wmsgmvTiVfsaKS 



iill)c JTavmcr's iUtnatljli) bisitor. 



133 



jMl|■slIil^^, Mr-R fiKMcriilly Very iiMliis!i-ioi(S, econniii- 

 ic.il ;iiid |ifi>everiii!r in liiisiiii-.-i,-. Mniiv <>(' niii- 

 raiiiii;r'» wives Imve tlie civilil ii(" iiKikinir cvcel- 

 li'Ml liiillcr and I'lipesp, .iinl Niive reei'ivfit tlu; 

 lii;;iii>sl |iri-'Miiuiiis iij tlie BdmIom niiirltet." — Atha- 

 ny CuHn-ator. 



Ebeii tlslieinler, the Bloor Farnipr. 



Tlifiv Is soiiH'thiii;; so livi-l_v am! a;;inealile, aiiil- 

 so III Mciu^lily pi'iU'lii'al, in ilie llillowip;; article, 

 wiiii-li we liriil ill L'didl's Living Age, ofljie 17lli 

 of last iiMiiiili, ami uliirh is there rrc;Llite(l lo 

 Chamhers^ Journal, iluit we have |par!ii:iilaf (ileus- 

 iire ill iriiiisreri'iiiL' it to ilie Ciliini't. !t presents 

 to our view a heaiililitl illiisiiatiiui of ilie pliilus- 

 Ojiliy "I ("iriiiiii;;. Till' Mian whose main olijert 

 is the iiiaiiitenaiice of' his tainily, must l>e rareCiii 

 that his e.\|ieriiiients ami liis oiiler|irises shall 

 evemiially prove siireessriil — they shoiilil liiere- 

 fore, lie of' a very limited chaiaeter, compared 

 with what those may he, nC the laifje I'apitilisl — 

 niir t'riend Eheii, lor instance. Wliere the means 

 lire ahmidanl, we can scarcely imagine a more 

 pleasin^r and ralional eniplouiienl. than that ol 

 iinprovin^ worn-ont or inipoverislied, or naiiiral- 

 ly repulsive soils. It is a deli^litliil spectacle to 

 (ilisei ve the man of gloomy mind, roused up to 

 snccessf'nl action and pnlilic iisetiilness, liy an 

 ohject with which the healthiest and strongest 

 niiu'ht almost fear to jirapple. Rcfeienoe liasuc- 

 casimially lieeii made in the Cuhiimt lo the nd- 

 vania^es of loin; leases. We are aware, thai 

 these arc li-ss Ktrikin,;;ly obvions in this country 

 than in LOiij;laiid, where there is not so strong a 

 inoli,i!iiliiy, that economy and tlnil't will soon en- 

 able their possessor lo make himself liis own 

 landlord: uiiil in the case lieliire ns, we at <nice 

 piirceive, lliat noiliing conid have lieen done 

 VMihoni ri lo 1^ protracted enga^enuiit. — PuUa. 

 Fijriiicrs^ Cabintt. 



Ebf.nhzjjr ALEXAvnEK, or, as he was nsnally 

 called, Ellen Elshemler, a native of the iiorili ol 

 Scotland, was originally a maimlacinrer, lint not 

 lieing snccessfid in this line, and falling iiiio low 

 spirits, he went to spend some lime at a village 

 where an elder and more prosperous hroilier had 

 a Meachiiig cstahlishnient, in the hope of recov- 

 eriiii.' liie tone of his mind hy means of romilrs 

 air and exercise. The plai-e seemed at first sialil 

 tmlikely lo clieer up an invalid of llie mind, lie- 

 ing situated in a high and sterile district, wiili a 

 iiorih-east exposure, aiid tar from all oilier lin- 

 man haiinls; lint things tnrned out ninch belter 

 thou might have lireii expected, and we yhall lell 

 how this came ahont. 



Ebeii, In his wanderings in the neigldiorhood, 

 was speedily attracted to a hollow in the neigh- 

 boring iiiom-lands, which might he considered 

 the only place wilhin several miles preseii ing 

 the least charm for llie eye — a brook, fringed by 

 a line of willows and a strip of green, formed 

 the simple elements of the scene, and from its 

 silnaiion it had a look of secliisimi and warmth. 

 He was led, by what he saw there, lo surmise 

 that elevalioii is not Jill insnpiraiile dilficnliy in 

 cnirivaiion, provided there be shelter; aiitj soon 

 heioining coiivinced of the fact, ins active mind 

 ill no long time conceived iliat he might employ 

 lamscli' wor>e than ill Piideiu oriiig io clear a lit- 

 tle iiossession fill- himself, at a nominal rent, out 

 of the neighlioriiig laiid.s. He looked iiroimd, 

 but. exceplini; the lew |Kitciies in the neighbor- 

 liood of llie village, the region was one eiiher of 

 nnhroken heath or of moss of lireal depth, bro- 

 ken into pits, and tilled wiih vvaler even at inid- 

 sninmer. Nothing, therefore, could seem more 

 hopeless. On the lefl only, a.^ he looked iiorlli- 

 uanl, a large fiat, lying tiir beneath him, and 

 black and barren, or covered widi brown heath, 

 but looking lo the sim, seemed lo ofler ihe seiii- 

 blaiice of a ciiliivalcd field, and be delennined 

 to visit it. He did so, lint Ibniid it very iinpinm- 

 isiiiL'. The sinliice, ilioniih .ipparcuily snioolh at 

 a distance, was roii^ib and nneveii; the soil v\as 

 eiiher stony and shallow, or a deep quick moss, 

 wet everywhere even in summer, and wnli no 

 fall by which it might U', drained. A rivulet 

 skirled il on llie east, and was Ihe natural lioim- 

 dary in that ilireclinn; lint a swell many feet in 

 heighi rose on llie bank, and closed in the snr- 

 i'ace of the proposed (iirni from almost the possi- 

 bility of being drained ; and there were similar 

 enibankments on the north and west. Slill it was 

 n large surface, not inaleriallv uneven; il lay 



beanlil'nlly to the sim, and he could not bill lliink 

 ibat, if ilrained, and sheltered, and i-nliivateil, 

 h"re miiiht be an extensive, perhaps a valuable 

 firm. It would iioi riqiiire deep cnllings, as in 

 iiioss-t!ows, nor e\Jeii.-ive levellin.us, as in vei} 

 unequal snrliice. He delennined to think liiriher. 



He spoke of his purpose to no erne, but lie 

 broodeil over it fur days, again-a id'again visiting 

 ihe ground, at last he wailed on tlie agent of the 

 proprietor. Even lioin him he e'i.icied a promise 

 of secrecy, if nothing should follow upon lii-i ot- 

 ter ; and then, liir a lease of lliiriy ye.ir.s, offered 

 a shilling an acre for lour himdr.d acres of thai 

 nnhroken waste, with power to renew hi.s lease 

 liir thirty years more, if he should so incline, at 

 five shiriings per acre; but with bberly, also, to 

 (piit ill the end of five years, vvltlioiit being liable 

 III damages hoiii any caii.-^e, 



Many hiiidlords seem to fancy ihat though land 

 is of no v.dne in tli-ir hands, they haveyei a rtglii 

 lo be sharers in the proliis prodm^ed by the in- 

 telligence, labor, ami ca|iital of others ; and that 

 lliev are extremely liberal in tiirlwaring to share 

 for a lew years in what had never existed Itir 

 them, and yet will, at the end of those li!W year.s, 

 be a valnalile inberilani-e to them !ii\(\ their heirs 

 f never. The landlord in ih; present ease w.is 

 wiser. He saw that he wasabont to receive iiiiine- 

 dlalelv, fin' a small portion of lliis moor inX-iilii- 

 vatioii, almost as innch as the entire moor brought 

 as an inferior sliee|)-walk, and that at ttie end of 

 thirty years it would exceed the original income 

 of the eiilire possession ; while this aliempt al 

 cultivation, if snccessi'iil, would be an example ot 

 the ntniost value, and mi^lit give his village that 

 neigliboriiood which il so much required. Not 

 only, therefore, was the ofjvr of our friend ac> 

 cepied, but wood for bnihbngs was voluntarily 

 ofi'.'ivd, and a proper allowance fijr useful and 

 well coiistriicled drains. 



The villa^'eis were asiniinrteif to hear that they 

 were to obtain such a neighbor, but happy even 

 in the hope of il. Enclosed as the place was by 

 banks, w liich, instead of admilliiig il lo be diiiiii- 

 ed, would, if broken down, iimnilale il with wa- 

 ter, il looked lo them like a liiiiie frjing-paii, and 

 of course there was no ab.-t.ining from some 

 lillle quiet jokes. This last \'a- indeed ihe worst 

 as[iecl of the aif dr. There was .1 fall for drain- 

 ing within the firm, but not ■without it : ihere 

 was no final outlet. Still, our Iriend determined 

 on pursuing ins experiment ; and, as a first mea- 

 sure, (teiermiued In give his possession a good 

 name: be called il G'cn-Eden! 



He next marked oil the site for his steading 

 on a very sliglit but bare and valueless knoll, be- 

 iuir desirous at once to sit dry and to spare his 

 good land if Ihere were any. As he felt that no 

 ihiiig would be more apt to encourage him than 

 the 1 ooitint of his home, as soon as his tnrf-cot- 

 tage WHS rooted in, he had a floor laid down in 

 one end of it, and raising up slight ribs of wood 

 by the walls, and continuing them overhead, had 

 the whole n-'Ullv covered by a thin boarding, 



opportunity of draining the laud ; and should it 



prove niieqiial to ibis, iliat ;, pump or pumps, to 

 be worked by a siimII wmdniill, should raise tlie 

 water to a height eiuibling biiii to send it off liid 

 territories. In the mean tiniB he knew what r.d- 

 ii'iile the suspii'ion even of such a proji-ci would 

 draw upon linn, and therefore he gratified inipii- 

 ries by mtiirming tlieiii that he was (iirmin^ a 

 fish-pond liir the residence, and even expected to 

 diaw profit from the ice in winter, by letting it 

 out for curling, though the game was not then 

 known in thai part of Scotland; and llie parlies, 

 breathing sofily, lu-ned (ioin him, and gently lift- 

 ing lip llieir hands and lyes, departed. Mean- 

 time he w>as iiilerseeling his fields ill numerous 

 direclions by drain,-', leading them into one aii- 

 ■ llier, diverging, brancliing, and every way vary- ■ 

 inir tlieiii according to the inequaliiies of the 

 g oiiiid : and alier proving their running, carefid- 

 ly riding tiiem v.iili the stones taken from the 

 surface, and all tending at last to ihe general les- 

 eivoir. Even in winter, therefore, the land be- 

 came drier ami drier, and people now began to 

 see the use of the [lond. By tlie return ol spring 

 he had effectually drained a large space in ti'ont 

 of liti residence, and generally prepared it for the 

 operation of the plough. And even in this, hy a 

 sort of nainrat instinct, lie differed from the ac- 

 cnstoined mode. Aware that oxen draw tnost 

 gently and .--teadily, he had secured the tempora- 

 ry use of a strong yoke of these, to be tried in 

 all such portions of the soil as seemed likely to 

 h?" capable of being opened up by the plough. — 

 People from the villa:;e had been engaged to at- 

 te.iil at ihe same time to cniiqilete, with the spade 

 and other iniplenieiils, what the plough might 

 leave iinperfeclly done, and give liim, if possible, 

 a field ; and they had by this lime so entered into 

 the spirit of the thing, that tlie attendance was 

 large, and in many cas-^s gratuitous. He had no 

 lime for the preseni ; but lie had been scavenger to 

 ihe village, during llie winter, and he had secured 

 all the rniinings from his own cattle in a great 

 lank. He now set to burning, in close kilns, all 

 the tiirf he had been able to accumulate during 

 the summer; and between tlie.se and llie refuse 

 of the few cattle lor which he had been able to 

 find food^ he was enabled to [iloiigh and manure 

 some twenty acres ol land, which he sowed and 

 planted witii the usual crops, accoiii|)anying all 

 the white crops wiih sown grass. To complete 

 his experiment, he had pio'iired a cask lo carry 

 out the runnings of his stables, &c. ; and having 

 placed it on a carl, and fitted it with a tail-box 

 pierced with holes, such as is used fiir watering 

 streets and roads, he, as a last operation, sprink- 

 led this liquor, so fiir as it would go, over the 

 ground ih.it had been dresseil with ashes, al night, 

 ihai no portion of it might be wasted by the sun; 

 and so closed llie labors of his first spring. 



Science had not then disclosed to us what is 

 now known to be tine, that the terms good and 

 bad land, as generally understood, are expressions 

 without meaning, as almost every species of land 



which, with the addition of a litlle carpet and a I requires some cnhni-e to make if productive ; — 



» ^ " ; I 



slight curtain festooned over his couch — 

 \ ciiuch ordained a double debt to pny ; 

 A couch by iii,;ht, !i suIj M t:ie d.iy — 



made his end of the tenement seem a palace, and 

 eiediled him to look on the storm or on the sun- 

 shine with equal consciousness of snugness and 

 secmiiy to lieallh. Good fires soon uiade the 

 other end very tolerable to his servants; and be- 

 ing washed with lime, lliongh not plastered, it 

 tbrined a very cheerful temporary residence. He 

 had the rankest of the heath pulled and secured 

 for lliaich or fuel, intending to burn the rest on 

 the ground as soon as the ground should be dry. 

 He next laid out the fields, and ordered them lo 

 1 be cleared of stones^an operation that covered 

 1 them in some places lo the deplli of several liset ; 

 and finally, he set himself to endeavor to lay the 

 j land dry. 



For iliis last purpose, at the lowest part of the 



firm, but where the surrounding wall, a< it may 



■ he termed, was highest, — and this was on the 



least, — he ordel^?d a bauk of inoss to be dug out, 



and pi. iced in a situation convenient for being 



1 dried and burned. In ihe course of this digging 



he came upon both stones and clay, treasures ot 



great v.dne in his circumstances ; and lest the 



winter, by filling the pond with water, should 



render fiirlher digging impossible, he pursued 



] his labors with great assiduity. His determina- 



' lion was, that this restrvoir should afford him an 



.Jul bv suitable means much may be made of a! 

 most any kind of laud. Neither was it_ then 

 known, as it now is, what are the precise ingre- 

 dients necessary to the production of the various 

 crops, and to vvbicli the soil is a mere matrix or 

 receiver; and ihat burned earlh or lime, and am- 

 monia or the runnings of stables and other usual 

 manures, contain many of those ingiedient.«. — 

 But by instinct or accident, by reasoning from 

 whi't he had noticed, or heard, or read, and per- 

 haps so far experimenting witliout nincli knowl- 

 edge or expectalion, our trieiid had hit upon ma- 

 ny things now known lo be useful, and the result 

 surprised iiiaiiv. Not only was there no failure 

 in the crops of Glen-Eden,— as they now began 

 seriously tocall it,— but they were rich and beau- 

 tiful. The oats, standing upon moss of great 

 depth, but drained— and thai but for the draining 

 and manure, would not have borne a green leaf 

 —were as luxuriant as if the depth of the moss 

 had been the cause of tiicir excellence. The 

 other soils, lately so thin and dead, were now 

 deep and dry, and bearing excellent barley, with 

 a flush of clover about its roots. Potatoes, the 

 iiift of a vvarin and distant region, were flourish- 

 ing in their lillle beds on this lately cold and bar- 

 ren moor, as if it had been their native and ap- 

 propriate soil; and, in short, indnslry and intel- 

 ligence had in a lew months Iriiimphed over the 

 ignorance and neglect of centuries. 



