MY FARM OF EDGEWOOD 



and to guide, so far as I may, the mental drift 

 of those who think of rural life, either present 

 or prospective, — not as a mere money-making 

 career (like a dip into mining) —nor yet as the 

 idle gratification of a caprice. No sensible man 

 who establishes himself in a country home, de- 

 sires that the acres about him should prove 

 wholly unremunerative, and simple conduits 

 of his money; nor yet does he wish to drive 

 such a sharp bargain with his land as will 

 cause his home to be shorn of all the luxuries, 

 and the legitimate charms of a country life. 

 It is needless to say that I hope for sensible 

 readers, and direct my observations accord- 

 ingly. With this intent I propose, in this last 

 division of my book, to review all the helps and 

 hindrances to the success and the rational en- 

 joyment of a farm-life. I shall not reason the 

 matter so closely as I might do, if I were ad- 

 dressing the attendants upon a County-Fair, 

 but shall scatter my hints and experiences 

 through a somewhat ample margin of illus- 

 trative text, from which the practical man may 

 excerpt his little nuggets of information or 

 suggestion,— as the case may be ; and the reader 

 who is pastorally inclined, may find frequent 

 dashes of country perfume, that shall deftly 

 cover the ammoniacal scents. 



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