silkworm
keeping, are among the things which en-
gage the time and attention Of different
people, and all of them may be productive
Of excellent results. The hobbies of some
men have made them richer and wiser and
more famous than the professions and
trades they have adopted. Seymour Ha-
den, the famous living English etcher,
whose works command prices that seem
extravsgant, is physician, who took up
the art purely for amusement. Mrs. Cam
eron, whose artistic work in photography
is highly prizad by collectors, merely in
dulged in photography as hobby. Nearer
home we might name many artists of en-.
viable reputation whose beginning has been
that of amateurs. 0ae lady, Mrs. Whit
comb, of this city, for instance, whose
practical interest in drawing and painting
was awakened not long ago by her daugh-
most place in her chosen field by virtue Of
of which she had never before suspected.
To get the greatest amount of good from
hobby, one must be thorough must try
to learn everything pertaining to it, and
must be persistent in its practice. "Con-
slant dropping wears away a stone, and
slight and oft-repeated application will en-
able you to master almost any subject.
Suppose, for instance, that you have a
hobby for collecting minerals. Your aim
should not be to fill set OF shelves with
pretty pebbles and fragments that have no
meaning for you, but to gather collection
that shall represent every variety of min
eral form obtaina6le, and show, at least in
part, what this world is made of. You
can begin in your own yards, and let the
examples Of granite, schist, limestone,
sandstone or slate, that you may find there,
stand upon your shelves until you find
larger and purer specimens. They should
be washed, classified and labeled the label
bearing not only the name and variety of
the mineral, but the name of the township
and State in which it was found a chem
ical formula to express its constituents, if
you know them, and number correspond
ing to the page number of some good
mineralogy for instance-which
should be studied in conjunction with the
examination of the specimens.
As the lines of knowledge cross one
another" you will find yourself learning
something of everything, while trying to
learn everything about your speciality.
You will obtain glimpses into the sciences
of geology chemistry, geometry and
physics while studying mineralogy; you
will gain new deftness of hand in your
experiments with hammer, acids and blow
pipe you will be led into the habit of
close observation you will be persuaded
into many pleasant, healthful walks in the
search for specimens you will learn much
in visiting museums and private collections
of minerals and, if you feel genuine in
terest in the subject, the accumulation of
knowledge will all this time be so easy,
gradual and unconscious, that you will be
surprised, on looking back to the period
when you began your collection, to see
how much you have learned.
But don't indulge the belief that you
have exhausted any subject, no matter how
narrow your field of study or how small
the hobby that you ride. The wisest men
have been those who most clearly realized
their lack of knowledge. In their studies
they have touched upon go many things
that defy understanding, that they see
how little the learning of all humanity
amounts to, compared with what remains
to be learned. But everybody can do his
best, and be in earnest; and to be in
earnest with ones hobby is the way to
train it we'll and ride it skillfully. When
thoroughly mastered, hobbies generally
prove serviceable, and, if wisely chosen,
are always good companions. ns.-[The Mas
terry.