THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



lil 



For the Fanner's Monthly ViBitor. 1 



Farmers Philosophers. 



AH farmers might ntid shnuld be philnsophers— 

 not like Newton, Locke, or Descartes, for few have 

 the intellect, or time to examine nature as they diJ 

 —but all hav-- the faculty and time enough to read 

 the book of Nature, which lies wide open, and is 

 so plain that " he who runs may read" many things 

 for curiosity, and some for profit : I will relate a 

 few facts ill my blunt way. 



A few years since, wliile standing beside a wall, 

 I heard a splashing in water on the opposite side. 

 Looking over 1 saw about eight feet from ine, two 

 bullfrogs apparently wrestling. They stood upon 

 their hind legs— took fair hold at the back with 

 their arms (or fore legs, if you please) and tripped, 

 and twisted just like two men in wrestling. Some- 

 times one would get thrown, then the other. 1 

 saw them at this play ten or fifteen minutes. They 

 certainly were not fighting, fur neither were hurt. 

 The water was two or three inches deep, just up to 

 their knees ; as soon as one gave the other a fall, 

 he would jump off, and both would stand up and 

 take hold again. 



Hawk Story. 

 There was a pair of hawks nearly as large as the 

 sagle, which visited our neighborhood for twenty 

 years — how much longer I know not. They were 

 curious and cunning creatures. They generally 

 took five or si.x chickens annually from each far- 

 mer. Nobody could shoot or trap them. One 

 time wlien I was from home they pounced upon an 

 old hen and killed her, but could not carry her off. 

 I came home soon after, and placed myself in the 

 barn with a double barrel gun about eight rods 

 from the hen. There was a hole througli the barn 

 door big enougli for the gun barrels. There I wait- 

 ed, expecting they would come back after their 

 prize. Tliey^did come back ; but whether they 

 saw the barrels or smelt mischief otiierwise I know 

 not. Tliey flew round a while— lit several times 

 twenty rods off, and then cleared out forever from 

 the hen. 



But the most curious thing about these hawks 

 was their races. About a mile north of my house 

 is a hill the highest in this town ; and southeast 

 from me sixty rods, is another hill two hundred 

 feet high, and nearly peipendicular on the north 

 side. Many a day l' have seen these hawks have 

 their races as regular as horses or men. They 

 would fly slowly round in the air, and slowly take 

 their way to the height of land on the north; and 

 then apparently start fair, and with the rapidity of 

 liglitning, or at least as fast as they could wing 

 their way, rush to a certain bush on the top of the 

 south hill ; and then wheel round and wend their 

 way back again for another race. 



One afteviioon, (June 1837) 1 had watched them 

 several rounds. A thought struck me that if 1 should 

 get behind the bush wliicli was tlieir goal, I might 

 be revenged for the old hen and chickens. Accor- 

 dingly I "placed myself there with the double bar- 

 rel.° 'Tliey came — I snapped the lock, but it mis- 

 sed fire. I liad scarcely ever known it to miss fire 

 before. 1 felt provoked, for I was sure of both, or 

 one of thein at least. They wheeled round— look- 

 ed scorn at me; but had no more races that day. 

 A few days afterwards I saw them racing again ; 

 my revenge was gone — I was glad I had not killed 

 them . 



Another.— k few years ago I saw in my garden 

 thousands of holes 'about the bigness of a goose- 

 quill and perfectly round. Sujiposing there were 

 some insects in these holes that were destroying 

 my garden sauce, 1 dug some of them out. 1 found 

 them from three to five inches in depth. They 

 were different from any creature described in any 

 natural liistory which 'I have seen. About one 

 fourth of it (its head and neck) was black. It had 

 six legs and some powerful looking claWs near the 

 mouth for so little a creature. Tl-.e body and rest 

 of it was very much like a whitish woAn. Its 

 whole length was about an inch. I Ihouglit that 

 boiling water would be a good thing to destroy 

 them. I tried it and killed perhaps three fourths 

 of them; but my carrots, onions, &c. went faster 

 llian ever. I then thought it possible that these 

 nameless animals might be carniverous, which 1 

 soon found to be the cae, by seeing one of them 

 catch a buw which was passing over his house. 1 

 then put some maimed flies near the top of their 

 houses: they were soon dragged to the bottom. 1 

 have no doubt they are a real benefit to a garden. 

 " Wc often mistake, our friends for foes." 

 How often the woodpecker is shot for his sup- 

 posed injury to fruit trees, when in fact he is only 

 destroying the vermin which are destroying the 

 tree. An'd blackbirds, bobolinks, &c. are often 

 •shot by boys, because they once in a while pick up 



a kernel of grain, when perhaps, If left to live, 

 they would destroy worms and insects that would 

 destroy bushels Even the crow I believe does 

 more good than harm ; and instead of a bounty for 

 killing him, there had ought to be a fine. 1 rec- 

 ollect°ten or twelve years ago that the white grub 

 worms were so plenty as to destroy half the grass 

 in some fields. The crows at that time were very 

 busily employed in hunting and digging them for 

 food. Few other birds have the strength of body 

 or form of bill to take them.— Did they no good 

 in this .' No doubt they saved us many tons of grass 

 in this town; and a little ingenuity in putting up 

 images will save our corn from their ravages. But 

 supposing (which is not true) that some of these 

 feathered songsters should injure us in a pecuniary 

 way. Do we wish any species of them extinct ? 

 as the crow, the blackbird, &c ? No ! We all I 

 hope love to see and hear them; for they were made 

 by our common Creator; and have the same right 

 to "vindicate their grain" that we have. 

 " He who with careless scorn can hear 

 The beauteous songster of the air : 

 And view them and the flowers of spring, 

 With but a look of withering. 



Is what.' 1 will not say." 



Yours with respect, 

 July 20, 1340. STODDARD. 



they are at present — and now they would seem to 

 be cheaf> enough. It may be discouraging to far- 

 mers, when their products bring a small price; 

 though consumers are benefitted by the circum- 

 stani'e. On the whole no country is made poor by 

 bountiful harvests, however cheap the produce 

 may be. On the contrary wherever is the greatest 

 amount of subsistence, there is the most indepen- 

 dence and consequently the most real wealth.— 

 Maine Callitator. 



Heads gathered for Seed. — The good and 

 careful farmer takes the pains to select from his 

 wheat and his corn and his tobacco fields, the prime 

 ears and heads to put away for seed. In this way 

 he may always keep these productions up to the 

 mark — nay, if the selection be made with close at- 

 tention and perseverance from year to year, it can- 

 not be doulited that very great improvement 

 would result from it, and that all grains and plants 

 thus selected, would pass in a few years through a 

 course of melioration to the greatest attainable de- 

 gree of perfection — if indeed such a degree can 

 be reached. 



The young farmer who would begin now to man- 

 age on this principle, in regard to all his staple 

 crops, as Mr. Baden did many years since with his 

 Baden corn, and who, in the view of his neighbors, 

 persist in carrying out the system under his direr: 

 personal supervision, and with the utmost particu 

 larity ; would not only render agreat service to hi 

 neirrhborhood, but might command for his commo- 

 dities, an extra price that would more than ceir. 



himself, he should esteem it a pleasing duty, an i 

 ought to derive ample remuneration from the pie ■ 

 sure It should give him to reflect, that he was a t- 

 ting an invaluable example to his associates .•' I 

 friends, in one of their most important duties l,. i 

 interests. 



Doct. Anderson, in his "recreations," says : - 

 Every attentive observer will remark among the 

 plants of almost every kind of crop, some individ- 

 ual stalks which are distinguishable from the oth- 

 ers by a great degree of health or luxuriance, or 

 profligacy, or earliness, or some other peculiarity. 

 A friend of mine remarked some years ago a par- 

 ticular stem of peas among his earliest crop, which 

 came into flower and ripened long before the oth- 

 ers. He marked this stem and saved the whole of 

 its produce for seed. These came as much earlier 

 as they had originally done. This produce was 

 also saved for seed ; and thus he obtained a par- 

 ticular kind of early pea, that came at least a week 

 before the best sort he could buy in the shops, if 

 sown at the same time with them. The Doctor 

 relates facts similar to this respecting wheat and 

 beans. The general idea he means to inculcate is 

 obvious, and extremely worthy attention. — Amer. 

 Fanner. 



An Agricnltural Editor iu office. 



An ofiice of trust and responsibility has been 



tendered to us, which obligations to our friends and ^ 



regard for our personal interests, induce us not to j p(^,„gjte jjiu, fnr'his trouble. — As far as relates to 



decline. If we thought however the acceptaiice i ■ , . _ . 



of any place would tend to sever us from the far- 

 mers of New England and especially from the far- 

 mers of our adopted State, we should hesitate long 

 before we accepted the most honorable and lucra- 

 tive appointment in the gift of any government. 

 We by no means intend to resign the Monthly Vis- 

 itor. Under certain favorable circumstances which 

 we are led to anticipate, we are of the belief that 

 our position will be quite as favorable for writing 

 for and publishing the Monthly Visitor as it ever 

 has been. 



The oflice of Receiver General for New Eng- 

 land which has been created under a recent law of 

 Congress, although located at Boston, will not of 

 necessity forfeit our rights as a citizen of New 

 Hampshire. Our family will for the present re- 

 main here. We accept the place because, having 

 advised to a separation of the finances of the gov- 

 ernment from the operations of banks at the time 

 the banks suspended specie payment, when our 

 own interest in banks would have induced the 

 wish not to break the connexion, it would have 

 been unfair to refuse a pajticipation in the risques 

 and responsibility of a place that was tendered to 

 us under the change by those who had a greater 

 individual responsibility to the people for the pas- 

 sage of the law than wc could claim. We accept 

 it at the time when, if public sentiment shall not 

 sustain the law, our disappointment will not be like 

 that of one taking the office who feels no responsi- 

 bility for an experiment intended by its authors to 

 be a benefit to the country. We offer this here as 

 our mere apology, with no intention to force upon 

 our readers a favorable estimate of any party opin- 

 ion which we may entertain. -AH we would say 

 is, that as the new office has been tendered without 

 our asking, so we shall retire from it without that 

 disappointment which shall be fital to otlier hopes, 

 means and prospects of life, should either the pre- 

 sent President or any other I'resident who may be 

 his successor see fit to take it from us. In tlie 

 mean time we will continue our besteiTurts to serve 

 t!ie readers of the Monthly Visitor so long as they 

 shall show the disposition to serve tis that they have 

 up to the time of this writing manifested. 



BotiSTiFiiL Cnops.— According to the American 

 (Baltimore) Farmer, which does not appear to be 

 in the interests of the speculators so far as to give 

 fiilse accounts of the prospects of harvest, all sorts 

 of crops in the Middle States promi'^e an abund- 

 ance oreater than common. The editor, Mr. Skin- 

 ner, has an extensive correspondence, and has ta- 

 ken pains to collect true iiif irmation on the sub- 

 ject. The wheat will come in bountifully — indeed 

 harvestino- is already taking place in Maryland and 

 Virginia." Corn never looked better— hardly ever 

 so well. Seasonable rains and sunshine, with an 

 unusual freedom from insects, blight, mildew, &c. 

 which have some years occasioned great devasta- 

 tions, have driven all crops forward to a vigorous 

 growth, without hindrance. 'I'he Farmer advises 

 producers in all that region to take in sail and pre- 

 pare for very small prices Grain, flour, and in- 

 deed bread stufl's of all sorts, he thinks must be 

 during the ensuing fyear materially cheaper than 



Be merciful to your Oxex. — For mercy's 

 sake, in this hot weather, deal gently with your ox- 

 en. Do not overload them, drive them too fast, or 

 work them too long in theso long days. Another 

 thino-, never yoke them up, or attach them to the 

 cart, till all things are ready for you to work by 

 means of them. Some people will yoke up their 

 cattle early, before they have got well rested and 

 fed from the labors of the preceding day ; and let 

 them stand eating postmeat a long time whilst 

 their drivers are getting things- in readiness out of 

 season. They have just discovered that the chain 

 is broken, and so the oxen must stand till Dick is 

 sent off to the blacksmith to get it mended. When 

 he returns, and all things appear ready, it is dis- 

 covered that there must be some new stakes made 

 for the hay cart, or the wheels need greasing ; and 

 tlie poor cattle must stand another half hour or 

 hour, eating noHiingand basking in the sun, wait- 

 ing for their sUigsishlmasters to get ready. It stands 

 to reason that oxen cannot work so long or heartily, 

 driven out after standing in tlie yard or field, acquir- 

 ing an empty stomach as if yoked up fresh from a cool 

 stable where they had been eating till the moment 

 of work arrives. Give them, too, a good opportu- 

 nity to rest in the middle of the day. 



There is nothing lost in being reasonably merci- 

 ful to the brute. On the contrary this is true poli- 

 cy, as well as a dictate of genuine humanity. He 

 who would overtax or abuse a faithful ox or horse, 

 deserves to do his own pulling and trotting without 

 the aid <if those noble servants. — Maine Cul. 



P.iCH Trees. — Some ten years past I came in 

 possession of a number of peach tre"3 that had 

 been good bearers, and arrived at the age of twenty 

 years. In the course of each winter previous, a 

 layer of straw or chip dung was strewed around 

 each tree, upon a body of snow or while the ground 

 was frozen. The object was to retain the frost at 



