1858. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



271 



State a distinguished service by giving a portion 

 of their time and talents to the important cause 

 of agriculture. We take them in the order in 

 which they stand in the volume, and the first is 

 that of Dr. E. G. Kelley, before the Essex So- 

 ciety, at Newburyport. Subject— "27ie Fariner's 

 Home and its Embellishments." 



Rev. Chaeles Babbidge, before the Middle- 

 sex Society, at Concord. Subject — ^^Agricultural 

 Heart-Work:' 



E. F. Sherman, before the Middlesex North, 

 at Lowell. Subject — ^^ Articles of Food" 



George M. Preston, before the Worcester 

 South Society. Subject — "Agriculture in its re- 

 lations to the Sciences." 



Prof. John A. Nash, before the Worcester 

 West Society. Subject — "Hoic to better Farmers." 



Justus Tower, before the Worcester North 

 Society. Subject — "The Farmer's Position." 



Rev. Alvan Lamson, before the Norfolk Soci- 

 ety. Subject — "Farming in some of its Intellec- 

 tual Aspects." 



By George. S. Boutwell, before the Barn- 

 stable Society. Subject — "System oj" Agricultu- 

 ral Education." 



By A. B. Whipple, before the Nantucket So- 

 ciety. Subject — "Forethought in Farming." 



The attentive reader cannot fail to observe 

 what a wide field of research is opened in the in- 

 troduction of these topics, and what an opportu- 

 nity is afforded to ingenious and cultivated minds 

 to expatiate upon the advantages, charms, and 

 blessings of rural life. Faithfully, and with sin- 

 cere fervor, have our authors performed their 

 part, and the bread which they have thus cast 

 upon the Avaters, will surely coiae back to them, 

 blessed and multiplied exceedingly. We cannot 

 withhold an expression of our admiration of their 

 labors, and of the pei'sonal obligation we feel for 

 the noble eff"orts which they have made to raise 

 the whole subject from the low state in which it 

 had come to be considered, to its ownproper rank 

 and level. 



The next division of the volume introduces the 

 reports of Committees upon Farms. The first re- 

 port is by Dr. George B. Loring, of Salem, one 

 of the most accomplished public speakers and 

 writers of Essex county, and if Madam Rumor 

 is correct, he is just as accomplished in his stout 

 boots, in the furrows, or on the moioing ma- 

 chine m as he is in the realm of letters. His re- 

 port is upon farms, is not a dry detail of farm man- 

 agement only, but a running fire of useful thought 

 and happy suggestions, showing all along how 

 deeply he was imbued in his early years with 

 both the prose and poetry of rural life. This re- 

 port is foUoAved by many statements from propri- 

 etors of farms, detailing their particular modes 



of culture, and giving results, some of which are 

 valuable papers. 



There is an excellent paper on "Farm Ac- 

 counts," by P. N. Richards, of Sunderland. 

 Then follow papers upon "Reclaimed Swamps," 

 "Improvement of Waste Lands," "Orchards," 

 "Manures," "Wire Fences," "Indian Corn," 

 "Wheat," "Rye," "Barley," "Oats," "Broom 

 Corn," "Chinese Sugar Cane," "Root Crops," 

 "Farm Implements," "Neat Stock," "Horses," 

 "Sheep," "Poultry," "Bee Culture," "The Dairy," 

 "Fruits and Flowers," a paper of rare excellence, 

 full of beauty and genial feeling, and what may 

 be of consequence to some, full of information 

 how to coin shining gold. "Vegetables," and 

 "Maple Sugar." A paper upon "Inqidries in re- 

 lation to Experimental Farming" by Wilson 

 Flagg, and one upon "Artificial Planting of 

 Trees, — its Importance and Benefits" by Rev. 

 John L. Russell, close the volume. These pa- 

 pers, excellent in themselves, form a fit ending to 

 a volume of so much excellence. 



When we have said that a good index to the 

 Secretary's Report, and to the ^miscellaneous pa- 

 pers that follow, is given, we have only to add 

 that we close the volume with feelings of sincere 

 gratification and pride. 



HOW MUCH HORSES FEEL. 



Mr. Rowell relates some horrible cases in Avhich 

 horses had broken their bones at the fetlock joint 

 and were compelled to walk upon their stumps, 

 with their fore-feet turned up, as we should turn 

 back our legs to walk upon our knees, and yet 

 continued to graze quietly till they were dis- 

 patched. But assuming the particulars to be ac- 

 curately reported, and they did not fall under the 

 observation of Mr. Rowell himself, we attach lit- 

 tle importance to them. He acknowledges that 

 horses are keenly alive to the stroke of the whip, 

 the prick of the spur, and the sting of an insect. 

 That they are peculiarly sensitive to lameness is 

 also a matter of every-day experience. They 

 groan when they are wounded on the field of 

 battle, and by their looks and their restlessness 

 betray great uneasiness when the lacerated flesh 

 begins to inflame. The absence of pain in par- 

 ticular instances of extensive injury can only be 

 temporary, in the same way that the soldier is 

 often unconscious for a time that his arm has 

 been shot off', or a ball been lodged in his body. 

 The numbness which appears to be produced by 

 the concussion passes away, and the sensitive- 

 ness is to be judged by the suffering which en- 

 sues at a subsequent stage. Horses, no doubt, 

 feel less then men, but they feel a great deal. It 

 is impossible, however, to gauge with precision 

 the degree of anguish which is allotted to each 

 grade of animal life. There are circumstances in 

 every case which must be experienced to be un- 

 derstood, and to estimate truly the condition of 

 worms or quadrupeds, we must become worms 

 and quadrupeds ourselves. — London Quarterly 

 Review. 



