DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND ITS KIWDRED ARTS AND SOIEKCES. 



VOL. XL 



BOSTON, MARCH, 1859. 



NO. 3. 



JOEL NOrKSE, Proprietor. 

 Office. ..34 Merchants Row. 



SIMON BROWN, EDITOR. 



FRED'K HOLBROOK, ) Associate 

 HENRY F. FRE.NXH, ( Ehitobs. 





CALENDAR FOB MARCH. 



Spring is but the child 

 Of churlish Winter, in her froward moods 

 Discovering much the temper of her sire ; 

 For oft, as if in her the etream of mikl 

 Maternal nature had reversed its course, 

 She brings her infants forth with many smiles, 

 But once delivered, kills them with a frown. 



COWPEB. 



(f^^_ m ARCH is the first 

 '' k" ri 1 spring month, ac- 

 cording to the us- 

 ,^ ual division of 

 ^1 time, although one 

 ' sees very little of 

 that "ethereal 

 mildness," which 

 Thomson so pa- 





-=.^% 



y until April or even 

 May. 



Yet long before 

 the "merry song- 

 ^' »^.r.--- ""*■ sters" and "bud- 



--^^~ ding flowers" which 



^> . _-TiO warble and blossom so 

 ^y!^j/^^^^ deliciously in poetry, 



~"^^A^-^ make their appearance in 

 ^^^^^P"- "^ point of fact, there are "sweet 

 ig.-- "^ influences" which make them- 



selves felt by all. Those patches of 

 bare ground which we have not seen before since 

 the snow came and covered everything last No- 

 vember — the "softer airs" which breathe upon 

 us in the intervals of east winds and driving 

 storms — the more jubilant crov/ing of our roos- 

 ter, who rejoices to tread "his own native heath- 

 er" once more, and who holds long conversa- 

 tions on the subject with all his neighbors — yes, 

 even the muddy highway, which affords us neith- 

 er sleighing nor wheeling — and the overflowing 

 rivers, which in some vicinities suggest a second 

 deluge — all these things tell us of returning life, 

 and we cannot help sympathizing in the general 



rejuvenation which is taking place in the worl'i- 

 Why ! we almost expect to see our own white 

 hair growing brown again, or our wig giving 

 place to a new "native growth." 



Now is the time, in this flush of hope, to get 

 all things in~order for spring work. See that 

 the farming implements are ready for use — get 

 the seeds together, so that when the frozen 

 ground becomes softened, you may not have that 

 duty to perform — a duty requiring much care 

 and the exercise of a sound judgment. 



Make your plans for the whole season's oper- 

 ations with deliberation, and with reference to 

 the whole of your crops. Decide what field shall 

 receive the corn, the oats, wheat, barley, pota- 

 toes, roots, &c., so that when the sun has evap- 

 orated the rebundant moisture, and the condition 

 of the soil invites you to plow and deposite your 

 seed, you will not be delayed by any doubts as 

 to icliere, and to wliat extent, your various crop« 

 are to be placed. This is the head-work of the 

 farm, and can better be done by the evening fire, 

 with pencil and paper in hand, than in the hurry 

 and responsibilities of the field. A rude map of 

 your plans, one that any hand can sketch in a 

 few minutes, would greatly aid the memory and 

 facilitate your labor. 



There is an old saying, "Time and tide waitfor 

 no man." We may procrastinate, if we will, but 

 seed-time will come and go all the same, and if 

 we neglect it, we shall have no harvest. 



There is also a moral seed-time, which if we 

 fail to improve, will pass by us to return no 

 more — but in this case we shall find not alone no 

 harvest, for while the husbandman tlumbers, the 

 enemy sows tares ! 



And yet, while the young cannot be too much 

 impressed with the importance of starting right, 

 we must hazard one suggestion for the benefit of 

 those who have neglected past opportunities, — 

 namely, there are some seeds which it is much 

 better to sow late, than not at all. 



