' ^{)t Iavnux5 iHmitl)ln lUsiter. 



127 



exiTlioMS, ,111(1 less ili'|iKiuleiit fiir a return iipoii 

 ilie uiiceiiiiiii eveiils of iiiiii mid miii. We Imve 

 UiKiuii wlieiit to lipen on tlie Wesleni |ii!iiries, 

 ill sdcli cloudy vv(^iiilier hs would, in tlie Eiistein 

 Stiiles, on onr tliin iiiid conipanilively inipover- 

 islied r^oil, liive no liilliiess lo tlie berry — llie ex- 

 i.'iM'iliiii; ricliiiess imd nalnral uiirnilli of tlie 

 Wesleiii Mill in a nii'asiiie f-npiil^ iiig tlie uli- 

 seiice of ii warm and ri|ieiiiii!; siiii." 



Fiir the F;u-njer's Mrinthly Visitor. 

 ' New Inventions—The West India Farmer. 



Travellers ii|ioii tlie roiuinent of Enrojie liave 

 freqiienlly iioiii-ed tlie cliiiiisy, ill-cniitrived, old 

 fiisliioiied iiii|il('iiieiit.s of a^'iiciiltiire. Ploiijjlis, 

 lioe.s and otiier tools, similar lo tlin.-e used one or 

 five liniidred years sim-e, un^ slill tiiiind, and no 

 (tis|)o,-iiion iiianifestril to cliange or proiMire a 

 belter kind. In such places inventors, if liappily 

 there were any, iiiii;lit cnmplain of ilie reluctance 

 to adopt their iinprovenieiits, and of the extreme 

 difHcnIly of niakiiii.' an inroad n|ion old iisajies 

 and ti.xtd habits. 'I'liis coinplaiiit liiids il^ way 

 abroad in onr oivii country wliere men of }jeiiiiis 

 in llie mHchanic arts, like poets in the intellectnal 

 world, are not always affluent, and where pat- 

 rniiajie is necessary from the less gifted to illus- 

 trate and prove the excellence of their inven- 

 tions. 



Hilt there is perhaps less cause for coni|ilaint 

 in this tli.'in .-ini other country. If onr people 

 are cautious, they are still more iidveiilnioiis in 

 experiments than any other known nalioii, and 

 we have mure ohjecis tiir their conlemplatinii 

 and cl.iiiiiiiiir their attention. Who iliat has vis- 

 ited the Patent Office ill Washiiiglon and seen 

 some two or three lininlred plniij;lis that have 

 been [lateiited, and similar proofs in almost any 

 oilier tool used by the (iiriner, has not been struck 

 with surprise at the fertility of onr people in 

 contrivances to iiianai;e onr fertile soil .' The 

 triiili perhaps is that onr fanners could not with 

 the means arisiiiir from any reasonable prolits 

 afford to make trial of every new inveniion that 

 is presented. There is no end to ilie .seed sowiiifr, 

 erass ciittinji, horse rakiiifr,wimiowin^' and lliresh- 

 hins machines that have been devised, and are 

 aniinally ivroiij.'lil out by onr inventive Ki'iiinses. 

 The number printed afier beiiiL' pateiileil makes 

 quite a li'lle volinnc. Sometimes as owe man 

 emerges fi'oin onr ciiie.", who has been liirtnnaie 

 in trade, and what is still more exiraordinary has 

 closed his liii>iness belore tiiiliinr, with his pock- 

 ets full, he rifles in the country in fine weather, 

 hears the birds sini;, perhaps siill sweeter, the 

 milkmaids ; reads book.s, and dreams oi fertile 

 fields, fino.caitle, flowiiii; milk and ilelicions biil- 

 li r. Jdieiies* annoys such a man, and he buys a 

 firm: hope is buoyant; his eye is bright and be 

 is completely happy so long as llie passion lasts, 

 and stern reality has not awakened liiiii from his 

 visions of pleasure, lie lislens lo the robin ; he 

 Watches the aciivity of I he wren ; the air is fra- 

 grant ti-om the clover, .■iiiii with these real deli:;lils 

 he cherishes the laudable ambition of being 

 named as the best (iiriner in the neighborl ood. 

 Specimens of such men occasionally make their 

 uppearanire neur.eai'h of onr largt; cities; they 

 improve the land — they hnihl excellent barns of 

 the newest conlrivance — ihey introduce improved 

 breeds of aiiiin.'ils, and are the very cream of pa- 

 liriiis for the pJaiisible doctors of patents. 

 Scarce a iieigh'.iorhood but sooner or later has 

 i'ell the endnriiig benefit springiiiiT from thi.'se 

 fertilizing sprin:;s. True tliepassion tor farming 

 does not geiiei.illy last a great while, not beyond 

 the eleV;.lioii of ihe poi'ket, if as long', but ihe 

 improved drained meadows remain ; the laiildiiigs 

 are there, and ilie improved anfl superior cattle 

 spread their inflne-in-e and conlinne their bene- 

 fits; and however miple.isanl the never returning 

 dollars to the man may be, he may still put hap- 

 |jjhi-ss cliea|iat any cost in having been tl!fc means 

 of l.-isiiiig benefits to his fi'llow man. 



.Most of IIS have seen or liearil ol' ihese kind of 

 faroiers; and ahhoiigh their experimenlal liirnis 

 reduce or exhaust their means, lliey widen the 

 iield and improve what is now termed the .sci- 

 ence of agricnllnre. One of these men happen- 

 ed to purchase Some years since a farm in my 

 iieighliorliood. He was rather over loiildle a;^i', 

 and had made his Ibrlime iu a (oreign coimlry, 

 within the lalilnde of the Iropics, where be had 

 resided from the time he came of age. Cherisii- 

 ing, like a true son ol' New Engiand, the remem- 



brance of the land of his birth and bojiiood, like 

 the peasant of the Swiss mountains, the obji cl 

 first ill his desires was to enjoy the wealth he 

 had compassed by his enterprise, anioiig the 

 scenes and the people of his yonlli. Having lost 

 his wile in the miheallliy climati; of the eipi.-itor, 

 his first ol ject was a companion f<ir grace and 

 ornament ratliin- than use. as his object was per- 

 sonal ease rather than ihrift. In this he was liir- 

 Imiaie to find a lady ripe and accomplished, anil 

 adding to her execmion in music a taste for the 

 niiise.s. They were soon united, "happy, happy, 

 happy pair ;" others than the lirave achieve the 

 llie (iiir. On a tine day in sweet June they took 

 po.ssession : noihiiig could exceed their delighl. 

 Tired wiih the iiu|iiial parties in town they es- 

 caped to the country. "How plea.sani ! bow 

 sweet! how charming!" ''my dear, and my 

 dearest," were tantologous and exhausted long 

 beliire the sun hid his bright liice on that day. 

 All olher d.iys were blank.s. lie had now enter- 

 ed upon the ihreshold of long lii.stered desires: 

 she li.'id wrillen of love in ;i collage twining like 

 the woodbine — ^now she enjoyed it. 



They had been actively employed in the morn- 

 iii£ — tilings were not yet arranged, and dinner 

 rather late. Snidi butter, such milk, such titiit 

 they had never belore lasted. 



On rising for the first time, in their new abode, 

 from the table, in "the pleasanlest room they 

 liad ever been in," there appeared to be a sort of 

 mnliial oveiflowing of the heart. As she put 

 her hand within his arm for the adjoining room, 

 he rctmned the complimeiii with a .salntallon 

 more sweet than thai which had sealed the vow 

 of marriage. The moment seemed to exhale 

 ihe very perfume of existence. All ye, who live 

 ill narrow streets, in dwellings that look out upon 

 pavefl streets and brick walks, instead of grass 

 lawns and wide ranges ; ye know nothing of the 

 favored tew who l;ike up their abode in the coun- 

 try. " One hour of glorious liberly is worth an 

 eternity of bondage." 



But we are not destined here to unalloyed 

 bliss. My friend and nei;;libor was a shrewd 

 man — his wife a very sensible woman, and hence 

 did not expect it. It is the bitter that leads ns to 

 know the sweet; the rough, the smooth; and it 

 w;is the contrast that recommended at first every 

 thing about them. 



B.ii'k of the resilience he had purchased a field 

 of alioul ((iiir acres, the surface of which present- 

 ed more sioiie than soil. His first eftort was, in 

 accorl. nice. with his declaration on buying the 

 place, to clear ibis groiiiid of stone to the depth 

 of from eighteen inches lo two feet. 



A IKMV neighbor in the coimlry is a mailer that 

 awakens ntlentioii, and llie design of clearing a 

 field of stone brought early next day some six or 

 seven men acciislomed to ''drilling and blowing 

 rocks." No objection could be made to working 

 by till! inch which was a fortnnate circiinistaiice 

 as il ;:ave the nev.- fniiier employment in keep- 

 ing llie account. Powder was purchased — a bar- 

 rel at a lime. .At it Ihey went and it was (piiie 

 syiiip:ithetic and exciting to hear the rattle 

 of the drills, with iio.v and then if son of 

 camionade from the blasting explo.sions. Du- 

 ring a greater part of the day the fiirinnate pro- 

 prieKu' might be seen under the shade of a tree 

 with his stale in hand, with e:icli man's iiaine in- 

 scribed, and airainsl which he set down as they 

 uent on ihe nnmb.'r of inches they perforated. 

 He had read book.-*, and used dry sand instead 

 of broken brick to confine llie charge, and there- 

 by avoid iIk^ danger of explosion in rammiiig. 

 III! also used m.'ilcli paper, instead of a fuse of 

 wet powder to produce explosion, which paper 

 he made by "lissolving some saltpetre in water, 

 with which Ihe jiaper was wetl.ed ; and this wIiimi 

 dry is a sure and safe, as well asa-imiliirm burn- 

 ing slow iimicli. Hence, alinosl as soon as he 

 came among us, two dangers in blasling rocks 

 were removed — Jlieone in ramming the load, 

 the other in the powrhr fuse. This sort of bat- 

 tery of blasting h.'is an interest in it, the placing 

 of the hole in tije right place lo produce the b.-st 

 effect; and by and by it was liinnd thai much 

 greater execniion was dime by digging the earlh 

 away from ilie rocks lo the desireil depih before 

 they were blasted. This gave employment to 

 more men, and then the sliirdy oxen with the 

 roller-drag came to remove them for " the best 

 stone fence ill the whole town." And then, came 

 the stone layers; and as Ihe Iield was eleuied the 



stone men worked into the new wall upon the 

 road line — the fouiidaiion nearly two feet below 

 the surface, out of the reach of the fiost. 



" Employment is the scythe of time," and he 

 that is well employed is happy. What then was 

 Ihe wife doiiiL'all ihis lime.' She had been bred 

 in town, could iiol quilt, or knit, or make shirts: 

 sh(^ could sing, and play uiioii the pi.ino, but 

 wiihoni ,'in audience, this is dull mi. sic. The 

 linsband was very, very happy; and that beini; 

 the case she would join him in a seat beneath a 

 tree— look at the fraginenls of rocks — point out 

 the difterenl materials of which they were I'om- 

 posed, 1(11' she had studied miner.dogy, and send 

 up an inquiring wiindcr al the wisdom that had 

 miiied them togellier so tiriiilv. " What," said 

 she one afternoon to her husband, " what my 

 dear, are you goiiiir to do with this land after it 

 shall be cleared of the stone?" "1 have been 

 thinking myself of thai," ho replied, " it will pro- 

 duce alomost any thing wiih a plenty of iiianme." 

 " What a charming fiower garden it would make, 

 my dear." "This," said he, "brings lo my iimid 

 an experiment 1 have read of which I have di;- 

 sired to make. You are (imd of roasted chick- 

 ens: now it is said that the seeds of snn-flowers 

 makes the (iittest and best fl:i.voi'ed chickens in 

 the world. I Ihereliare have made up my mind, 

 as the opportunity now occurs, to plant the w hole 

 wiih siinHouers and rear a great niimher of 

 chickens; and next winter we will fea.st upon 

 chii'kens after the f!;jvor of the seed of the suii- 

 flouer." 



"This is exceWent," s.-iid his wife, " it is the 

 very best plan we can adojit ; I have heard the 

 capon breed of chickens iniicb praised; let lis 

 iherefore, as we have the hens to purchase, pro- 

 cure that kind only." 



"I have my doubts, my dear," .said the poeil 

 man, " if we shall find them very readily: and 

 perhaps if yon look into Webster you may find 

 that they are Irish." 



Wlipthcr this is the case or not I did not after- 

 wards learn, and heard no more of tlijit Iiir pre- 

 lirred breed of fowls. The fowls were pur- 

 chased — the cliii kens multiplied ; the fi)iir acres 

 lirescnied a most brilliant show of sunflowers. 

 The seed was abimdanl, and the chickens wi-re 

 made till and regaled the palates of the proprie- 

 tor and his coni|ianioii. They had llieir lime, 

 and are now gone; but a heller four acres, more 

 free from sloiie, cannot be lomid in the Bay 

 Stale. The wall too, it is there siill; the slorms 

 have not moved it, or the li'osis lilted it, and 

 tlieie it will long sttmd as an endnrmg evi- 

 dence of one of the prodni-ls of expei imental 

 farming. 



The cannonade fioni the four acre battery 

 ceased; but it is the liappiiie.ss of farming that 

 ere one labor is over, the f^teady, ever onward 

 progress of the seasons brings fiirth another, 

 i'lie gi'as.* was now grown, and the sliirdy mow- 

 ers were in the fields. Whan the sun had chas- 

 ed away the mornimi's nwt, he came out to lake 

 that pleasure derived lr»m wiliiessing cheerful 

 labor. As nei;>hbors were bolli bii.sy and re- 

 mote, his wife was lieipienlly his companioii, 

 and seated togeiher upon the moss covered rock 

 under a shade, they togellier enjoyed the scene. 



Some six or eight mowers following each 

 other, llicir coals off, and sloo|iing and striking 

 all togeiher as they fi-l!ed the tall grass, it is said 

 ihey piesent a beanlifid siglil ; and then as tiie 

 clear and bracing west uiiid finis over the willing 

 hay, what a fragrance it takes wiih it. 



Our West Indian liirmer was the liieiid of 

 genius: he entered inio the poetry of inveiilioiis, 

 and the patentee of a new implemenl was sure 

 of a willing ear and an o|ieii hand. One of 

 llu'se camewiili a horse rako, "that would do 

 ilie work of half a dozen men." It was piir- 

 ch.-ised at once: the man invited to dinner and 

 th.inked, and the day following a siiirited twelve- 

 mile-aii-honr lior.-e harnessed to it. The men 

 shook llieir heads, ,-iiid hiokeil wiih quizzing sig- 

 nificance al each ollau'; hut an aclive young man 

 took Ihe handles of ihe rake, and a fine lad of 

 liantcen, iioiliing tiliaid, backed the lioisi;. OfT 

 Ihey went like a ciiniser at the tap of Ihe drimi 

 from ihe i^larl. The man at ihe handles was 

 dislanced in llie first tvvenly rod.s. The rake 

 touched first one end and the<i the oilier, and 

 capered in the air as if it was alive and jump- 

 ing; and the horse whose sides vvnie lashed wiih 

 the ropes, jumped in earnest. The hat of the 



