206 



NEW ENGLAND FARxMER, 



DEC. 30, 1S40. 



AND HOBTICULTUBAL RKGI9TER. 



Boston, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 1840. 



VALEDICTORY. 



" The Inst time." There ia alwiys sompthing a lit- 

 tle sad in the use of these ternj«. Whenever we do a 

 thintr which we know we bhull n'>l rio afiam, or looU at 

 any (ilane, country or piTBon we know we shall see no 

 niiiri', low tnioils realize the conviction, with<iut at le.ist 

 a sensiition of rneliincholy creepmf; over them. It seems 

 to be cntiiiif; a deep notch on the recoid "f liCe, vvlii( h 

 admonishes ns liow far we have proceeded on our jonr- 

 ney, and of the few stages that remain to bo acconi- 

 pliihed. Tlii.i feeling of sudin-es pirticoKirly comes 

 over lis whin we take leave uf friends, whom wo have 

 been iKciJilonied for years to greet with rordialily ; and 

 to whi.m we have f> It th:\t oiir presence an i our racip 

 roeaiion of good wishes and feelings were not wholly 

 unwelcome. It is with sumpwlinl of these sentimenis 

 that wc t ike leave of the readers of the New Kngland 

 Farmer. It is nosv three years since we have been ac- 

 customed, sometimes in full dress and someiimes in iin 

 dress, to nmet them weekly and to have a chat with 

 them on the gre;it subject of our common concern. We 

 fear we have not always saiisfied them, fn we have sel- 

 dom saliified ourselves. We sincerely hope ihat our 

 respected successor will be much more fortunate. We 

 In the most friendly manner commend film to their kind 

 regards. He has ability, knowledge, skill in writing, 

 experience in farming, and an active and strong interest 

 in the art. These qualities commend liim to the regards 

 of the agricult.iral public. We cheerfully accord to 

 him the palm of supuriority in every respect save one ; 

 and that is an earnest and indomitable zeal and desire 

 to promote the welfare and elevation, and comforts, and 

 independence of our rural population ; and to advance 

 the improvement of our husbandry. In this matter we 

 permit no man to go before us. We assert that no ona 

 ever did ; and while we have any mind or heart left, we 

 mean no man ever shall- 



Our friend, Mr Breck, whose knowledge and ability 

 we have no hesitation now in saying entitle liini to the 

 highest respect, ha« explained the reasons for a change 

 in the management ol the p.-iper. We declined in the 

 beginnintT taking upon ourselves either the edUorial 

 maniigcmcnl or respunsibility It would have been in- 

 compaiilile with our oiKcial duties to the Commonwealth. 

 He himself wishes to be freed from all care of the pa- 

 per, that he may give liis exclusive attention to the 

 seed business, which is not a small concern. It is 

 right, therefore, that he should seek relief by commit- 

 ting the New England Farmer to the care of a gentle 

 man every way competent to the management of it, and 

 to whom we wish all possible success 



The New England Farmer was an early pioneer in 

 the cause of an improved agriculture. It was not the 

 first periodical devoted to this object. This honor is 

 due to the publications of tlie Massachusetts Agricultu- 

 ral Society. Next to these, we believe, came the 

 Plou«hboy, n newspaper published at .Albany; then the 

 American Farmer, publisfied at Baltimore ; and then 

 the New England Farmer, under the editorial care of 

 the lamented T'hus. G. Fessenden. The New England 

 Farmer for some time stood alone in New England ; but 

 within a few yeais agricultural publications and peri- 

 odicals have multiplied over the country in an extraor- 

 dinary variety and profusion, all showing the increasad 

 and increasing interest in this great subject. 



To the awakening an^i maintaining of this interest in 

 the community, the New England Kariner has contribu- 

 ted its full share. We have been familiar with it from 

 its infancy, and much longer acquainted with it than 

 even its present proprietors. Under tho care of .Mr 

 Fessendeii it maintained a high rank for its insiructive, 

 intelligi'nt, and practical character. He was always in- 

 ofTensive, ami his pages were often rendered attractive 

 by the sparkling of a delicate and genuine humor. Per- 

 haps no pa,.er among us has b'-en more valued ; as is 

 evident from the almost universal practice among its 

 subscribers of preserving it on file. 



Since that time we have nothing to say of its charac- 

 ter, other than that it lias contained its full share of 

 original matter ; every p.iins has been taken to render 

 it practiciil and n-eful ; and above all to insert nothing 

 which j-hould debar its admission to the families of the 

 most relined. 



Under ifie care of its new editor we shall be glad to 



pee its character more highly advanced. It had at first 

 to maintain a hard struggle with the class, then nume- 

 rous, who were accustomed to sneer at and to declaim 

 against bonk-farming. That prejudice, with men of any 

 sense, has entirely passed away IVlen are as willing 

 now to n*ad upon farming as upon any other subject ; 

 and science is hastening to bring to agriculture the 

 most important contributions. There is getting' to be 

 on impatience on this subj'-ct, which can scarcely be 

 repressi'd or satisfied ; and sc*ence has made and is now 

 making discoveries of the highe>t im|ioriance The 

 New England Farmer will not be backward in commu- 

 nicating this information to the public. 



We hope ihe agiicullural public will continue and ex- 

 tend their patronage to the New England Fanner. It 

 will deserve it. \Ve have nothing to say in relerence 

 to other agriciiltnrat periodicals in ihe city or out of it, 

 in the State or in oilier States. Let tlieni speak for 

 themselve.i. We wish well to them all ; and we do not 

 see that the success of one need prejudice the success of 

 any other. The country is large, populous, rich, and 

 increasino- ; and the ground is not as yet even one tenth 

 occupied But we aio persuaded that the N. E. Far- 

 mer will not, for useful and various information, yield 

 her just rliiims to patronage to any other. 



VVe are free to say that in our opinion the character 

 of the Farmer would be improved by the inlrodintion of 

 a greater varii'iy of topics, and more independence of 

 speech. It is not our fault that this lias not been the 

 case. But our fnend lireck has so large devehipiuents 

 of benevolence, veneration, and caution, that (wo say ;t 

 wiih all respect) he wa> always tor getting along in ac- 

 commodation with every body's wishes, or rather so as 

 to offend no one. If wo happened to speak of the 

 frauds practiced upon the poor Indians, in the robbery 

 of their land.s, why then some miserable ilog of a sub- 

 scriber in (ieorgia, probably a partaker in this plunder, 

 and very likely related to the blood-hounds imported 

 for the conquest of Florida, would order bis paper stopt. 

 If we happened to speak of hank-robberies, (not ul banks 

 being robbed,) why then comes a ghostly admonition, 

 that the farineri have nothing to do with the currency : 

 poor souls ! they h ive not half so much to do with it as 

 they would like. If wo spoke of temperance, then 

 some rum-drinker or rum-seller would reluse the en- 

 trance of the Farmer to his premises. If next wo ven- 

 tured to say the country was prosperous, itien the whigs 

 would not have it so; and if we said that business was 

 paralyzed, trade declining, manufactures stopped, then 

 the administration party would be violent m their threats 

 airainst ihe author lif such libels; and, thmigli perhaps 

 they bad never paid for the paper, threaten to with- 

 draw their patronage. We recollect a few iminths since 

 saying something very civil to the clergy, as we thought 

 it, about the greater usefulness in occasionally preach- 

 ing agricnitnie, good morals and good husbandry, than 

 in preaching mystical and disputed doctrines. If we 

 had put our head into a hornei's nest, we shouhl not 

 have had a worse buzzing about our ears. Now under 

 these circumstances, as the paper was not ours, we had 

 several hard raps over the knuckles, and promised to 

 say nothing which could off.-nd any one, black, white 

 or grey — mail, woman or child. It was rather difiicult 

 for ns to do tins If it had been required of us to say 

 what we did not believe, we slioulil have rebelled, of 

 course. But it was only a negative demand, that we 

 should not always say what we did think ; and, there- 

 fore, as in duty bound, we acquiesced. Never again, 

 however, will we sell even this portion of our liberty. 

 VVe detest slavery in every fiirm ; and we mean to hold 

 on to the liberty of s[)eech, what little time we live, al- 

 ways keeping within the law, without let or abatement. 

 Most certainly we would not have the New England 

 Farmer in any respect whatever sectarian or partisan. 

 We would have no passion illuminate and no harsh 

 or low language, above all, no party personalities defile 

 its pages ; but no man has a right to he offended with 

 facts; and as matter of pccunifiry caUiulation, we are 

 saliified that by making the Farmer more miscellane- 

 ous, and entering with a proper degree of interest inio 

 the current topics of the day, and keeping a brief jour- 

 nal of political events, the paper would become more 

 popular and useful, and many more subscribers would 

 be iraincd than would be lost by such a course. We 

 submit this, however, to wiser heads than our own. 

 Let tbeiii settle it. 



To the friends, who have obliged us by their personal 

 kinilness, and especially to those who have honored the 

 ! Farmer and favored the public willl their agreeable and 

 j instrnclivB coinmiinicaiiins, weolieronr si mere thanks ; 

 I and ask in behalf of the Farmer and the public, a con- 

 tinuance of their favors. 



To the respected proprietors of the paper, to its re- 

 spected editor, to its excellent printers, who ha\e dis- 

 tinguished themselves by ilie neatness and correctness 

 o( its typography, and to its nnmerons readers, we wish 

 at the coiniiienccment of a new year, all the bu'-cl'ss and 

 prosperity which they can ask for themselves; above 

 all, more intelligence, more success and more prosperity 

 in the greatest and best of all secular arts and that on 

 which all others depend, AGRICULTURE. H. C. 



LECTURES ON AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY. 



VVe announced in our last Farmer that Dr. S. L. Da- 

 na had agreed to give a course of six lectures on (Chem- 

 istry in Its application to Agriculture, at Lowell, at the 

 instance ol several of the citizens of that enterprising 

 place Tliey mean to be bi-hind no other in their elf,,rta 

 to interest the attention of their young and inquisitive 

 communily in practical knowledge, and in the ditt'usion 

 of useful inl^irniation. We repeat our reference to Ihig 

 subject, that we may express our hope and desire that 

 Dr. Dana, in the co.iise of the winter, will repeat tliis 

 course of lectures in Boston ; and we lake this oppoitii- 

 nity to say, that persons desirous of liis doing this, will 

 phase leave their names at ilie office of the New Eng- 

 land Farmer, or with the Messrs llovey, of the Garden- 

 er's Magazine, Mr Bosson, of the Yankee Farmer, or 

 Mr Buckminster, of the Boston Cultivator, all of v\hon:t 

 are respectluliy requested to act as agents in the case; 

 and to give some notice of these intentions in their re- 

 spective publications. A[»pllcatloii may likewise be 

 made to the subscriber. Tickets for the course will be 

 one dollar each. An early application is desired. 



VVe express the hope, likewise, that our learned and 

 respected Iriend, Dr. C. T. Jackson, will likewise, at his 

 early convenience, liivor the public with a course of lec- 

 tures on the same subjects. His learning and ob.-crva- 

 lion, together wiih his enthusiasm in the science, emi- 

 nently qualify hiin as an instructor in this case ; and we 

 think we may promise liiiii, if he will do this public ser- 

 vice, a full and attentive audience. At least, with liis 

 consent, no pains shall be wanting on our part, to obtain 

 it. Tile two courses would not intcrft;re with each oth- 

 er; but they would render each other the more instruc- 

 tive and interesting H. O. 



AGRICULTURAL MEETINGS. 



The usual time for the assembling of the Massachusetts 

 Legislature is on Wednesday next. With pieseni pros- 

 pects, there will be little delay in the organiz tiou of 

 the Government ; and we are not likely to be so lonw in 

 determining who shall be the cunductor of the Mtato 

 locomotive as the last year. 



As soon as the opportunity presents, the Cummis,sion- 

 er will apply to the flouse lor the use of the Hall for the 

 purpose of lioldiiig Agricultural Meetings, as h ;s been 

 done the three previous years. These meetings have 

 been well attemled ; and much interest has been taken 

 in the discussions wbiuh tliey have called lurtli They 

 have been inslrumental in bringing out and difTusincr 

 much valuable inlormation, and creating an inteicst in 

 the subject, which has been followed by the best elfiM-is. 

 The reports of the proceedings and discussions, had at 

 these meetings have been copied into the Agricultural 

 papers all over the country, and into many other ot the 

 papers. VVe cannot doubt that many of our distiiigiii?h- 

 eil Agriculturists will favor us with their aid and pres- 

 ence in addresses, and debates; and that the meetin<rs 

 will go off witli lacredsed spirit and advantage. H. C 



Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 



EIUIBITIUN OF FKUIT. 



Saturday, Dec. 19, 1840. 



Benjamin V. French Esq., exhibited large and beauti- 

 ful specimen" of the yellow Bellfiower apple. This ap- 

 pie is a great f.ivorite in Pennsylvania ind New Jersey, 

 and is said to be particularly adapteu to the climaic of 

 those Stales. Tlio apples exhibited by Mr French were 

 raised on his farm in Braintree, and are not surpassed 

 by the very best we have seen in the Philadtljjhia 

 Market. 



Benjiimin Willis, Esq exhibited apples raised in Gran- 

 ville, liond County, Illinois, tliey were medium size, 

 rather oblong, pointed at ihe blossom end, Hesb yellow, 

 with a peculiar rich and agr, cable flavor. The com- 

 mittee are not able at present, to identify it, or refer it 

 positively to the discription of any Pomological author. 

 For the Committee, 



ROBERT MANNING. 



