186 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



DEC. 20, 18'>» 



of men of enormous wealth nnd populace. It is 

 in fact " he continues to renuirk, "in the mid.lle 

 classes', that the donieslic virtues— economy, fore- 

 thought, and tlie spirit of association— tnamly re- 

 side. It is in them, that a certain de-ne of en- 

 ergy is incessantly called into operation, cither as 

 a means of rising, or of keeping the position al- 

 ready acquired. It is in them alone that the sen- 

 timent of social equality, on which all justice, is 

 based, can he kept alive. Grandeur isolates a 

 man ; vast opulence .iccustoms each individual to 

 look upon himself as a distinct power. lie teels 

 that he can exist independently of his country ; 

 that his elevation, or his fall, may he di^-tinct ;— 

 and, ere long, the servile dependents hy whom a 

 man who spends as much as u petty state, is sure to 

 be surrounded, succeed in persuading him, that 

 his pleasures, his pains, nay, his slighest caprices, 

 aie more imiiortant than the thniisands of fami- 

 lies, whose means of subsistence he»en^'rosses." 



In view of the high duties and responsibilities 

 which devolve upon the farmer, as a parent, a 

 tiller of the soil,, and a watchman on the citadel 

 of freedom, it becomes us to inquire, what are the 

 best means'of enabling him to act well his part on 

 the theatre of life, in the several capacities that 

 have been enumerated. 



The rluties of a parent to his children, may be 

 composed in a brief sentence: teach them what 

 good men in every age, as well as divine inspira- 

 tion, have defined to be the cardinal virtues, — 

 love to God and good will to man — teach them to 

 be industrious, to he frugal, to he temperate, to be 

 humble, to be honest, to be kind hearted— and 

 teach them by example. 



Health is among the first blessings of life, and 

 the prudent man will always endeavor to secure 

 it for himself and his family. This may be pro- 

 moted by many little attentions which some do 

 not know how to value, and which others, know- 

 ing, shamefully disregard.' 



'Temperance, in all our animal indnlgenres, as 

 well as in our passions, is particularly promotive 

 of health. The h.uman frame is so delicately and 

 wondei fully made, that any access or violence, 

 which may impair the functions of one part, may 

 cause irreniediidjie injury to the whole system. 



The air we breathe, though essential to life, be- 

 comes vitiated, and prejudicial to health, by res- 

 piration, by putrefying vegetable and animal mat- 

 ters, by stagnant waters, and by a state of rest.— - 

 Hence our dwellings should be locaterl in dry and 

 healthy situations, our apartments should be roo- 

 my, kept in a cleanly order, and frcipucntly aired ; 

 every species of putrefying substance should be 

 removed from our house-yards and cellars, and 

 the latter kept dry, by drains, if neceesary, and 

 often ventilated. 



The offices of the skin, are all important to 

 health. Lavossier has shown, that ujion the low- 

 est estimate, the skin is endowed with the imiior- 

 tant charge of removing from the system, by the 

 process of insensible perspiration, about twenty 

 ounces of waste matter in every twentyfour hours, 

 while the maximum has been found to amount to 

 five pounds a day. These excretions are greater 

 in amount, Dr Combe adds, than the united ex- 

 eretioiis of the boweli and kiilncy.s. These facts 

 admonish us, that if the functions of the skin be- 

 come suspended, by a disregard to cleanliness, by 

 too great indulgence in sedentary habits, by expo- 

 sure to suildeii transitions of temperature, or otii. 

 er causes, and the impurities whit h arc ordinarily 



thrown ofThy this channel, are siifl!"eied to reniam 

 ^11(1 accumulate in the system, health must be im- 

 paired and endangered. So important is a clean 

 skin considiM-ed in the economy of health, that 

 frequent ablutions have been enjoined as a rehg- 

 imis duty among many eastern nations. A like 

 attention, among us, to keep in wholesome exer- 

 cise, the important functions of the skin, cannot 

 fail of being highly conducive to health. 



Vegetation purifies the air, and health, as well 

 as beauty and comfort, are essentially promoted, 

 by surrounding our <lwelliugs with fruit and shade 

 trees, an<l ornamental plants. The splendid elm 

 which stands on yonder common, is alike the 

 ornament and pride of the town. What a lesson 

 of instruction does this aflTord ! Every man may 

 plant an elm and a maple— an apple tree and a 

 \i„e_a lilac and a rose-bush, in a leisure hour, 

 and may live to enjoy their shade, their fruit, and 

 their fragrance ; or should Providence otherwise 

 ordain may leave them as a grateful inheritance 

 to his J;o.sterity. Our fathers planted for us, .ind 

 we should requite the obligation, hy planting (or 

 our children. 



Most of the diseases which afflict our species, 

 may be traced to impure air, obstructed perspira- 

 tion, or intemperate indulgences. 



Another source of high, but rational gratifica- 

 tion to the farmer, is the garden. This may be 

 made to administer largely to the variety of his 

 viands, the subsistence and health ol' his family, 

 and the recreation and improvement of the mind, 

 without materially abstracting from the labors of 

 the farm. So strong is my conviction of the 

 economy and salutary influence of a well cultiva- 

 ted n-arden, that when 1 chance to see one in trav- 

 elliiig abroad, I involuntarily ascribe to its occu- 

 pants, economy, good taste and domestic enjoyment. 

 The best preventive for gossip and tale beaiing, 

 the comnKiii recreation of the idle and the igno- 

 rant and the bane of those good feelings and kind 

 offices which sweeten anil augment the pleasures 

 of n-ood neighborhood, is to inculcate in early life, 

 a taste for useful reading. Books remind us of 

 our duties, instruct us in our business, and affiard 

 useful employment and recreation for the mind 

 iu hours of rest or of leisure; and when the hab- 

 it of reading is once acquired, its [ileasures and 

 advantages become more and more percejitible 

 and enticing, as we advance in useful knowledge. 

 Those who employ their time in their own busi- 

 ness, seldom find leisure or disposition officiously 

 to i!itermeddle in the private concerns of their 

 neio-hbors. Hut the mind is as liable to disease 

 as tlie body, and a diseased mind is far more prej- 

 udicial to character and usefulness, than a sickly 

 body. Evil comiTiunications corrupt good man- 

 ners ; and had hooks, or useless books, are as in- 

 jurious to the mind and manners, as bad compan- 

 ions are, or as impure air, or obstructed perspira- 

 tion are to ihe body. The adage teaches, that a 

 man is known by the company he keeps, and the 

 maxim is true, applied to books as well as men. 



Having discussed the affairs of the family, let 

 us now go to the farm : For, after all, our cajiac- 

 ity for ])roviding suitably for ourselves and fami- 

 lies, and of becoming useful to others, will depend 

 in no small measure^ upon the extent of our pe- 

 cuniary means, and these means are to be acquir- 

 ed by the profits of our labors upon the farm. 



I would premise iu the outset, that the business 

 of agriculture has not kept pace with the other 

 useful art.s, iu the march of improvement, and that 



it requires all oure.xertion and enterprise to o 



take the spirit of the age. In the other an 



productive labor, the improvements of the las 



years have been greater in amount than du 



the preceding centniy. No man iirospers in 



mechanic or manufacturing arts at this day, 



treads in the footsteps of his ancestors. Ky 



sou of the application of science, and the in 



plication and great improvement in lahor-sa 



machines, old practices have been supersede 



new and better ones — all has been clianged- 



improved. A useful discovery in those arts 1 



sooner mnrle in one country, or iu one dis 



than a knowledge of it is disseminated, by m 



of the press, through every civilized laud, al 



with the rapidity of the wind, and it becc 



known and adopted wherever it can be usef 



But ill husbandly, the case has been diflr 



We have, to a ruinous extent, in many pai 



the country, persevered in the practices of oi 



thers, which, though adapted to their time 



the circumstances of a newly settled conntrv 



illy suited to an exhausted soil, or to the pi 



age of improvement. We, too, must call sc 



and the press to our aid, if we would sncces: 



compete in the business of farming, with the 



cultivated countries of the old continent, o 



highlv improved districts of the new one. 



agrici"ilture of England has doubled its pro 



in the last sixty years, and the agricultural 



ductions of Scotland, have been more than ■ 



rupled in the same jieriod. In France, u 



profound science, have successfully devoted 



talents to the improvement of the soil, anc 



government has efficiently aided their eflor 



the establishment of schools of practical and ; 



tific instruction in husbandry, and by peci 



aids to her agricultural societies. There, tl 



has been im|)roving under the new system o 



bandry: here, the soil has been deteru.ratir 



der the old system. The lands of Flanders 



been preserved in unimpaired fertility six i 



ries, and those of China, for more than two 



sand years. Providence has provided for 



abundant means for perpetuating the ferti 



our soils, and has endowed us with capaci 



applying them to advantage. We have ret 



the talent. If we hide it or do not put it at 



est the masler will assuredly take from u 



wh'ich we have, and give it to him who 1 



ready much. But the spirit of agncultnr 



provement is abroad in our land. 'I'he your 



mer, in particular, feels its vivifying influei 



It has already done much, and with the 



agricultural societies, and of agricultural pc 



cals, which are increasing in mimbcrs and i 



ness, its benign influence will soon be mani 



every sectiou"of our country ^Ve have the sti 



and enterprise of a young nation ; and we p 



advanta-es. and enjoy privileges, unknown 



other agricultural people upon the globe. 



comes us, then, to call promptly to our a 



li./hts of science, and the difl"usive influence 



pi-ess, that we may realize the high destinies 



iugly allotted to us by a kind Providence. 



"aIIow me to make a farther digression, to 

 of a means of improving our hnshandry, wl 

 loo much neglecied,au(l too often contemm 

 ridiculed. I allude to wli.nt is sometimes, 

 rision, termed booh farming, hut which in r 

 ofllers the most substantial f\icilities to im 

 ment, and the acquisition of wealth. Let 

 quire what this book fanning is. 



