24 



ENGLAND FAHMER. 



Jan> 



ficult to describe the magnificence of the scene. 

 What can be more beautiful than to look out in a 

 dark night and see the heavens illuminated in 

 every direction by them. 



I believe in my letter to you, of August 18th, 

 I did not say much in regard to this place, and 

 the farming country in general. I Avill describe 

 this village, of only two years' existence. The in- 

 habitancc number about one thousand ; we have 

 one church, one school-house, three hotels, and 

 ten stores ; a steam grist mill will soon be com- 

 pleted. So much grew up on "a wild praii'ie in 

 two years. The prairies about here are rolling, 

 but not Enough to hinder cultivating them all. 

 The soil is from two to three feet deep, and is 

 very black, rich and productive. The wheat crop 

 usually averages from 20 to 30 bushels per acre ; 

 oats 60 to 80 ; corn sometimes exceeds 100 bush- 

 els ; potatoes, from 200 to 300 bushels are not 

 an uncommon yield, and of the first quality. I 

 was very much disappointed in this respect, for 

 well do I remember of my friends telling me be- 

 fore coming West, that I could never even raise 

 good potatoes in Illinois. But I never saw in 

 Vermont, or any other State, better or larger po- 

 tatoes than have been raised here. When East- 

 ei'n people come West, they generally remark, 

 "You cannot raise good potatoes here, I suppose." 

 This idea seems to prevail in the minds of Eastern 

 people, to a great extent ; but they are in error 

 in regard to it. D. J. Benton. 



Manee, III., Nov. 5th, 1857. 



earths never attain the same temperature, the 

 lighter colored always remaining considerably 

 cooler. The conclusion seems inevitable that in 

 some countries the surface soil must occasionally 

 approach 200 degs. Fahrenheit. Under such a 

 I degree of heat the decomposition of the organic 

 I matter of the soil must go on rapidly, with the 

 I evolution of much ammonia and carbonic acid, 

 agents which play an important part in the mod- 

 ification of the mineral matter of the soil, as well 

 as stimulate vegetation. — Anon. 



PLEASTJHH OB KEADINGU 



Of all the amusements that can possibly be 

 imagined for a working man, after daily toil, or 

 in the Intervals, there is nothing like reading a 

 newspa}>er or a book. It calls for no bodily ex- 

 ertion, of which already he has had enough, per- 

 haps too much. It relieves his home of dulness 

 and sameness. Nay, it accompanies him to his 

 next day's work, and gives him something to think 

 of besides the mechanical drudgery of his every- 

 day occupation ; something he can enjoy while 

 absent, and look forward to with pleasure. If I 

 were to pray for a taste which would stand by me 

 under every variety of circumstances, and be a 

 source of happiness and cheerfulness to me through 

 life, and a shield against all its ills, however things 

 might go amiss, and the world frown upon me, it 

 would be a taste for reading. — Sir John Herschell. 



WARMTH OF THE SOIIiv 



The warmth of the soil, under a clear sun, is 

 surprisingly above that of the air, the difference 

 being, even in temperate climates, as high as six- 

 ty-five degrees. Thus Schubler finds in July, when 

 the air is 81 degs., the soil will be 146 degs. ; and 

 during one of his observations at Tublngin, in 

 Germany, the air stood at 78 degs. and the soil 

 at 152 degs., a diflFerence of 74 degs. ! With sur- 

 faces of the same color, the materials composing 

 the soil make little difference in its capacity to 

 become heated provided they are in similar states 

 as to dryness. Sand, clay, loam, garden-mould, &c., 

 show very little difference with the thermometer. 

 Color, however, has a povrerful effect. Although 

 exposed to the sun for hours, differently colored 



MR. EVERETT'S ADDRESS, 



Dfij:.IV£EED BEFOEE THE NEW VOBK STATE AGSICULTOEAti 



Society at Bcfpalo, Octobee 9, 1857. 



We have j>erused this address with more gratifi- 

 cation than we ever did one on similar subjects, 

 and for several reasons. Mr. Everett is a ripe 

 scholar, and has, as the address indicates, explored 

 books so thoroughly aS to gather from them what 

 it is that confers upon the physical condition of 

 man the largest amount of permanent happiness. 

 He is also acquainted with various phases of hu- 

 man life, — for to his scholarship may be added 

 his experience as a statesman, both at home and 

 abi-oad, and that gained while presiding over the 

 interests of perhaps the highest institution of 

 learning in our land. And while this adckess 

 gives evidence of close study, and even deep 

 research, it shows that Mr. Everett's observation 

 of the different occupations of. men and their ia- 

 fluences upon their lives, has been active and in- 

 telligent. The editor of the Buffalo AdveHiser, 

 who listened to the eloquent words of which we 

 are speaking, says : — "It is not too much to say 

 that this last effort of the accomplished orator is 

 equal to anything that he has yet given to the 

 world. Nothing could have been more appropri- 

 ate to the occasion, more complete in every part, 

 and more richly freighted with noble ideas and 

 brilliant passages. In Its practical common sense 

 as Avell as in its masterly eloquence, the address 

 will stand unequalled amongst similar pi-oduc- 

 tions, casting the past into the shade and furnlsh- 

 img a model for the future. There are cqjrtain 

 portions wliich must remain impressed upon the 

 memory of all Avho listened. Amongst these are 

 the magnificent denunciation of the doctrine wliich 

 holds that a miracle cannot be worked upon this 

 earth ; the allusion to the herucs of former, and 

 the great statesmen of our own days, who have 

 devoted such of their time as was not given to 

 their country, to agricultural pursuits ; the with- 

 ering denunciation of the stock gamblers of Wall 

 Street ; the comparison of the fever of city life 

 with the calm repose enjoyed by the dweller in 

 the country ; and the picture, unrivalled by the 

 pencil of Goldsmith, with which the splendid ad- 

 dress was brought to a close, and which Impressed 

 us with the idea, as the voice of the orator ceased, 



