THE FARMER AND HIS CALLING. 21 



upon all the country round, while their presence so adds to the 

 beauty of the landscape, that the scene is alike acceptable to the 

 rustic and the artist. Is it not then, for the advantage of New 

 England, with reference to beauty and economy, that the forests 

 should be preserved and cultivated upon all our hill and moun- 

 tain summits ? Moreover, we should allow the most vigorous 

 and the most majestic of the trees of the forest to remain ; 

 and here and there should be seen copses of wood, which relieve 

 the dreariness and monotony of the open field, and furnish 

 acceptable retreats for the cattle when they arc scorched by the 

 mid-day sun, or teased by the insects of twilight. 



In New England there can be no efficient, and of course, no 

 profitable farming, without a supply of manure at small cost. 

 This must be obtained from and upon the farm. It may be 

 wise to purchase imported and manufactured fertilizers for 

 occasional aids, or they may properly come to the relief of the 

 market gardener; but the common farmer must rely chiefly 

 upon the product of his own yards. And if it be also further 

 true that what is destined for the market, should be concentrat- 

 ed as much as possible, it is then seen that every farmer should 

 keep a stock of cattle equal to the extreme capacity of his farm. 

 Neither hay, grain, nor roots should be sent away ; but rather 

 be converted into pork, beef, and milk, or as the wiser in the 

 end, into butter and cheese. It is only by this course that 

 fruit culture can be successful in places remote from large 

 towns, which usually furnish an abundance of manure for the 

 lands in the vicinity. Fruit orchards are profitable, but they 

 need as much manure as cornfields. 



It is a singular, and not altogether credible, intellectual and 

 social phase of our agriculturists, that they continually com- 

 plain of the expensiveness of labor, and with great pertinacity 

 resist the introduction of machinery. Now a decrease in the 

 price of labor is not probable nor desirable ; but we should seek 

 to make the operative's labor more advantageous to himself and 

 more advantageous to his employer. This can be accomplished 

 by the aid of machinery. 



Production should increase. We must use mowers, reapers, 

 horse-rakes, improved ploughs, harrows, and all the improved 

 implements of husbandry. I am conscious that we are to meet 

 the old inquiry, " If machinery is to be extensively introduced 



