/armors JI^ntMg l^tsitar. 



*' Those who lauor is th 



VOL. 8. NO. 5. 



CONDUCTED BV ISA AC HILL. 



FORaUnaTtNTlAL AND GENUINE V 1 RTUE."— JcjfcrsOJl. 



CONCORD, N. H., MAY 30, 1846. 



WHOLE NO. 89. 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR, 



PUBLISHED BY 



ISAAC HILL, & SONS, 



ISSUED ON THE LAST DAY OF EVERV MONTH, 



At Athenian Building:. 



JKJ-Genrbal Acents.— II. A. B.LL, Keene, N H. ; John 

 Marsh \\;,slimgtnn St. Boston, Mass.; Charles Warren, 

 ilnnlfy Row, W orcester, Mass. 



TERMS.-To single subscribers, Fi/ly Cenls. Ten per 

 cent, will lie allowed to tile person who shall send more than 

 ''"'■ '^"l';'i;,l'"- 1 "'clve copies will be sent for the advance 

 p.iunentot Firc Daltars ; twenty-five copies f.ir Ten Dollars- 

 sl.M^■ copies for Twcit,/ Dollars. The payment in every case to 

 be iniido in advance. j vusi. lu 



i^Money and subscriptions, by a reflation of the. Post Master 

 General, may m all cases be remitted by tke Post Master free or 

 postage. 1 J'^'^^j 



SS-All gentlemen who have heretofore acted as Agents are 

 re.|..csled to continue their Agency. Old subscribers who 

 come under the new terms, will please notify us of the names 

 already on our books. 



English Farrain? Two Centuries Ago 



(Continued.) 

 The first Booke of Husbandry : Entreating of 

 J^arable- ground, Tillage, and Pasture. 



RIGO. CONG. 



R.GO.-ln the ineane time heing Hme from the 

 Cliurch, neither ciin you lie.-ire the Sermon.-, nor 

 bee present with your wife and your lioushoUl at 

 bervice: lor your owne part, thoufjl, ye may sup. 

 ply llie malter with readinof, yet your wi(b and 

 yom- .^eryaiiis cannot so doe. 

 I C^'T"-— F'f"' "ly l"i'-t (without vaunt be it spo- 

 ken,) 1 liave servii-e eyery day at certaineappoint- 

 e.1 honres wliere prencheth to me daily t|,e 

 Prophets the Apostles, Basil, Chrysostonie, Na- 

 zianzen, Cyril, Cyprian, Amhrose, Austen, and 

 other excellent preachers whom I am sure 1 

 heare with greater profit, than iC I should hetire 

 your sn-lohn lack-latiyes, and foolish fellows in 

 .Vour Churches. IMy wife also beinir jiiven to 

 readinjr, readeth the Bible, and certaine Psalmes 

 translated into our owne ton-ue; if there beany 

 thnigtoo hard or rlarke for her, I make her to 

 uu. ers.and ,1: hesi.les, she liatb priyale prayers 



htr owne .hat she nseth: in the meaile time 



1 have one, that upon the holy-days (if the wea- 

 her or our hn.smesse be such as we cannot goe 



to Cdurcli) readeth the Gospel, leachelh the Cate- 

 chi5.ne, and ministerelh the Sacrainenis when 

 time requires: but in the Somrner time, if the 

 wettiher be not unreasonable, wee goe alwayes 

 -M-on the Stmdayes and fesliiiai dayes lo our 

 P.u,>h Church where wee heare our Curate, and 

 receine he blessed Communion: as for my 

 household, I bnng them to this or.ler, that they 

 alwaye.s scrue God before .heir going .o work/ 

 and at their comming lo meales. ]t is wri.ie, of 

 An.home the Ermite; that being demand of'a 

 certaine Plulospher how he could in the solilarie 

 wiUernesse without any hookes,occnpie hi.nselfe 

 .n the stiidie of Diuini.ie: he answered, at te 

 whole world serue.l him Ibr bookes, ^s a well 

 furiiLshed Library : in which he alvvav;.. readu,e 

 wot-.derlnl workemansliip of Go,!, which in en ' y 

 place stood bt^lore his eyes. In .he like sort ha ,e 

 I mj|^ household seruants well instructed in U e 

 chiefe grountls of true Religion, who leanin. ,o 

 their yoca.iun and innocencie of their life, not 

 carne.l avyay wuh the vaine en.isements and 

 pleasures of Ct.ies, do behold the Maies.ie of 

 God in his workes, and honor .he Creatour in Ids 

 C eatures, not one ly upon Sundayes, but eiieiy 



lit e buds, and other creatures in their kindes 

 fiellmg out the glory an.l Maiestie of God 



Rico.— You seeme to lell me of a Schoole of 

 Dinini.y, & not of a Ilnsband-mans cottage : this 

 was the very order of the PatriarkeSj'^uul the 

 monasteries in .lie Primitiue Church. 



CoiNw.— Indeede Chrysos.oine would hatie all 

 Christians, married folkesand unmarried, to leade 

 their iiues according to the rule tind order of 

 Monkes: but of such Monkes as lined in thoes 

 dayes, no. such good-fellowes as oiir.s l)e now: 

 tor the profession of a IVIonkc in that age, was 

 no other but the life of ilie purest and perfeclest 

 Ciiristians, which kinde of life the oM Palri- 

 arkes, as the Scriptures doe witnesse, did leade. 



But loretiirneio my quietnes, or my Hiis- 

 baiKh-y, from whence I digressed : do you yet 

 maruaile how I can delight my selfe with this so 

 honest and profitable a quietnes, then which in 

 the ludgement of the holiest & wisest men, there 

 IS nothing more honest nor belter, neither is there 

 besides any trade of lite more meet for a Gen- 

 lleman, nor Irauaile more acceptable lo God, then 

 IS the tilling of the ground. The people in the 

 old time (as Ca.o, a man of great wisdome. and 

 a teacher of husbandry doth witnesse) as oft as 

 they would giue a man the name of an honest 

 man, they would call him a jrood husband, com- 

 prehending in that name as m'ucb commendation, 

 as they could giue him : besides, most mighiie 

 Kings and Emperors were no whit ashamed lo 

 professe this trade, as Xenophon reporte.h of 

 King Cirus: llie like wriielh Quinlns Cuirius of 

 Alidolomimis. Numa the King of the Romans 

 bare a singular a.sserlion to husbandry, for that 

 bee thought there was no kind of life so fit to 

 maiiietaine either peace or waiTes,or for the pro- 

 vision ol a mans life, being rather a giner of good 

 life, then riches. Moieouer, Hiero, Philome.or, 

 Atttdues, Achdaus, and a great number of Prin- 

 ces inoie, deligli.ed wiih the profession of hus- 

 bandry: ihis knowledge is also highly cotn- 

 niended by Homer, the very foimtaine in his time 

 ot wisdome, whereas hee descriheth Aicinus the 

 king of- the Pheaces, whose deli-hl in the plant- 

 iiifT and pleasures of his orchards was wonder- 

 full. And Laertes the old man, that with his 

 continiiall occupying of husbandry, brought his 

 Mund belter to beare .he absence of his son. 

 Hesiodus in his worke lb... ergon kai emeroii 

 giueii great praise lo Astrea, that being banished 

 Ihe city, gatie himselfe to the life of the counirie • 

 yea, the ground hath before time bin tilled Ijy .he 

 hands of Emperor.«, the Earth in the tneane time 

 reioycing to be loriie with a vic.orers share 

 and lo be plowed with the hands of a triumphant 

 conqueror, either because they dealt with the 

 like regard in their seed.as they'did in the campe, 

 or else becauM- all things handled with honest 

 and verlnous fingers prosper the he.lcr, beiu"- 

 more carefully looked to. Serranus when h? 

 was (•ailed lo honour, was found sowing of seed. 

 1 he Dictators ofjice w;is brought by" the pur- 

 seuant .o Cincinatns, being all naked and be- 

 smeared wi.h swet.t and dust. The purseuan.s 

 had hrsl their name of calliiii: Senators and Goii- 

 ernors out of the Counirie to the Citie. In like 

 son had lliis name at the first, the Fabij, the 

 Pisons, the Ciirij, .he Len.uli, the Ciceroes, the 

 Pilumni, and other auncienl houses. Horace 

 telle.h, that of husbandmen haiie bene bred the 

 vahantest juid wor.hieslsoiildiers: afBrniiiig, that 

 the hand that hath heeiie used lo the spade, pro- 

 ueth often of greatest value in the field. Homer 

 repor.eth a great ualancie in Ulisses his neat- 

 heard, in the slaughter of those fiillowes thai 

 would haiie rauished his niissliesse. Most cer- 

 taine it is, that a great niindicr of Emperours 

 bane sprung from the plow. And lo let others 

 Soe, 11 IS knowne that the Emperors Galerius & 

 i>la,\iminus came both from poore Heardmen to 

 the imperial! .lignitie. The like is wrillen of 

 Jusriue, Conslamianns, Probus, & Atirelianns. 

 Ihe stones report, that M. Curius the Emperour 

 was found in his house boyling of a rape roote, 



when he refused the great sums of gold brought 

 by the Samnils Embassadors. What should I 

 speake of the anliqui.ie of it? tlie bolv Scrip- 

 tures declare husbandry to be the aucicntest of 

 till trades. And lo begin with the very Ijeginning 

 of man, fctbai neither Osiris, nor Dionisius, were 

 llie first founders of this knowledge, as the Pai- 

 nims fable, but that the most mightie Lord him- 

 selfe did first ordaine it: for Adam and his Bona 

 were all husbandmen, Noe was a planter of vines, 

 Abrahiim, Isaac, & lacoli, were sheepards, Saul 

 from his Asses, & David from his sheej), were 

 called to the crown, Elizeus & Amos of shep- 

 herds were made prophets. Ozias as we read, 

 professed husbandry. Jesus thesonne of Syrach 

 commending husbandry above the rest, saitb, I ,» 

 cu.siomahly useil himselfe to hold the plow, to 

 drive the cart, & to keepe callell : but what need 

 we more .' Our Sauiour Christ tiHuselfe glorieth 

 to be the son of a husbandman, & frameth his 

 parables of planting of vjiies,of sheep & sheep- 

 heards: moreover, as it is in Luke, our Lord 

 seemeth to be a teacher of husbandry, where ho 

 sheweth, that trees are to be digged about & 

 dunged, that .hey may prosper the better. For 

 sith this knowledge is of all other most innocent, 

 and without which it is most plaine we are not 

 able to line : the best men have alwayes imbraced 

 it, & the old Fathers have ever counted it very 

 Cosen-German to wisedome. Cicero calleth it 

 the Mislris of Justice, diligence, & tbriftines; 

 some others call it the mother and nurse of all 

 other arts. For whereas we may live without 

 the other, without this we are notable to siistaine 

 our life: besides, the gaine that hereof ariseth, 

 IS most godly, and least subiect to enuy, for it 

 hath to deale with the earth, ihat restoreth with 

 gaine such things as is committed unto her, spe- 

 cially if it be furthered with the blessing of God. 

 The onely gentlemanly way of eiicreasing the 

 house, IS the trade of husbandry: and for this' 

 cause they were alwayes accounted the perfeclest 

 Gentlemen, thai, conlent with the lining their 

 Aunceslors left them, lined in the Counirie of 

 their Lands, not meddling with figging, chopping, 

 & chainging, nor seeking their lining by handi- 

 crafts. M. Vario in his time, sayth, tliere was 

 groat complaint made, that the Fathers forsaking 

 the Plough and the Sickle, began to creepe into 

 the Towiie, and busied themselves rather with 

 Pageants and Miilsommer games, then vyith the 

 \ meyard of the Field, whereas the Gonernoiirs 

 of Rome so deuided the yeere, as they assigned 

 onely the ninth day for businesse of theCillie, & 

 the rest of the time for the tillage of the Coun- 

 irie, whereby being hardened with labor in peace, 

 they might the better be able lo abide the tratiaile 

 of wanes. Which counirie people were alwayes 

 preferred before the people of the Citie, & more 

 Nobility thought to be in them that till the ground 

 abroad, then in those that lining idely within the 

 walles, spent their lime under the shadow of the 

 penthouse: excejit a man will, with the common 

 sort, thinke it more honest to get bis lining with 

 the blood & calamilie of poore soules, or not 

 daring to deale with the sword, to make his gaine 

 of merchandize, and being a creature of the'land, 

 contrary lo his kinde, giue liimselfe to the rage 

 of the Seas, & the pleasure of the VVindes, wan- 

 flering like a bird, from shore to shore, & country 

 to counirie; or lo follow this goodly profession 

 of bawling at a barre, & for gaine to open his 

 lavves at every bench. Surely, as I said before, 

 tins onely hath bene ever counted the innocentest 

 traile of life of all men, and in all ages. By hus- 

 bandry were made rich Ihe godly Fathers, Abra- 

 ham, Lot, lacoh, and loab: & most certaine it is, 

 Ihat this profession & this gaine is inost accepta- 

 ble to God, when hee commanded Adam to till 

 the ground, and to get his lining with the sweat 

 of bis browes. Thus is husbandry of such au- 

 thority, as God with his open witnesse hath al- 

 lowed it, and afterwards by his servant Moses 



