MAINE STATE SOCIETY. J-j- 



this realm, M'liose metes and bounds are recorded in my name, in 

 the book of the Registry of Deeds, my legal rights and rule as ■well 

 as my higher proprietorship, seem to be acknowledged ; so that, if 

 I toil, the smoking furrows whisper to me the gratitude of the field; 

 if I ramble, the rustling corn of the cultivated grounds, and the 

 swaying tops of the elms in the pastures, greet me with music ; if 

 I recline for repose upon the green-sward, in the shadow of my vine, 

 or maple, or pine, the earth beneath me heaves like the breast of a 

 mother when she is holding her child, and imparts to me in fragrant 

 breath, the spirit of rest, contentment, joy and peace; if I look 

 forth upon my domain, I behold a scene of rural beauty, truly 

 charming and grateful to the eye ; the broad patches of corn, rye, 

 and wheat; of barley, oats and potatoes; the more extensive areas 

 of waving grass ; here, the orchard, thrifty and fruitful ; there, the 

 pastures, broken into hills and knolls, or rolling like the undulating 

 sea, and grazed by groups of cattle, horses and sheep, some in the 

 shade of trees, some in the sunshine of the open grounds, fitting 

 occupants for those green and diversified enclosures ; and farther 

 away, the pure expanse of the lake, glistening like a silver shield ; 

 and, if I gaze upward into the sky, I see how the benedictions of 

 the sun and the clouds fall upon my possessions, and all the world 

 around, as the impartial glory and blessings of Him who made the 

 round world, who heaped the mountains and scooped out the valleys, 

 and Avho " stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth 

 them out as a tent to dwell in. " 



" 0, yes, what you say sounds very well in speech, " exclaims 

 some one who assures me that he knows something of the stern and 

 rugged life of the farm, "but if you will just consider what the 

 farmer's labor is, what his hardships, cares and perplexities are ; or 

 if you could but try my lot, or that of any one of my companions, 

 you would not be so poetical or fanciful in your discourse." Don't 

 be so skeptical, my dear sir, as to my conception of your calling, or 

 your condition; don't be so sarcastic nor so confident in your dis- 

 sent. Let me have a few words with you and your class. 



In the first place, I beg leave to remind you, that the interests of 

 agriculture, are the greatest and most important of those which 

 comprise the wealth of our country. Ten years ago, Mr. Burke, 

 in his office as Commissioner of Patents, reported one thousand Jive 

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