so 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



MISCELLANIES. 



Sept. 26, 1828. 



ODE TO THE HARVEST MOON. 

 (by h. kihke white.) 



Bloon of harvest Irer.ild mild 



Of plcnly, nislic labour's child, 



Hail I oh liail ! .1 grixt lliy heani 



As soft it iremhlcs oer tbr stream. 



And gilds ihc .strnw-llijlch'd hamlet wild. 



Where innocence and peace reside ; 

 'Tisthou that glad'st with joy the rustic lliroug. 

 Promplesl tlie tripping ihiiice, Ih'e.^liilirating song' 



iVIoon of harvest, 1 do love 



O'er the uplands nou (o rove, 



While thy modest i-ay sereiie 



Gilds the \vide surrounding scene ; 



And to walcli Ihee tiding high 



In the blue vaull of the skv, 

 Where no thin vapour inteixepis 1I13' ray, '^ 

 Bui in unclouded majesty thou walhcsl'on tliy way. 



Pleasing 'lis, oh. modest moon ! 



Now the night is ai her noon, 



'Neath thy sway to inusiiig lie. 



While around the zephyrs sigh. 



Fanning soft the sun-iann'd wheat, 



RipenM hy the summer's heat ; 



Picturing all the rustic's joy ^ 



When boundless plenty greets his eye^ 



And ihiiihmg soon. 



Oh. modest moon ! 

 How many a female eye will roam 



Along ihe road. 



To ^ee the load, 

 The lasl dear load ol harvest home. 



Storms and tempests, floods and rains, 



Stern de.spoilers o( the plains. 



Hence away, the season flee, 



Foes to lighl-heart jollity ; 



Alay no winds careering high. 



Drive the clouds along the sky j 

 But may all nature smile wiih aspect boon, 

 When in the heavens Ihou show'sl ihy face, oh. Harvest Moon ! 



'Neath yon lowly rool he lies. 



The husbandman, with sleep-seai'd eyes j 



He tireams of crowded barns, and round 



The yard he hears the flail resound 5 



Oh 1 ma) no hurricane <lestroy 



I lis visionary views oJ joy ; 

 God of the winds I oh hear his humble pray'r, 

 And while the moon ol harvest shines, thy blust'ring wh.rlwind 

 spare. 



Sonsof luxury, to you 



Leave I sleep's dult pow'r to woo ; 



Press ye still ihe downy bed. 



While lev'rish dreams surn-und your lieadj 



I will seek ihe woodland glade. 



Penetrate the thickest shade, 



\^'rapt in conlempl.ition's dreams, 



I\lusing high on holj liiemes, 



While on the gale 



Shall sullly si.il 

 The nii:h:in:?ale s enchanting tune, 



And ufl uiy e_\ es 



Shall giatcful rise 

 To thee, iht: modest Haivest Moon ! 



From Sishop Heber's India. 



CINNAMON-FIELDS OF CEYLON. 



Our nioniiii^' was, as usual o;i a first arrival, 

 taken up by visits ; in the aiternooii, we drove in 

 Sir E. Barnes" sociable through the fur-fiimet^ cin- 

 namon gardens, which cover upwards of 17,000 

 aoi'es of land on the cotibt, t!ie largest of which 

 .ire near Colombo. The plant thrives best in a 

 poor, sandy soil, 111 a dump atmosphere ; it grovi's 

 wild in the woods to the size of a lur;;e api)lc tree, 

 but when cultivated is iicver :jli)vved to grow 

 more than ten or twelve feet in heigiit, each 

 plant standing scjiarnte. The leaf is soniethmg 

 like the laurel in shape, but of a lighter color ; 

 when it first slioots out it is red, tmd changes 

 pradually to gicen. It is^now out ui "olossoni, l.'ut 

 J am told that the flower is white, and appetirs 

 when in full blossom to cover tiie garden. After 

 bearing so much of the spicy gales from ihi.s isl- 

 and, 1 wii.-! much disappoiiitod at not licing able to 

 discover any scent, at least from the plaiits, in 

 passing th:'oiigli tlie ga'dens : thoro is a very fra- 



grant-smelling flower growing under them, which 

 at first led u.s into the belief that we smelt the 

 cinnamon, but we were soon undeceived. On 

 pulling oft" a leaf or a twig you perceive the spicy 

 odor very strongly, but I was surprised to hear 

 that the flower has little or none. As cinnamon 

 forms the only considerable export of Ceylon, it is 

 of course preserved with great care ; by the old 

 Dutch law, the penalty for cutting a branch was 

 no less than the loss of a hand ; at present a fine 

 expiates the same offence. The neighborhood of 

 Colombo is particularly favorable to its growth, 

 being well sheltered, with a high equable temper- 

 ature ; and as showers fall very frequently, tho' a 

 whole day's heavy rain is uncommon, the ground 

 is never parched. 



COMBUSTION OF THE HUMAN BODY. 



In May last, 31. J. Fontenelle read in the Acad- 

 emy of Sciences at Paris, a memoir on the spon- 

 taneous combustion of the human body. M. F. 

 establishes incontestibly the reality of the phe- 

 nomenon, and relates lifteen observations of spon- 

 taneous human combustion. Most of the fifteen 

 persons who took fire spontaneously and vpere 

 consumed, were women immoderately addicted to 

 the use of spirituous liquors. In all cases, the 

 body and viscera were burnt, while the feet, 

 hands, and top of the head escaped. The com- 

 bustion takes place in those who are the prey of a 

 violent internal heat — the presence of a burning 

 boily is not necessary to produce spontaneous 

 combustion, and water, so far from extinguishing 

 the flame, seems to render it more active — the 

 tire does not burn combustible objects placed near 

 it — two persons were consumed at the same time, 

 in the same apartment, without burning the furni- 

 ture or the apartment — the body consumes in a 

 few hours, and what remains consists of greasy 

 ashes and soot, having a fetid odor which extends 

 to a great distance. M. Fontenelle thinks that 

 spontaneous combustions of the human body orig- 

 inate from a degeneration of the muscles, tendons, 

 viscera, &c. which gives rise to new ])roducts of a 

 highly combustible nature, the reaction of which 

 dctertnines tlic combitsti'in of the body. Alcohol 

 contributes with other causes to produce this de- 

 generation. — Hampshire Gazette. 



thirty miles, the country presents one almost un- 

 broken sheet of water. The produce of thousands 

 of acres is literally rotting in the ground. The 

 Glasgow Chronicle notices the dreadful eflTects of 

 the rain in Scotland. The crops in France have 

 all suft'ered from a similar cause. 



The Liverpool Mercury, of the 1st of August, 

 says, " We continue to receive, from all parts of 

 the kingdom, accounts of the disastrous conse- 

 quences of the late heavy rains, and serious ap- 

 prehensions are generafly felt for the coming har- 

 vest." 



Children's shoes. — Children's shoes ought to be 

 made large and easy, as their feet are rapidly 

 expanding — and shoes which at present fit, will 

 pinch in a month. Hence are produced doubling 

 of the toes — painful corns — curving of the nails 

 into the quick, and often, headache and general 

 disorder. Shoes for daily wear should never be 

 thin ; such shoes do not protect the feet in walk- 

 ing ; and instead of encouraging a firm, manly 

 step, give ris» to a timid, hobling gait, which is 

 extremely uncouth. 



Unhealthiness of the Country. — While our city 

 has thus far been exempt from any prevaihng epi- 

 demic, we regret to learn that the surrounding 

 country has been afflicted with numerous cases of 

 autumnal fevers. The i)revalence of bilious remit- 

 tents and intermittents may be ascribed to the lux- 

 uriance of the season, and the decomposition of an 

 unusual quantity of vegetable matter. — J\r. Y. pap. 



Large cucumber. — Dr. Norwood, (says the Ports- 

 mouth Journal) has taken from his garden in Exe- 

 ter, N. H. a cucumber which measured seventeen 

 inches in length, fourteen inches in circumference, 

 and weighed five pounds and one ounce. 



Cement for wood or paper Dissolve some ising- 



glass in a small quantity of gin or proof .spirit, by 

 a very gentle heat ; and preserve it in a bottle 

 for use. 



INUND.VnONS IN ENGLAND. 



The inundations occasioned by tjie constant 

 heavy rains in Flintshire and Denbighshire have 

 proved most injurious, and in some instances de- 

 structive, to the iron works in those counties. It 

 is stated by the oldest inhabitants in the neigh- 

 borhood, that such awful eflfects from impetuous 

 torrents were never bet'ore witnessed by them. 



The Stamforil paper says it is lamentable to 

 witness the havoc which the rains have created 

 in the agricultural prosperity of the cnjintry. The 

 overflowings of the rivers in Cumberland, North- 

 umberland, Durham, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Not- 

 tinghamshire, Lincolnshire, &c. where the banks 

 admitted of it, have flooded the adjoitiing coun- 

 try, fliaiiufactories have been undermined and 

 overthrown, bridges and buildings swept away, 

 and many lives lost. 



Iluy and clover are so much injured, that the 

 latter has risen 10s. a ton. Wheat in our market 

 has advanced from 3 to 4s. per quarter. So co- 

 pious have been some of the showers in York- 

 shire, that in many (ilaecs the water rose six feet 

 in two hours. In Iloldcrncss, from twcnty-fi\c (<i 



Oat Meal, Oat Flour, Grafts, Sfc. 

 .Inst received at the New England Farmer Seed Store, a 

 further supply ol the above articles, viz. 30 barrels of fresh Oat 

 Meal, fine bolted Oal Flour, Hullerl Oats or Vermont Rice, 

 Scotch Barley, &c. for sale in any quantities, wholesale or re- 

 tail. .41so a few cannisiersof fine Oat FIvur, neatly packed, 

 at .lOcts. per cannisier. 



Gunpowder, SfC. 

 Du Pout's Gun Powder, at '23 to 50 ds. per pound — Shot — Balls 

 — Flints and Percussion Caps. 



A!<o. Alum — Refined Salt Petre — Blue Viiriel, &c. constant- 

 Iv fiir sr.Ie at (he DiipmU Powder Store, No. G5 Broad street — 

 By E. cope; and, Jr 



\[y The Du Pont soUl as above, is warranted first quality — 

 and is marked *'£. Ccpe/and, jr. Boston " on the head of the 

 cask tf \Iarrh M 



Hemp Seed. 



Just received at the New England Farmer Seed Store, No. 

 .H North Market Sireet, 



A eonsigiinient from Troy, N-Y. of 50 bushels of Hemp Seed* 

 growth of lK'27j by the tierce or bushel. 



[J^-^ubscribccs to (he New Eii2;iand Farmer can have their 

 volumes neady half bound and iellered al 75 cents, by sending 

 (hem to this oiitce. 



Seeds for Fall Souinsi;. 

 For sale al the New England Farmer Seed .Store, a fresh sup- 

 ply of various Grass Seeds — ji1s.> a great variety of vegetable 

 scttds for fall sowing, viz. While Portugal Onion.. Slrasburg do. 

 .Silver skin do. Prickly Spinach and Dinch Cole for t arly greens 

 — various kinds of lettuce, carrot, encumber. eabl>agps, &.c. — 

 black Spanish or winter radish. iS:c. all warranted fresh 



Published eveiy Friday, at ^3 per rinnum, payable at liie 

 end of the year — but those who pay within si.i*y days from the 

 time of subci bi :g. are entitled lo a deduction of fitly cents. 



