1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



451 



January 14th. — Thermometer 40°. Havin<» 

 seen the Hirundo viridis continually, and the H. 

 jnirpuren, the martin I^eginning to appear, I dis- 

 continued my observation. During the winter, 

 many of them retired to holes about the houses, 

 others resorting to the lakes, roosting on the 

 branches of the Mijrica cerijera, called the drier 

 by the French. Their aerial evolutions thither to- 

 ward eve are truly beautiful. When in a few feet 

 of the driers they quickly disperse, and settle in a 

 few moments. Their twitterings, and the motion 

 of their wings may be heard during the night. As 

 soon as the morning light dawns, they rise and fly 

 ofi" in pursuit of food. The hunters destroy large 

 numbers of them with their canoe paddles, while 

 perched on the afore-named shrubs. 



Thus much has been selected and condensed 

 from Audulion's great work on birds, in order to 

 give the reader some facts going to prove that 

 swallows are migratory birds — thus overthrowing 

 that absurd notion of their hibernating with snap- 

 ping turtles, serpents, and lizzards, in mud holes. 



A few words more from Audubon on the habits 

 of the Cliff, or Republican Swallow, will close this 

 already protracted article. Speaking of their de- 

 parture after breeding, he says, they all assembled 

 near their nests on the first of August, (this was at 

 Nev/port, already named,) mounted about 300 feet 

 into the air, and, at ten, A. M., took their depar- 

 ture, due north. At evening they returned, and 

 continued these gregarious excursions until the 

 third day, when, uttering their farewell cry, they 

 took their final departure, returning no more hith- 

 er, until the following spring-time, when they 

 came as full of joy as ever, their spirit of republi- 

 canism not having lost or abated one whit of its 

 ardor. Other members of this beautiful aerial fam- 

 ily will be noticed, briefly, unless the editor says 

 enough for the present. 



For the New England Farmer. 



THE MODEL FARMER. 



The model farmer, according to my idea, is one 

 whose ])hysical, mental and moral natures are du- 

 ly developed and cultivated. 



Perhaps these are the qualifications of many 

 other model men, besides farmers, and perhaps, of 

 a model man in general, but at any rate, they are 

 those of the model farmer, and for this reason : 



The husbandman, the farmer, the man who 

 makes it his particular business to till the soil, and 

 who obtains his subsistence in this way, enjoys pe- 

 culiar opportunities for developing his powers, ])hy- 

 sical, mental and moral. Now it is a fact, univer- 

 sally attested, that exercise develops and strength- 

 ens the part exercised, whether it be a muscle of 

 the body, or a faculty of the mind. 



The daily avocations of the farmer are such as 

 call into play the largest part of his physical or- 

 ganism. He rarely complains of those numberless 

 ills that arise from a want of proper exei;cise. 

 Health and strength are his in a remarkable degree. 

 Brought up to subsist upon hearty and wholesome 

 food, to reject dainties and delicacies, as aflbrding 

 but little nutriment, and intended only for the 

 gratification of a morbid appetite, he becomes vig- 

 orous, and cajjable of an endurance which the city- 

 born and city-fed gentleman knows not cf. He 

 reaches manhood, not prematurely, but after hav- 



ing passed through the full periods of childhood and 

 youth. He has not been forced to maturity, and 

 so does not suddenly sink into decay, and after 

 dragging out a few years, with one foot in the 

 grave, all at once thrust in the other and settle out 

 of sight. But, taught from the first to battle with 

 obstacles, to subject himself to exposure, and deny 

 the cravings of appetite, he has become hardy and 

 athletic, 



"His massive limbs are strong and struggling." 



He descends the downward slope of life, gradu- 

 ally and peacefully, and having accomplished his 

 mission, the messe.nger comes and takes him, still 

 toiling, from his post. 



But if the farmer enjoys peculiar opportunities 

 for developing bodily strength and activity, his oc- 

 casions for promoting mental growth are none the 

 less peculiar. It might appear, upon a casual o1a- 

 servance of the sulyect, that other walks in life pre- 

 sent more frequent and better opportunities for cul- 

 tivating and enlarging the powers of the mind. But 

 where, among the pursuits and callings of men, will 

 you find such chances for the observation and com- 

 parison of facts, for theorizing and speculating, for 

 making discoveries, and exercising the power of in- 

 vention? Where, too, will you find such difficult, 

 and at the same time interesting problems for solu- 

 tion, as the farmer has constantly before him ? He, 

 of all others, has opportunities for exercising dis- 

 crimination and judgment, in training the inferior 

 natures of plants, and animals, which fell to his 

 charge. The right discharge of his duties demands 

 deep thought and careful reflection. 



Who is the most successful cultivator of the soil, 

 he who pursues a routine of action that somebody 

 in a past age, under entirely difterent circumstances, 

 originated, or he, who considering his own means 

 and resources, strikes out a system which his judg- 

 ment dictates as the one best suited to his present 

 condition and wants ? 



The true husbandman will study his soils, and 

 learn what elements they possess, what seeds are 

 best adapted to them, and how he can secure the 

 largest yield at the smallest expense. And does 

 this require no exercise of the mental faculties ? 



Many other persons are, in a measure, restricted 

 to the study of printed pages, and have not access to 

 the book of nature, cannot peruse those "books in 

 the running brooks," nor drink in knowledge from 

 the fountain head. 



Here is an advantage, which the true husband- 

 man will not fail to improve. But he is by no 

 means wholly confined to the study of nature. There 

 are hours ot relaxation from bodily toil, rainy days, 

 and long, winter evenings, which our model farmer 

 will employ in gathering from books the experience 

 and opinions, both of his predecessors and contem- 

 poraries. Carefully digesting these, and combining 

 them with the results of his own observation, and 

 afterwards practising them, he will attain a superi- 

 ority over his less diligent and studious neighbor. 

 But his advantages cover a wider ground still. Not 

 only for physical and mental improvement does he 

 possess peculiar opportunities, but for moral also. 

 Who, like him, can behold so many manilesUtions 

 of the Father's goodness ? Whithersoever he 

 turns his eye, he sees life gushing and exuberant. 

 The little songsters of the wood, the many insects 

 that swarm the grassy meadows, the "lowing herd," 

 the "finny tribe," springing sportively from their 



