370 



FARMERS' REGISTER— REVIEW OF THE MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 



tree is inevitably destroyed. By a careful atten- 

 tion to this plan I have preserved the trees in a 

 considerable ori:hard, scarcely ever losing one. 

 There is another enemy that confines his ravages 

 to the truit itselt". It etiects its work of destruction 

 by perforating the truit, and depositing its eggs, 

 producing a Avorin which no sooner hatches tlian 

 it commences its journey to the stone of the fruit, 

 causing it to wither and fall. This is of all the 

 enemies of our stone truit, the most destructive, 

 and the most provokingly so, as he blights the 

 fruit when it has escaped the frost. This insect 

 is called thccurcuiio, and may be found after sun- 

 set, or in cloud}' days, carrying on its work of de- 

 struction. It resembles the buo; that perforates 

 the chinquepin — that I presume is fiimiliar to most 

 of us. I hope that this subject will continue, as it 

 has done heretolore, to command the attention and 

 researches of the naturalists and orchardisfs of 

 this and other countries, until some remedy is dis- 

 covered for the evil; and he who shall make this 

 discovery will merit the thanks of his country. 

 All stone fruit trees are more or less subject to the 

 depredation of the two last mentioned insects. 



The pear and plum trees are subject to the ra- 

 vages of an insect that devours the soft bark be- 

 tween the outer coat and the wood. It is the more 

 obnoxious that its encroachments are not detected 

 imtil the tree is nearly or quite destroyed, as it 

 does not disturb the outer coat of the bark. By 

 carefully knocking on the body of the tree with 

 the handle of a knife you may ascertain whether 

 the bark is destroyed on the inside, and by strip- 

 ping it ofT get at the enemy. 



My space will not admit of my pursuing this 

 subject farther. I hope the lovers of good fruit 

 will not omit any opportunity of throwing out use- 

 ful hints on this branch of our rural pursuits. If 

 there is not enough in the pleasure of' eating the 

 fine mellow apjile, the sweet juicy peach, the 

 jxielting pear, the meally apricot, and the many 

 other delicious fruits completely in our reach to 

 stimulate us to exertion on this subject, let us 

 find that stimulus in the delightful task of im- 

 parting it to those who have a proper relish for 

 them, by giving all the light we can upon the sub- 

 ject. Let those who have fine varieties impart 

 the means of raising them to those who have 

 them not. Let us enlist the public feeling on the 

 subject. Let us cuhivate a taste for horticulture, 

 and the fruits of our labor will amply repay us. 

 We shall have it in our power to regale our friends 

 on what greatly promotes social feelings, gratifies 

 the palate, and gives health and comfort in a thou- 

 sand ways. 



REVIEW OF THE MEMOIRS OF JOHPf FREDER- 

 IC OBERLIN, PASTOR OF WALDBACII, IIV THE 

 BAN DE LA ROCHE. 



For the Farmers' Register. 



Heroism is not confined to the high places of 

 the world — it sometimes flourishes in the vale of 

 obscurity. Such was the heroism of Oberlin; and 

 it is satisfactory to turn from "a troubled sea of 

 noise and hoarse disputes," to contemplate the 

 quiet, unsophisticated virtues of the pastor of 

 Waldbach. 



This little memoir is one of those books which 

 one can hardly read without being made better by 

 the reading. 



Oberlin was born at Strasbourg, 31st of August, 

 1740, just eight years after the birth of Washing- 

 ton. His early lite was not varied by any very 

 remarkable incidents. In the year 1766, he en- 

 tered on a course of study preparatory to accept- 

 ing a chaplainship in a French regiment. It was 

 at this time that M. Stouber called at the student's 

 lodging for the purpose of inviting him to accept 

 the vacant curacy of the Ban de la Roche. 



M. Stouber found young Oberlin in a little attic 

 up three pair of stairs. 



"On opening the door, the first object that caught his 

 attention was a small bed standing in one corner of 

 tlie room, covered with brown paper hangings. "That 

 would just suit the Steinthal," said he to tiimself. On 

 approaching the bed, he found Oberlin lying upon it, 

 and suit'ering from a violent tootii-ache, He rallied 

 him about the simplicity of his curtains, and the 

 homeliness of his apartment. "And, pray," continu- 

 ed he, after having taken a survey round the room, 

 "What is the use of that little iron pan that hangs over 

 your table?" "That is my kitchen," replied Oberlin; 

 "1 am in the habit of dining at home with my parents 

 every day, and they give me a large piece of bread to 

 bring back in my pocket. At eight o'clock in the 

 evening, I put my bread into that pan, and, having 

 sprinkled it with salt, and poured a little water upon 

 it, I place it over my lamp, and go on with my studies 

 till ten or eleven o'clock, when I generally begin to 

 feel hungry, and relish my self-cooked supper more 

 than the greatest dainties." 



Oberlin accepted the call, and in 1767, at the 

 age of twenty-seven, arrived at Waldbach, a vil- 

 lage central to the district of which he came to 

 take charge. And here he passed the remainder 

 of his life, the whole of which was indefatigably 

 devoted to the interests of the^ people of his cure. 



I shall refer chiefly to those passages of his life 

 which come within the scope of an agricultural 

 journal, which serv-e to display his merits as an 

 improver of" the agriculture of his country — as a 

 practical engineer— as a working reformer. 



From the following paragraph it will appear 

 that a more inauspicious field lor the efforts of be- 

 nevolence was perhaps not to be found in all 

 France. 



"They were alike destitute of the means of mental 

 and social intercourse; they spoke a rude 7>a/o/s resem- 

 bling the Lorrain dialect, and the medium of no exter- 

 nal information; they were entirely secluded from the 

 neighboring districts by the want of roads, which, 

 owing to tne devastation of war and decays of popu- 

 lation, had been so totally lost, that the only mode of 

 communication, from the bulk of the parish to the 

 neighboring towns, was across the river Bruche, a 

 stream thirty feet wide, by stepping stones, and in 

 winter along its bed; the husbandmen were destitute 

 of the most necessary agricultural implements, and 

 had no means of procuring them; the provisions 

 springing from the soil were not sufficient to maintain 

 even a scanty population; and a feudal service, more 

 fatal than steril land and ungenial climate, constantly 

 depressed and irritated their spirits," 



In respect to education, a partial reformation 

 had been effected by M. Stouber, Oberlin's prede- 

 cessor. How much that reibrm was demanded, 

 may be judged by the following curious dialogue 

 between Stouber at his arrival, and one of the "old- 

 field" teachers. 



"Desiring to be shown the principal school bouse, 

 he was conducted into a miserable cottage, where a 

 number of children were crowded together without 



