1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



351 



BESSIE. 



Bessie wears a pown of red, 



A homespun gown and apron blue ; 

 She has no hat upon her head, 



And her wee brown feet are without a shoe- 

 Bessie has hair like the sunset's gold, 



And her eyes were born from the deep blue sea ; 

 In their depths a story is told — 



1 love Bessie and she loves me. 



Bessie's hands are hard with toil, 



And her cheeks are dark with the wind and rain ; 

 But her lips are rich with the rosy spoil, 



That if once I taste, I must taste again . 

 Bessie has ne'er a silken gown, 



Nor a crimson hat nor a necklace fine ; 

 But she wears of cowslips a golden crown, 



That I'd rather than any queen's were mine. 



Bessie dwells in a lowly cot, 



A lowly cabin with trembling walls ; 

 'Tis old and poor, but she thinks it not. 



And loves it better than lordlj' halls. 

 She counts the stars as she goes to sleep. 



And loves to listen the pattering song. 

 That o'er her head the rain-drops keep. 



In the April weather, all night long. 



Bessie's step is like the fawn's. 



Her voice like the chiming of silver bells ; 

 I hear it oft in the summer morn 



But I dare not whisper what it tells ! 

 Lingering and dying round my heart, 



Ever and ever its echoes be ; 

 Who shall divide us, or who shall part .' 



I love Bessie and she loves me. 



BEAUTIFY YOUR HOME. 



Every man should do his best to own a home. 

 The first money which he can spare ought to be 

 invested in a dwelling, where his family can live 

 permanently. Viewed as a matter of economy, that 

 is important, not only because he can ordinarily 

 build cheaper than he can rent, but because of the 

 expense caused by a frequent change of residence. 

 A man who early in life builds a home for himself 

 and family, will save some thousands of dollars in 

 the course of twenty years, besides avoiding the in- 

 convenience and trouble of removals. Apart from 

 this, there is som.ething agreeable to our better na- 

 ture in having a home that we can call our own. 

 It is a form of proj)erty that is more than property. 

 It speaks to the heart, enlists the sentiments, and 

 ennobles the possessor. The associations that 

 spring up around it, as the birthplace of children — 

 as the scene of life's holiest emotions — as the sanc- 

 tuary where the spirit cherishes its purest thoughts, 

 are sure as all value ; and whenever their influence 

 is exerted, the moi-al sensibilities are improved and 

 exalted. The greater part of our happiness of to- 

 day is increased by the place where we were happy 

 on yesterday, and that, insensibly, scenes and cir- 

 cumstances gather up a store of blessedness for 

 the weary hours of the future ! On this account 

 ■we should do all in our power to make home at- 

 tractive. Not only should we cultivate such tem- 

 pers as serve to render its intercourse amiable and 

 affectionate, but we should strive to adorn it with 

 those charms which good sense and refinement so 

 easily impart to it. We say easily, for there are 

 persons who think that a home cannot be beautified 

 without a considerable outlay of money. Such peo- 

 ple are in error. It costs little to have a neat 

 flower garden, and to surround your dwelling with 



those simple beauties which delight the eye far 

 more than expensive objects. If you will let the 

 sunshine and dew adorn your yard, they will do 

 more for you than any artist. Nature delights in 

 beauty. She loves to brighten the landscape and 

 make it agreeable to the eye. She hangs the ivy 

 around the ruin, and over the stump of a withered 

 tree twines the graceful vine. A thousand arts she 

 practices to animate the senses and please the 

 mind. Follow her example, and do for yourself 

 what she is always laboring to do for you. Beau- 

 ty is a divine instrumentality. It is one of God's 

 chosen forms of power. We never see creative 

 energy without something beyond mere existence, 

 and hence the whole universe is a teacher and in- 

 spirer of beauty. Every man was born to be an 

 artist so far as the a]3preciation and enjoyment of 

 beauty are concerned, and he robs himself of one 

 of the precious gifts of his being if he fails to ful- 

 fil this beneficent purpose of his creation. — South- 

 ern Times. 



HAY CAPS. 



The importance of the hay crop, and the short 

 time in which it is necessary to secure it, demand 

 that every precaution should be taken to prevent 

 delay or losses in harvesting it. 



With the almost uniformly dry months of July 

 and August, as we have had for three years past in 

 this region, the haymaker may say, perhaps, that 

 coverings for the protection of his hay-cocks are un- 

 necessary. But there are sections of country every 

 summer, where the "weather is catching," and large 

 quantities of hay are ruined or much injured. After 

 the grass has been made nearly ready for the barn, 

 the loss is not that of the grass alone, but of the 

 labor also that has been bestowed upon it, and 

 which has now become a part of the value of the 

 crop. 



Besides, if there is a way to protect the partially 

 made crop out of doors, it prevents many tons from 

 being injured after being taken in. When the 

 rain comes, the length of its duration is uncertain, 

 and the farmer will often hurry in hay that is not 

 sufficiently cured, and that will heat and become 

 musty in the barn. And then there springs, both 

 from the wetting and the moulding, a disappoint- 

 ment and uneasiness of feeling, that should be avoid- 

 ed, if it can be done without too expensive an out- 

 lay. 



Again, in curing hay, it is sometimes absolutely 

 necessary that it should remain out two or three 

 nights, and there is too much risk without some 

 protection of the cocks. 



A simple, cheap, and thoroughly effectual reme- 

 dy against losses by wetting hay, may be found by 

 using sheeting a yard wide, and sewing two pieces 

 two yards long, each, together; hem the edges; 

 turn down the corner an inch, and then that turn 

 another inch, and sew it down strong. This will 

 form a loop, into which a strong twine must be 

 placed. When the cap is thrown over the cock, 



