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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



early in tlieir constitutions pure tastes, the 

 gratification of wiiich will ennoble, not degrade 

 them. 'I'o cultivate the Beautiful in rural life has 

 an elevating influence on society, and thereby pre- 

 vents vice and crime, poverty and suffering. 



Nature being the source of Beauty, we are to 

 study her admirable processes as they are made 

 known in the Natural Sciences. Chemistry, 

 Botany, (u-ology. Vegetable and Animal Physi- 

 ology reveal to the human understanding a thou- 

 sand charms in the perfect harmony that pervades 

 every form and condition of matter, and thus 

 perjietuates all the beauties and blessings which 

 call into activity both the gratitude and the reasons 

 of man, 'I'he powers within him, and the elements 

 that surround him, act in concert to force his 

 growth in morality and knowledge, that he maybe- 

 come in each succeeding generation at once a hap- 

 pier and a wiser being. In connection with our 

 moral and intellectual development, so natural and 

 60 desirable, a higher degree of social and phy- 

 sical comfort is clearly both attainable and suscep- 

 tible of full enjoyment. If; is not every person, in 

 whatever condition he may chance to be, in refer- 

 ence to culture, who is capable of appreciating 

 either the Beautiful in Agviculture or in Nature. 

 Hence, in all nations just emerging from bar- 

 barism, husbandry, tillage, architecture, and all 

 other arts, are prosecuted in the rudest manner. 

 Some rise more rapidly than others in every attain- 

 ment; but time is necessary to the growth of every 

 art and the perfection of every science. 



It is humiliating to our pride as a free, self- 

 governing people, to know -that in ancient Greece 

 the Beautiful in agriculture and architecture was 

 far in advance of our highest achievements. A 

 thousand years before the birth of our Saviour, 

 Homer describes, in the fifth book of the Odyssey, 

 a landscape in which four fountains of white 

 (foaming) water, each sjjringing in succession, in 

 perfect orderliness, sends the life of vegetation 

 througli a meadow in different directions. At that 

 early period, agriculture was sufficiently advanced 

 to have irrigation and meadows properly appre- 

 ciated by the most civilized nations. We wish we 

 could say as much for the agriculture of our own 

 sunny South. But all must admit, that, with us, 

 neither irrigation nor meadows are regarded as 

 worthy of public attention. It is true, we know 

 the value of hay, and consume many a bale from 

 the North, for which we pay at least twice what it 

 it is intrinsically worth. 



Wlio needs to be told that luxuriant meadows, 

 pastures, and fine stock, add largely to the beauty, 

 interest, and value of a plantation ? Irrigated 

 meadows and pastures are an inexhaustible source 

 of manure for enriching the tilled lands on a farm. 

 Where Nature periodically irrigates river bottoms, 

 the plough never exhausts the soil. Running wa- 

 ter being Nature's grand restorer in tillage and 

 cropping, why not use it to rejuvenate our old 

 fields, and thus render them at once both attrac- 

 tive and profitable ? None of them are so elevated 

 that water does not fall from above them, and run 

 off their surfaces. Properly considered, all th 

 moving water on continents is rain water. It cre- 

 ates, as well as transports from one place to another, 



the fertility of properly-irrigated lands. The fer- 

 tilizing influence of water, when judiciously applied 

 to the earth, is well known. It is, therefore, in 

 skilful hands, an invaluable element of fruitfulness 

 and beauty. More knowledge and higher art will 

 one day use water in this country as successfully 

 in agriculture as was ever done in Greece, Italy, or 

 Egypt. 



Next to irrigation, we regard the planting of the 

 seeds of all the more valuable forest trees and fruit 

 trees that will grow and prosper in our climate as 

 the most commendable ])ractice, with a view to 

 promote the Beautiful in agriculture. Land is 

 now cheap ; and there is a certainty, as population 

 increases, that the demand for lumber and timber, 

 for fruits of all kinds, and for fuel, will increase in 

 an equal, if not a greater ratio. By skilful planting, 

 one may unite beauty and profit in an eminent de- 

 gree. Black walnut planks are now worth, in all 

 northern cities, from four to seven dollars per 100 

 feet. With due care, the tree grows rapidly, and 

 its fruit possesses considerable value. A forest of 

 this and other well-known trees would add an 

 interesting feature to any plantation, while the ex- 

 pense of it would be a mere trifle. There is ge- 

 nuine poetry in trees^n their beautiful foliage, 

 their charming blossoms, their delicious fruits, 

 their cool and soothing shade, their stately trunks, 

 waving tops and graceful outlines ; and all speak to 

 the eye and soul of man in a language not to be 

 misunderstood. It was in the light and shade of 

 groves that man first erected his most elaborate 

 temples, and there his ascending devotions sought 

 communion with the Creator of all. No wonder 

 that groves were often held as sacred to God, and still 

 oftener made seats of learning — the chosen schools 

 where sages taught, and thousands studied the pro- 

 found mysteries of the universe. If the history of 

 our race shows anything good in man, it may be 

 stated, to his credit, that noble trees, of whatever 

 kind, inspire something akin to piety in his heart 

 and in his thoughts. Call this, if you please, an 

 oriental feeling : it has been too general and too 

 long continued, not to have an abiding place in the 

 human soul. 



It is the ccovvning beauty of a farm or plantation, 

 to express, in its every feature,|both tranquillity and 

 happiness. Disquietude and pain will sometimes 

 come to the best of men ; but their continuance 

 should be as short as possible. It is monstrous to 

 suppose that our nerves are made sensitive that 

 they may feel more suffering than pleasure during 

 our existence. Pain and distortion are exceptions ; 

 enjoyment and beauty are the true, the natural 

 status of all sentient beings. When health)', and 

 properly fed, the young of all animals are beautiful 

 and happy. Such is the law of Nature ; and hence 

 good husbandmen improve their flocks and herds 

 in symmetry of form, in elegance and elasticity of 

 movement, by simply having them always in the 

 enjoyment of suiiable food and shelter. These 

 expel deformity in a few generations, and develop 

 Nature's highest beauties. The same principle ap- 

 plies to the feeding and care of agricultural plants. 

 Starve and wither them by ill-usage, and your seed 

 will soon degenerate, your crops fail, and your 

 success in planting be no better than your practice* 



