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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE WEATHER AND EMIGRATION. 



BT SILAS BROWN. 



Messrs. Editors : — There is no subject talked 

 upon more, if so much, as the weather. I had a 

 friend, somewhat sensitive in his feelings, who 

 would frequently come in from out of doors and 

 exclaim "the oldest man living never saw such 

 weather before !" Whether that was true to the 

 letter I cannot affirm. We are apt to forget or be 

 unmindful of weather that has gone by, as well as 

 "last year's clouds," but there is a mystery in re- 

 gUrd to the vicissitudes of the weather which I 

 never have seen satisfactorily explained by phi- 

 losophers or astronomers. 



What should cause the seasons to vary so much, 

 is probably owing to some kind of change in the 

 solar system which is beyond the science of astron- 

 omy to reveal to us. We have runs of forward 

 seasons and runs of backward seasons, successions 

 of cold seasons and hot seasons which have an in- 

 fluence over all our growing crops. A change 

 took place soon after the great eclipse in 1806, 

 which continued several years ; the summers pre- 

 vious to that period had been excessively hot and 

 dry, and after the eclipse they became cool and 

 rainy, and the weatherwisers attributed the change 

 to the effects of the eclipse. At a few years later 

 period the cold summers were accounted for by the 

 spots in the sun, which furnished a subject of cu- 

 riosity and speculation for all the wiseacres under 

 solar influence ; wonderful spots real or imaginary 

 were seen enough to obstruct the greater part of 

 his rays from reaching our cold planet and shed- 

 ing his warming and invigorating influences upon 

 tardy and reluctant vegetation. It is easy to rid- 

 icule things we do not understand ; "but facts are 

 stubborn thidgs." 



Deacon Seer came along one morning in the 

 month of January, after several days of weather 

 which tried men's physical feelings, if the feelings 

 of the spiritual man were left unmolested ; I in- 

 quired of the deacon what he thought of the 

 weather, and what the result would probably be ; 

 the deacon's countenance expressed his anxious 

 feelings, and said that the first day of Chistmas 

 stood for January, and so on each of the twelve 

 days of Christmas represented the twelve months 

 in the year in succession, and that whoever lived 

 to see summer, had never seen the like before ; the 

 rye would all be destroyed by rust and mildew, 

 and the corn cut off by frosts ; and as for potatoes, 

 there would not be enough for seed ; said I, "dea- 

 con, how do you reckon in making out your pre- 

 diction, — the twelve days of old Christmas or the 

 twelve days of new style?" The deacon seemed 

 somewhat in the way of obstacles, and in a quan- 

 dary after a while concluded that the new style 

 must have been an improvement upon the old, and 

 of course those untoward days in new style might 

 have been transferred from the old, and rule the 

 months with a vengeance. 



The deacon's philosophy in this case was about 

 as rational as ours generally is about weather. 

 Our predictions, far from infallible, consist mostly 

 of the Yankee trait in guessing. Many have an 

 idea that the planets do not influence our growing 

 crops, but I believe their varying positions influ 

 ence the weather, and the weather has a con- 

 trolling influence upon all our growing vegetables 

 It is probable, in my mind, that the changing 



position of the planets in the solar system directly 

 or indirectly create the atmospheric disturbances 

 and irregularities which so frequently take place 

 and cause such variations in the weather ; causes 

 we know there must be for these'changes from the 

 effects we daily experience, and as astronomers 

 have not arrived at a point of knowledge adequate 

 to explain to us the true causes of these atmospher- 

 ic phenomena, we have a right to conjecture and 

 speculate upon the subject till we can be satisfied 

 with a solution of the true cause ; whether this 

 event may take place, while other improvements 

 are rapidly on the march, is still a problem. I 

 have not much faith in the management of the 

 moon over our terrestrial affairs, whether planting 

 our potatoes at her change or full, enlarges or di- 

 minishes our crops ; but unless the moon, at her 

 phases, causes some decided change in the weath- 

 er, I should very much doubt her juggling opera- 

 tions in making potatoes grow. By long observa- 

 tion, I have remarked that we have some kind of 

 stormy weather at the change of the moon which 

 may be owing to her combined attraction with the 

 sun in causing high tides and charging the at- 

 mosphere with an uncommon degree of dampness. 

 The weather, like an air balloon, has no conduct- 

 ing helm or keel like a ship, by which it can be 

 guided, but seems entirely at the disposal of windy 

 agencies to us unaccountable, though influenced 

 by causes which produce their regular effects be- 

 yond our research. 



The wise farmer will be prepared for the weath- 

 er as it comes, and ready to embrace every favora- 

 ble opportunity offered him to make regular go-a- 

 head progress in all his branches of business. 

 Sloth and Negligence are never prepared for any 

 kind of weather ; if the weather should prove fa- 

 vorable there is no preparation to take the ad- 

 vantage of the opportunity, but disorder and con- 

 fusion reign triumphant about the premises ; plows 

 broken, and all kinds of utensils mislaid or unfit 

 for use, and of course the opportunity was lost for 

 taking the advantage of good weather ; and neigh- 

 bors Sloth and Negligence continuing in the rear, 

 after wasting their time at unsuccessful fishing and 

 gunning or at loafing with comrades like them- 

 selves, conclude that farming is the most unprofit- 

 able and worst business in the world, and the cli- 

 mate and weather are both intolerable, and that it 

 is best for them to go to California. 



About the time of the above conclusion, Messrs. 

 Extravagance, Grab, Humbug, Ambition, Envy, 

 Lovegold, Poorcalculation , and several others of 

 like adventurous spirits, formed a company with a 

 determination to emigrate to California, and by 

 the influence of magnetism or some other agency 

 which aroused the vital spark that was almost 

 dormant in Sloth and Negligence, and raised the 

 fever to such a height, that they by sales and mort- 

 gages of their remaining effects raised money 

 enough to defray their expenses to California. 

 This motley company being formed, they went 

 aboard the good steamer Enterprise and soon land- 

 ed at Chagres ; here the novelty of the scene, 

 heavy potations of drown-trouble and the fragrance 

 of the real Havanahs created such a glorious con- 

 fusion in the naturally indolent craniums of Sloth 

 and Negligence that they did not dream but their 

 baggage was already in California ; but mistakes 

 have to be rectified sooner or later for the benefit 

 of interested parties; these latter gentlemen, while 



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