A^%^^ 



DSVOTSD TO AGHIOULTtTRS ilND ITS KINDHSD ARTS AND SCIENC3SS. 



VOL. VIII. 



BOSTON, NOVEMBER, 1856. 



KO. 11, 



JOEL NOUKSE, Proprietor 

 Office.. ..QuiNCY Hall. 



SIMON SaOWN, EDITOR. 



FRED'K IIOLBROOK, ) As? 

 HENRY F. FRENCH, 5 Ed 



SfOCIATE 



Editors. 



KSCeQQBaCSQSKf^B 



TRAITS OE NOVSMBSa. 



'Tor autumn comes in solemn gold, 

 And all Ihs gaudy leaves are strown ; 



The leaves look barren, thin, and cold, 

 Beneath the darkening tempest's frown. 



The hunter wanders by the wold, 

 By heath, and fell, and mountain brown, — 



By hill, and dale, and river head, 



■^Vhere the dead leaves find a bed, 



Hectic, and grey, and fever-red." 



o\'£MBER, in New 

 England, is often a 

 month of bright 

 suns and soft air. 

 It has the reputa- 

 tion of a blusterer, 

 of bting fitful, and 

 S gloomy, and uncer- 

 ' ' '■' tiin. But for many 

 }pars past this has 

 ::ot been the case; 

 ibr the farmer has 

 l)een able to pursue 

 jsi''" his out-door busi. 

 ness with pleasure 

 and profit. It is certainly a 

 changeable month, and will 

 ' sometimes justify the descrip. 

 tion of a fine writer whom we quote : 

 "The fruit trees have now shed their 

 leaves ; the grass of the meadows is 

 ■withered ; dark clouds gather in the sky ; the rain 

 falls in heavy showers ; the roads are impaired, 

 and walking abroad is almost impracticable. The 

 man who has no resources in himself, murmurs at 

 tTiis change ; but the philosopher contemplates it 

 with satisfaction. The sere leaves and withered 

 grass, moistened by the autumnal rains, form a rich 

 manure to fertihze the land. This consideration, 

 and the sweet expectation of spring, naturally 

 ought to excite our gratitude for the tender cares 

 of our Creator, and inspire us with a perfect confi- 

 dence in him. Whilst the earth has lost its beauty 

 and external charms, and is exposed to the mm'. I 



murs of those it has nourished and delighted, it has 

 commenced its labors anew, and is busily employed 

 in secret working for the future good of the crea- 

 tion." 



There is a chord in every bosom which, if prop- 

 erly tuned, beats in harmony with all the varying 

 aspects of nature, with the surly blasts of autumn, 

 as readily as with the soft sunshine and fragrant 

 breath of summer. St. Pierre says, "beneficent n:>- 

 ture converts all her phenomena into so many 

 sources of pleasure to man ; and if we attend to her 

 procedure, it will be found that her most common, 

 appearances are the most agreeable. I enjoy ple<i- 

 sure, for example, when I see old mossy walls 

 dripping, and hear the whistling of the wind, min- 

 gled with the battering of the rain. These melan- 

 choly sounds, in the night time, throw me into n 

 profound repose. In bad weather, the senti- 

 ment of my human misery is tranquilized by seeing 

 it rain, while I am under cover ; by hearing the 

 wind blow violently, while I am comfortably in 

 bed. I, in this case, enjoy a negative felicity. — 

 With this are afterwards blended some of those 

 sentiments of the divinity, the perception of which 

 communicates such exquisite pleasure to the soul. 

 It looks as if nature were then conforming to my 

 situation, like a sympathizing friend. She h, be- 

 sides, at all times so interesting, under whatever as- 

 pects she exhibits herself, that when it rains, I 

 think I see a beautiful woman in tears. She seemri 

 to me more beautiful, the more she wears the ap- 

 pearance of affliction." 



The farmer has been too little in the habit of 

 looking at life in these varied aspects. He forgets 

 that he is what his mind makes him; that when 

 once in comfortable circumstances — not affluent — 

 the possession of a thousand, or tens of thousands 

 more, ca7i add nothing to his real happiness. All, 

 after that, depends upon his own state of mind. If 

 he reflects upon the natural phemomena about him, 

 and occasionally reveals his thoughts to the family 

 circle, there will soon spring up the most delight- 

 ul companionship among them ; all will ad vane r 



