^\)t jTanncr's i!Tontl)li) llisitor. 



13 



iiioniiiif.', we ihiiy puisne it all djiy, and shall 

 f^c;iico; ovcriiike it at iii^lit." The jiooil liumer 

 licjiiiis at lioine, ami extends liis cirolc of liii|i|ii- 

 iios IVoiii his (h)iiiiril. ir liieii he «oiiM >ave 

 the iiair lidur. if lie would have all things ready 

 when lie leliiiiis and a ."■iiiile to firtet hirii ulieie 

 cither he rnujt live of hear no lili^", see that every 

 lliiuff is ronvenient ; good diy (iiel anil water at 

 hand. Wood and wiaer are, rliiriiii; the day, id- 

 iiiosi in eonsiaiit di'iiiand. 11' tl ey are nl hand, 

 do we not save the "women I'olk" at lesisi one 

 lionr in eiieh day, or ahoiil one month in eai-h 

 year, taUing the lime that we are not aslee|i? 

 'Ihis is ei)nal to one whole year in twelve, whi<li 

 saved is more liian eqnal to the exijense of a 

 pood dry slie<l or W()o<l house joining the kitchen, 

 and water in the kiiehen ilsell'. Where these 

 things are eonvenieiil. the wood dry and sijit to 

 the |iro|ier size, the hreakliisl. dinner, or supper 

 is read) on the lahle, ihewili; issueei tempered, 

 the lahoiing men are comented ami get out at 

 their woik the sooner, and the faiiuer himself, 

 while seeing such sunshine and checrliiluess all 

 roimd, catches the agieeahle sensation iiiid is 

 happiness itself. How does it happen tlien that 

 some of us linsyiiig ourselves so ardently al>onl 

 our distant alliiirs, l<)rg(^t or overlook that which 

 is so much used and has so great an influence 

 eveiy day imd hour at home? A neighhor of 

 Diine, noted lor his cheerfulness iiud thriliy hahils, 

 ildiirmed me that he owed it priucipjdiy to at- 

 tending to the suggestions of his will'. When 

 we hegan, said he, we had little or nothing hut 

 youth and health. '■ Let us I ave a wood house, 

 my dear," she said, (this was soon after we were 

 married,) ''joining to the kilchen, and as our 

 means run sli<irt postpone finishing the (diaudiers, 

 for it is hetier to he condiirtahle and ha|ipy than 

 to wear the hollow appearance." I took the hint, 

 said my neighhor: the wood house was first at- 

 tended to, and I have never had a late diimer 

 from that dtiy to '.his. This e.xample has had 

 tiioii.- iiiflneiice tiian with the iiiiuily vvheie it 

 origiuate<l, When my vviHi and myself took tea 

 (here, now yeais gone hy, it w.-is ohserved how 

 handy things were. Plenty of good setisuned 

 WiKjcl, (<)r moniiis to come, ail pile() np neatly, 

 l!;e pine hy itsell' l<)r kindling, and n hanel lull 

 of shaviiig.s t<i light the fire. "Ephraim," said 

 she, as we were going luune at a trot in our 

 dearborn, "Ephraiiii, yon must have a wood 

 house, if you had oidy gone out and seen how 

 perfectly Ciinvenieiit every thing is! Why, I 

 really helieve it was not ten minutes from the 

 lime the fire was started that the water was lioil- 

 iiig in the ten kettle ! It is nothing to cook v"lii;re 

 things are so handy." I took the iiiut, and never 

 lidtl ont a small sum that produced me a helter 

 rt'lurn. 



.Another thing I also learned from my neigh- 

 hor. and thai was, that there is neither economy 

 or good .-en.^e in carting water or eaideavoring to 

 len'ii it. 1 cut n;y fuel in tiie winter, split ;md 

 pile it lip when the frost is coming out, ami leave 

 ii in the woods nniil the ensuing nionth ot' Wo- 

 vcddier. This was what my wile learned in ad- 

 (iition to the wood house; and we carried out the 

 whole plan. As my lot is at some distance, i gain 

 idiout one tlay in the larger sized loads from lite 

 ilryness of the wood, and I greatly pretir the 

 wagon to the sled, and so do my cattle as 1 iliiid;. 

 As to the aiivanlages ot" usini: green or seasotu'il 

 Inel, iam satisfie<l with the latler,;uid leave tho.^e 

 to hmn water w ho likt^ it. 



Uy and liy, the little hand pumps were intro- 

 diieed among ns, and all our gooil n.ilured neigh- 

 lioi's copied each other in these ailvaniages also, 

 so llial eiery hody said what a happy thriving 

 people they seem lo he down there to\\ards Ha- 

 verhill. 



And I have hecoine thoroughly convinced thai 

 while so miii'li is saiil ami written ahout cattle 

 and crops, soils and iiiaimre.-i, there is not suffi- 

 cient attention p.aid to the eoinliuts of home and 

 the saving of l.ihor and temper whore we feel it 

 the most sensihiy. 'I'here is a commendahle 

 pride that mamli'sts it.<ielf as soon as we give it 

 u chance. When 1 had got every thing fixed, and 

 nothing was happier than the process, then I saw 

 that the tins were hrighler, the floor was oflimer 

 scruhhed, Ihe liliU- flower uarden wascommenced 

 anil my wile was pert<ctt\ delighied when om- 

 neiglilior (jooding came in last summer and s.-iiil, 

 '"Mts. jsmooihe, how sweet and cIimu von all are 

 here." E. SMOOIIIK. 



21 W Jan.. 1P45. 



Augusta, Me., January 7th, 1845. 



Hop*. Isaac Hill — Dkar Sir:— The Decem- 

 lier numher of your Visitor has- just come to 

 hand, in which I see an acknowledgment to the 

 man " who grows the fiin-st wool in the United 

 Slates," hut yon don't tell us his iiaim;. 



The farmer who grows Ihe finest wool in the 

 nation shonldn't have his name in the shade. — 

 Yon ohserve that he Ins a flock of 300 Saxons. 

 1 am just heginning a flock of Saxon Sheep, of 

 which 1 hope to he ahle lo keep a small mmd)er, 

 sav40; lait I want lo ohi.iin the liest hlood. 1 

 have now 7, ami should like to ohtain' a full hlood 

 huck of pure Saxon hlood, and an ewe or two 

 (rorn some other liimily. Now as yon don't men- 

 tion your kind frieml's name, 1 have taken the 

 liherty lo tronhle yon in regard to the mailer, in 

 order to ascertain wlieliier any can he pnrehased 

 of him and at whal price. I suppose that they 

 coiilil he sent to Boston hy IJuilroad and thence 

 to Maine hy Railroad. 



Very respectfully, your friend, 



E. HOLMES. 



Remarks or the Editor pro. tkm. — In the 

 ahseiH'e of niu' Seidor, we shall venture to re- 

 conunend to our friend (Mr. Iliduies) of the 

 .Maine Karmer, Stephen Sibley Esip, of llopkin- 

 tcm ill this county, as "a man who grows the 

 finest wool in the I'nitcd Slates'* — at least we 

 know of no man who grows any belter. Mr. 

 Sihiey must he "the man" referred to in the last 

 numher of the Visitor. 



Fi>r tlie banner's Monthly \'isilor. 

 liBtter from Fairfix County, Va. 



Mr. Editor: — The time of my snhscription 

 (i)r your Visitor is .low nearly closed, and 1 do 

 not leel willing lo part willi it. Willi ihousands 

 of others, I presume 1 can say it has been a Visi- 

 tor indeed to me, and it would he parting' with 

 quite too good a fri.nd to lose its visiis now. I 

 fimi it a friend lull of iustriictioii and interest, 

 one that will the '• liirmers weary hour beguile," 

 and teach him the great '-volume of nature" 

 which he studies is greater than any written. 



Von will conclude, Mr. Editor, tint I want yon 

 to he so good as lo sriiil it uie yet longer, and as 

 fiiiy cents is not a good sum lo send hy mail, he- 

 (i)re the year closes I will see if I cannot get one 

 or two of my neighbors ly permit its abode in 

 their houses also. 



Please to change the direction fro.ii N'orwalk 

 to Fairfax Court Hoise, Va., for since last June 

 I have been a resiiUuit of Eairliix Co., hut have 

 said nolhin:.' about the change before, to save you 

 the trouble of directing a siiii;le nainber ; also 

 that my aeijuaintance in Norwalk might he favoi- 

 etl v.iih its calls. 



1 have ibought, often, of writing yon about our 

 connlry, hut have not lur want of time, and from 

 supposing yonr colmmis were better filleil with 

 pi odiiciiinis tioni other pens. But on looking over 

 the Sept. No. (ihe last 1 have received,) 1 find 

 ihiit you permii one to figure there, who vviiti;s 

 "to kill tiuie"! anil i conclude that if one wish- 

 ed lo interrogate him for iiifoi .nation, you would 

 t'ive him a chance. So friend Clinrchill, 1 greet 

 you on your happy art of doing so inncli, and 

 having so many leisure moments beside. Uiit 

 how are you able to do it .' A more particular 

 description of the disposal of your time would 

 prove interesting to one, at least, and I presume lo 

 more ihan one. For myself I am ohligi:d lo leave 

 undone much I wish lo do, and it would lie a for- 

 inne to me could I have the hours that you have 

 to gather knowledge ft om ihe numberless SOU! ces 

 viitbin my reach. Coiihl 1 walk into your house, 

 I am sure iliat 1 should /ind your " little oni.'s" 

 doing inncii that would otherwise he incumbent 

 oil you. ."Villi here 1 cannot well help giving )ou 

 "apeej)"at my home — my circle, which coii- 

 si.sts of a wite, and dMughter ahout^'ight moiiihs 

 old, the tornier somewhat of an invalid, tiie lat- 

 ter healthy and aciive; to asU you if in such a 

 case yon would he obliged lo write ''to kill 

 lime".' Would not the numherless tfiings you 

 could not help doing " within doors," take ii]! 

 some of your leisure moments ? To iidl the irntli, 

 one wiekly paper, and one monthly hssides the 

 papers sent me hy my friends, averaging two a 

 week, make nearly as niueli miscellaneuiis read- 

 ing as I can peruse. 'J'he time I have lo devote lo 

 Clark, Milton, Dick, Lock, SliaUespear, Aiacken- 

 zie. Burns, and a lio.st of otli.vrs is limited ; and 



history, biography, matliemiilics, geography, &c. 

 &c., hardly receive a passing notice, and rny eyea 

 will he dim and my limbs refuse to move, ere I 

 begin to learn what mighty minds bring to light. 



1 know 1 am wandering, Mr. Editor, but the 

 ihouglit of writing " lo kill time " is startling to 

 me, and i wonder the conscietieo did not give 

 a rebuke sulficieiu to suppress it utterance. So 

 it is, we have an example ot ii man, "as it were," 

 on the very top of" The Hill of Science," looking 

 about for something to divert him, while time to 

 him, drags his slow length along. A paradox 

 indeed ! 



But is lime for nie to speak on another subject 

 if 1 do al all, for you see my sheet is half filleil. 

 • do not leel willing to close nniil 1 say some- 

 thing about the viciniiy of my home, knowing 

 that many of your readers are anxi'jus lo hear 

 from the Fairfax lands. The price, you are n- 

 ware, of land is very low, the mi-diiiiii about S8 

 or $10 per acre, depending a great deal on the 

 circumstances ol' lliB owner, the distance from 

 market, the iiuality and situation of the land. — 

 Most of those wlio purchase here are within from 

 three lo twenty miles of Washinglon, Alexan- 

 dria or Georgetown. A few settle iminediately 

 on the banks of the Potomac, which generally 

 are very unhealthy, while a few miles from iia 

 shores the country is very heallhy, and the peo 

 pie, lo a person, bear testimony to the same, and 

 many of the Northerners speak of the decided 

 iinprovement in their healili. The healthiness 

 of any country is no small consideration to those 

 intending to emigrate. 



Some of the land is very poor, but where is 

 there a section of country without its part of 

 poor land ? and one made the remark, after 

 speiiiling the mouths of June anil July here, that 

 for prodiieiiig crops, there was no land in Fair- 

 field Co. Conn., that would excel some pans of 

 it. A rapiil change is going on in the erection 

 of houses, barns, &c. &c., and in the improve- 

 ment of land. We can easily raise enough for 

 our own living, and not he deprived of any of the 

 luxuries of lile we enjoyed when at Ihe North, 

 and make rafiiil improvemeiils in our lauds. — 

 The country is fiist filling up; and, were 1 per- 

 luilled to judge of ihe future by the change in 

 one year, 1 should say at once that the time is not 

 liir liisiant when the |uesent customs would not 

 be known, and slavery he only in the name. 



I may be writing too long a letter for your pa- 

 tience to ex-jmse, and aftei 1 write it you may 

 lliiiiU it not worthy of your columns. lfso,lshall 

 not complain, il' I only get the Visitor. Since 

 I commenced this, many things liave transpired 

 to prevent its completion. One neighbor bor- 

 rowed my ink, and did not reliirii it, and 1 called 

 on him, and he said "it was locked up" and his 

 " wife w:is gone liom home with the key"; so I 

 wailed until 1 had an opporiuniiy of buying an- 

 olh'jr bottle. Another reason is, iii_\ correspon- 

 dence has demanded a large poriioii of my lime 

 (i>r tlie last fesv weeks. A thiid reason, 1 have 

 had many papers from my friends — eight in one 

 week— and 1 well knew I could gtt more iii- 

 tiirmation from them ihan I could impart to otli- 

 ers. A foiirlh, I have had Norihfru friends lo 

 visit me, whom i am always glad to entertain. — 

 A fifll) — my wili^ has not been well at all times; 

 consequenily more work falls on my shoulders. 

 And soon. Now what will li-iend Clinrchill say 

 to all this ? 



I iniisl bring my lucubrations to a close with 

 one thing more. Those who come here viewing, 

 should take the road to Fairfix (!)oiirt House, and 

 he sure to dine at Mr. Peter Gooding's, wiun'e 

 lliey will receive true Virginia hospitality, and 

 enjoy a plentiful repast alter their journey. He 

 lives twelve miles from Alexandria; and if then, 

 ihe traveller wishes to have information respect- 

 ing this country, if he will inquire for llie writer 

 of this article he will find one ready to give him 

 nil within his power. Here then my scribble 

 iiiiisl close. . Yours, &c. 



H. Fl'LLEP>. 



Faiifitx Court House, Va., Jan. 21, 1845. 



Large Pig. 



Peterborough, Jan. 2.3, 1845. 



Mr. Hill: — Please say lo one of your corres- 

 pondents al Pitlslield, who raised the great hog 

 this year, thai he may stand back out of the front 

 rank, and try again. 



I killed a Piu the third day of this month, ten 



