156 



Ql\)c Saxmcxs iUoutl)li) bisitor. 



clearing "f" the forest ; — at this time, our recol- 

 lection is, that the pioneef liiriueis raised their 

 own tohacrc). The seed, we rerneinher, was 

 sown in ilie late tall or early spring in some 

 place where the sini lia<l luelted away the deep 

 snow. The plants were Iransplantefl, generally 

 in the richest spot that conld lie foiuid alMjiit the 

 premises. Sometimes the sheep or cow yard 

 near the harii was parted and lenced off — some- 

 limes a rich hnriit spot wheie piles of logs liad 

 been consiiiiird in a new clearing was selected. 

 The plant i;rcw up of deep green where the 

 ground was rich and it coiikl take deep root — it 

 was yellow and slow of growth where the soil 

 w;is poor and the siihsoil was not stirred. Tlie 

 sight of this liixnriant weed was tempting to the 

 joimg to imitate their fallieis as tohacco cliew- 

 «rs. Those who knew how to rear the tohacco 

 plant knew also how to cure it when it was 

 raised. All the stiirjidants of the right kind of 

 mannre were made to push forward its growth. 

 Standing ahoiit three feet apart, the gronnd was 

 freipieiitly stirred ahout it with the hoe: as the 

 *;talk grew lii;;lier and the hroad leaves extended, 

 the holtom or perishing leaves were taken out — 

 the Slickers were broken oft" or extracted as 

 tliey started from the joint; and when the top- 

 pinL' stem appeared, that was broken off to throw 

 a stouter growth into the main stalk and broader 

 leaves below. One fiir stalk was usually select- 

 <.>d where the sieni was suffered to monnt up 

 into the yellow blow, distinguished from its fel- 

 lows roniid about by a statelier and higher, hut 

 not by so rich aii<l so luxuriant growth : this was 

 to give the seed lor another year. And this sec^ 

 of the tobacco so fair and so small: our bible 

 iiati taught ns in the parable of the Saviour that 

 the mustaril was the smallest of all seeds spring- 

 ing fioui which came the hrancliiiig tree in 

 which the birds of the air nfiglit lodge. It seem- 

 eil unaccountable and paradoxical to onr young 

 mind how the tobacco, a still smaller than the 

 mustard seed, should be the germ of a larger 

 sl.ilk, of larger leaves and covering a larger sur- 

 face, if not of so extended anil so numerous 

 branches. Then the season of ripeniuff, the fit- 

 ting moment of cutting down the toliacco stalk — 

 the lime when the rich green approximated to 

 blackness — the care that no untoward frost 

 should touch it before the cropping. And then 

 the curing: the tender leaf must not be allowed 

 to will under a sununer or aut<imiial sun; lint 

 Rome dark shed or corner of the barn, among 

 the lirst cutting of the corn stalks, or over the 

 hay mow where the exterior winds and air had 

 nut free access, was chosen in which to suspend 

 the inverted stalk, taking care that it should not 

 coiiie in contact with any thing that should 

 mould llie leaf; or change its flavor. 



The process of laising and rnriiig tobacco 

 was so templing and fiscinaring, that we lia<l 

 even attempte.! it when residing under the pa- 

 ternal roof befori' ten successive summers had 

 mi inhered iis ii in iiy years of our I'arlier existence ; 

 and seeing nihers do ihc! same, we not onlv suc- 

 ceeded in <iur loiiacco yard, but we went through 

 the process of curing; and allhongli not inge- 

 nious enoiigli to make good pintail, we succced- 

 t'cl in manufaciuring tolerable hand tobacco in 

 in.-ii.uioii of that Viridnia liest so luscious to the 

 couiirmed tob.icco cliewer. 



Eiijoying the vjork of raising and carrying to- 

 b:'.oi-n ihrough its several |iioi!isses so ninch^ the 

 wonder now n us is that we liarl not from a boy 

 been both tobacco cliewer aiul smoker: as for 

 siiiifliiui that came and lasted us, excused by a 

 confirmed catarrh, from the age of twenty-one to 

 tbrty-lwo ; hut that bad habit has been ' broken 

 oti by total ab-tinencc. To chew tohacco we 

 never attempted ; and as for suiokinp, the recol- 

 lection of dizziness from once; whifling half a 

 cigar has forever been a barrier against all invi- 

 tations to join in the accord of a throng of smok- 

 ers after diiinor. 



We have been led to believe that the excessive 

 tise of tobacco has been often as deleterious as 

 that of rum ; and when we see a temperance 

 advocate constantly with a ci.L'arin his mouth, or 

 else with the tohacco juice rmiiiing fiom eacli 

 corner of his cheeks, wo think him in almost as 

 bad a way as if he took his dram three, four or 

 half a dozen times a day. Nothing liires ns a 

 worse presentiment tliaii to meet tiie youth in the 

 streets puflir.g his cigar, and we give up that 

 child as lust uho, under ihe ;me of iifieeu or 



even eighteen years, goes about his work with a 

 smoking pipe in his mouth. This matter of 

 smoking, which is merely the precursor of rum 

 intemperance, is certaiidy more freqnenl than it 

 was twenty, or oven ten years ago; and we re- 

 gret to see men of iespectability,"wlio intend no 

 wrong, setting an example which is not onlv 

 against cleanliness and yciod manners, but highly 

 pernicious and demoralizing to any community. 



The expense of the inveterate smoker is great- 

 er daily than that of a man soaked in rimi : the 

 old smoker, who can afford it, will have the best 

 cigars; and these retailing at three cents each ; 

 suppose he smokes twenty, twenty-five and thir- 

 ty of a day, as some do, here will "he the cost (ler 

 diem of a lair laborer's wages on a country fiirm, 

 from half a dollar to a dollar. A man with a 

 common income might ruin himsell in a seri(;s 

 of years— he would smoke out enough to |)ur- 

 chase a farm which Would make him iudepen- 

 dei>t in property. 



The nauseous weed has indeed been of bene- 

 fit, if it has been injurious to the country. ]n 

 Virginia and Maryland the raising of tobacco 

 made many a plaiitei- wealthy in the earlier set- 

 tlement of that region. 'I'he sale of Virginia 

 tobacco in Europe furnished the first means for 

 the purchase of arms and munitions of war in 

 FiaiK'e that enabled the united infant colonies to 

 keep alive the contest until an alliance with the 

 French nation assured American Independence: 

 it was the raising of tobacco that gave VVashing- 

 tou ami his kindled spirits of the Ancient Do- 

 minion the wealth enabling them to raise the 

 slandm-d against royal oppression. But the cul- 

 ture of the Indian weed by means of the labor 

 of the desceirdantsof Africa (oicihiy drawn into 

 slavei-y has brought a ciirse upon much of the 

 soil where the means of wealth had been gath- 

 ered. A new generation, freeing or ameliorating 

 the coirdition of the slave, may "yet restore the 

 deserte<] tiirms which tohacco iiad exhausted in 

 the successful culture of wheat ami other useful 

 grains. 



Tobacco. — The bitter haired borne to tobacco 

 by that singidar man, James 1., and inherited by 

 his imlbrtnnate son, was manifested by various 

 edicts of prohibition during their reigns, though 

 it became stich an im|iortant article of commerce 

 that Charles laid a heavy impost upon it, which 

 soon became so great a source of rcveirne that 

 he attempted to monopolize it. But, besides these 

 exertions of ro\al authority. King James, who 

 has been called "a peda.nt amongst kings, and a 

 king amongst pedants," tried the tbrcc" of argu- 

 iiieiK, of ridicule, and of abuse, in a tre;itise which, 

 in the style of ilie lileialuie of the day, he called 

 "A Comiler Blast to Tohacco ;" he .s'aid it was 

 the lively image and pattern of hell, lor ''it pos- 

 sesses all the parts and vices by which hell is to 

 be reached ; first, it is a smoke! so lu-e the v;mi- 

 ties of the world; secondly, it delights those who 

 take it, so do the (ileasures of the" world make 

 men loath to leave ihem ; thirdly, it niaketh men 

 di-unken and light in the head, so doth the vanitv 

 ol'tlie \vorld-uieii are drunken therewith ; fiiiirlli- 

 ly, he that takelh tobacco sailli he cannot leave it, 

 it bewiicheth him ; even .so the pleasures of ihi' 

 world make men loath to leave them, they are 

 so enchanted liir the most part with them ; and, 

 besides all this, fifthly, it is like hell in the very 

 substance of it, for it is a stinking loalhsome 

 thing, and so is hell." The monan-h, also, in one 

 of the conceits of the day, says, " Were 1 to in- 

 vite the devil to dinner, he sho'nld have three dish- 

 es, a pig, a pole of ling and mustard, and a pipe 

 for dessert." — London and Paris Observer. 



aicrrimack County Agricultural Society. 



We .-ue not yet what we shall be. The ad- 

 vance of agricultural improvemiuit in this coun- 

 try does not altogether depend on lire success of 

 agricultural associations. They do ereat aood 

 where they are entered upon a'nd |inrsiied with 

 spirit; but they are not always the best farmei-s 

 who are most aciive members of agricultmal so- 

 cieties, nor are the best productions of the soil or 

 the best animals always hroiiglit out for exhibi- 

 tiun and coiiipidition. In many places the soci- 

 eties are oper.iting well on the whole aEricnl- 

 liiral community: in others they arc conip;u-a- 

 tively disregarded. 'I'liere are ex-cellent Coiiiilv 

 Societies in Ma.-.sarlinsells whose operations 

 have been salutary Uir many years — we name 



among these the eldest, Berkshire ; Esses, whose 

 animal publication has gone forth in book form 

 from year to year ; Middlesex, Plymouth ; but 

 nobler and more nrnnificent than all, Worcester 

 at the " Heart of the Commonwealth." These 

 societies ai-e awakening a spirit in the interior 

 towns, and creating a rivalry to excel among ad- 

 jacent towns and neighborhoods, and individual 

 Itrrmers, furnishing conclusive evidence of the 

 greater and almost imiveisal pi-eva!ence of the 

 iiirproviug systeirr. They are in the midst of a 

 rich conruimrity ; and wealthy individuals take 

 gi-eat pride to exhibit the results of successful 

 experiments. Connecticut also turns to excel- 

 lent account tire spirit raised by Agricultural as- 

 sociations in nearly every county of that Stale. 

 We ther;e amiiially read reports of premiunt 

 firms, of i-eclaimed swamp lands, of increased 

 prodirciious: we see her farming towns turning 

 out rival teams of oxen, seveirty-five and a hun- 

 di-ed yokes in a train ; and we are rejoiced there 

 to find the assurairce from their experiments that 

 our labor and expense in the drainage of bog 

 lands and in i-edeeming soils deemed to be ex- 

 hausted, may not be in vain. So in the State, 

 newer in culture thair our ovvrr, at oirr northeast 

 extrenrity, we find the County Societies of Maine 

 operating a most salutary inilluence— inspiriting- 

 the enterprising and curious farmer to new ef^ 

 forts, o|)eiring new lands, and bringing many a 

 fruitless sorrel field into a luxuriant growth of 

 useful vegetation. 



We however aie free to acknowledge the fact 

 that the larger poi lion of the very best farmers 

 of the country never have heen, and perhaps 

 never may be, members of any Agricultmal So- 

 ciety. Very few of the pattern fiirmers within 

 ten miles around Boston, and so along our sea- 

 board generally through New Hampshire and 

 Maine in the vicinity of the lai-ge towns — very 

 few of the men who have made the irrost sur- 

 prising improvemeirls and made themselves 

 most wealthy and independent by farming — are 

 ever found in attendance at the Agricultiii-al an- 

 niversaries of their several couritle.«. The fact 

 is, the liahitital industry of these men is such, that 

 they think they can find no lime to spend in fan- 

 cy, experimental tiirming and its exhibitions: 

 satisfied with the results of their own labor and 

 ex|ierienre, and imdersianding better their own 

 art thair those who speculate "more and practice 

 less— they are disposed to take to themselves all 



the benefits of their own better knowleilge to 



turn their attention to whatever article will pio- 

 dnce the higher juice and greater profit— to 

 scare away by peisever-ance "daily and nightly 

 whatever appears to mar the prospect of a crop, 

 and by artificial means to shun those evils which 

 the less wary liirmer dreads. 



Under these observations we place some fann- 

 ers know n to us personally ; and we select, as the 

 spot of the highest improvement within our 

 knowledge, that place of the nativity of our own 

 ancestors, to which our earliest, briirhtest lecol- 

 leclions extenri, to wit: West Cambridge, near 

 Boston in Massachusetts. Witliin our own mem- 



oi-y, much of that which is now a gai'den there 



flonrishiiig fruit oi-cliards turning out an annual 

 prulil of hundreds of dullnrs in a year— acres of 

 strawheriy beds— fields producing"two and three 

 different crops of a slimmer- was either sterile, 

 unproductive sand pkiin, wet swamp or mor-ass', 

 or hard and flinty Inirheny hedges. Lands worth 

 now from two, three to five hi'indred dollars the 

 acre lying near those before esteemed of value, 

 were then deemed of very little or no value. We 

 believe there is not a liirmer in that neighbor, 

 hood who is the member of an agricultural soci- 

 ety ; and some of them have so strong a preju- 

 ilice against hook liirming, that they can hardly 

 be prevailed upon to look 'even into iirt agricultu- 

 ral paper. All we can say of these gentlemen is, 

 that if we possessed their inactical knowledge 

 we would consider it a better ipialification to con- 

 duct a useful iigricnltural paper than we ever 

 pos.sessed, or ever expect to possess from leading 

 or tiom our own experience. So in our own 

 county of Merrimack: our very best (;irinersai-c 

 not members of our county agricultmal society. 

 We woiiMthat we conhl make these gentlemen 

 helieve that we of ourselves knew enouffh, or 

 could gather information sulHcient to make our 

 Mgricnltnral paper interesting to them. We have 

 ever wislied our Agricultural Society success— 

 we have attended its meetings aa often as we 



