1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



509 



to that of "the bare and the bald," will, in many 

 cases, be sufficient to correct the evil of too much 

 shade about our dwellings. 



HOETICULTURAL SONG. 



BY EPES SAKGENT. 



The Winter chill has pleasure still, 



And Spring is fair to see ; 

 In Summer's heat the groves are sweet. 



But Autumn bold for me ! 

 With vine-leaves on his honest brow, 



And harvest in his arms, 

 He comes, with all of Winter's cheer, 



And all of summer's charms ! 



The Flowers and Fruit that deck our board. 



To Woman tribute owe ; 

 From her the Rose steals all its bloom. 



From her, the Peach its glow ; 

 The Lily, in her purity. 



May see i'.s own eclipse ; 

 And where did Cherries take their red, 



If not from woman's lips ? 



The purple bloom upon the Grape, 



The Violet's modest hue — 

 Who does not see they're borrowed, both. 



From certain eyes of blue ? 

 And if the Orange Flower is sweet. 



And the Hyacinth is fair, 

 Will any one their lovely tints, 



With those we sing compare ? 



And there be men of high renown, 



Who're welcome here to-day, 

 In Church and State who've garlands won. 



That will not fade away ; 

 And tillers of the soil have come 



To grace our festival ; 

 And Horticulture's peaceful chiefs — 



And they are welcome all ! 



Then while we show our garden's wealth, 



And boast our Plums and Pears, 

 And while we welcome to our hall 



Our Governors and Mayors, 

 Let's not forget, of all the charms 



That grace our board, the crown — 

 But eat a lusty pippin each, 



To Mother Eve's renown ! 



adoption ; true in the latter we may love it, take 

 good care of it, and all that, interest dictates this — 

 but after all, the real genuine affection is wanting. 

 It is a well-known and settled fact that some seeds 

 of the same species ripen sooner than others, and 

 herein is involved a very important principle i'n 

 their selection. Particularly is this the case in those 

 crops which it is important should ripen before 

 our early frosts come. Now by going through 

 your field of corn you will observe that very many 

 of the ears are some days in advance of others, per- 

 haps a week. My advice is — mark those ears for 

 seed, and generally these ears will be among the 

 fairest in the field. I do' not pretend to say, that 

 by planting those seeds, another year they will come 

 to maturity a week earlier, but that if you will fol- 

 low this course for a series of years, you will get a 

 variety of the same species of corn that will ripen a 

 week or more earlier than it does now, and what 

 an important acquisition this would be. The same 

 thing holds true in regard to other crops, so that 

 by a judicious selection of the seed you may have 

 an early and late kind of the same species. Is not 

 this principle in accordance with the operations of 

 Nature ? It has been said that a farmer should 

 never buy what he can possibly produce on his own 

 farm, and this is sound doctrine. The most fore- 

 handed and prosperous farmers I know of, are 

 those who act upon the above principle ; they have 

 "everything" to sell, and buy but little. They are 

 the men who plant their own trees, raise their own 

 seeds, as well as pigs, and take the JVew England 

 Farmer and pay for it. Norfolk. 



September, 1856. 



For the New England Farmei 



SEEDS-TIME TO ATTEND TO. 



Mr. Editor : — Now is the time to attend to this 

 business in good earnest ; do not let the proper time 

 pass away. I take it for granted, that you were 

 thoughtful in this respect in the spring — and prop- 

 erly attended to such roots, &c., as were necessary 

 to give you seed for another season. This going to 

 the stores and seed shops every spring for seeds, 

 and often getting an inferior kind, frequently a 

 worthless article, and paying from two to five hun- 

 dred per cent, above the cost of production, besides 

 the risk of disappointment, is rather a too expen- 

 sive business. 



By selecting seeds from your own vegetables, you 

 know what you get and what may be expected from 

 them. With me, I derive four-fold more pleasure in 

 planting my own seeds than those I buy, and I 

 have no doubt you will find it so. Who does not feel a 

 double pleasure in a tree of his own jjlanting, than 

 in that planted by stranger hands ? In the one case 

 it is a child of our own, and in the olher a child by 



NORTH MIDDLESEX CATTLE SHOW 



Came off on the 16th. The day was fine, the ar- 

 rangements were well made, and well carried out. 

 We didn't see the plowing match, which was said 

 to be well contested. There were many fine spec- 

 imens of blood and grade stock, showing that much 

 attention is being paid to the introduction of fine 

 stock in this part of the county. The swine were 

 of the finest description, and there were a number 

 of promising colts. But the greatest attraction 

 was in the hall, where a grand display of vegeta- 

 bles and fruit was presented. The peaches and 

 pears especially were in great variety and perfec- 

 tion. An interesting address was given by Rev. 

 Mr. Foster, of Lowell ; a good dinner was served 

 up in a tent, at which the President, Mr. Spencer, 

 presided with his accustomed urbanity and ease. 

 Good speeches and sentiments in abundance fol- 

 lowed the dinner. Among the speakers were Mr. 

 Sheriff Keyes, Rev. Mr. Foster, Hon. T. Went- 

 worth, His Honor Ex-Lieut. Gov. Huntington, Dea. 

 Otis Adams, of Chelmsford, and others. The whole 

 affair was a very pleasant one, and highly satisfac- 

 tory to all concerned. 



A Pretty Process. — Among the machines late- 

 ly on exhibition at the agricultural exposition in 

 Paris, was one for hulling wheat. It is said that 

 by the methods now in use, the bran, when it. is 

 separated from the wheat, carries away with it at 



