274 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Domestic Department. 



Young Females. — The increasing privileges which 

 an illumination has conferred upon our sex, exceed- 

 ingly heightened their responsibilities. Formerly, to 

 be " faithful over a few things " Avas all that their 

 limited sphere required ; now they are both qualitied 

 and expected to be made " rulers over many things." 

 ITie treasures of their own minds are revealed to 

 them, and thej' are summoned forth as laborers in 

 the wide field of benevolence. The temple of sci- 

 ence is no longer inaccessible to the foot of woman. 

 From its pavilion, whence, with Moslem jealousy, 

 she was for ages excluded, a voice addressed her, 

 "Enter in and live." Of treasures which had been 

 from ancient times accumulated, yet strictly sealed 

 from her eyes, she is invited to partake. It remains 

 to be proved in what manner this invitation will be 

 received — this admittance valued. Will she loiter 

 at the threshold of this magnificent temple ? Will 

 she amuse herself in its courts by gathering its brief 

 flowers that spring up where there is no deepness of 

 earth ? Will she just enter the gate, and proclaim, 

 with the shrillness of vanity, her own invitation ? 

 her own proficiency in the mysteries of knowledge ? 

 Or will she press to the innermost shrine among 

 those true-hearted and meek-souled worshippers, 

 " whose candle goeth not out by night" ? 



Youug females, these interrogations are emphati- 

 cally for you. With you it is the time of culture, the 

 day of hope. Suffer not the allurements, the tempta- 

 tion of indolence, to prevent your oblation on the 

 altar of wisdom. Come while the dews of the morn- 

 ing are fresh about you. The meridian may absorb 

 your vigor, or find you toiling in diff'crent and more 

 sterile fields. May you not be constrained to adopt 

 the lamentation, " My own vineyard have I not kept." 

 A time Avill come, should your daj's be prolonged, 

 when life may seem like a twice-told tale, — when, 

 the present and the future disrobed of the novelty, 

 the mind will turn for enjoyment to the past. Lay 

 tlien a deep foundation, and collect a story of imper- 

 ishable fruits for this season of retrospection, con- 

 •N'inced that" knowledge is power." Seek it when it 

 may be obtained, and so use it that all within the 

 sphere of your influence may bo prompted by your 

 example to the attainment of moral excellence, to 

 the pursuit of " glory, honor, immortality, and eter- 

 nal life." — Mrs. Sigourney. 



Elderberry Pies. — A correspondent, H., dating 

 Rt Somcrville, St. Lawrence county. New York, 

 sends the editor of the American Agriculturist the 

 following receipt for making pies from black elder- 

 berries. As this berry is pretty abundant in this re- 

 gion, wo may serve a good purpose in publishing it. 



It may not be generally known that the fruit of 

 the common black-berried elder {Sambucits canadensis) 

 afibrds a most delicious and wholesome material for 

 pies. When rightly prejiared, it would not be known 

 from those made from the whortleberry, and many 

 would prefer them to the raspberry and the black- 

 berry. A tablespoonful of vinegar should be added 

 to each pie, which will neutralize the peculiar taste, 

 ajid impart a pleasant acid flavor. No other precau- 

 tion need be taken, and no difference is observed in 

 preparing them for use. 



The rc.d-berried elder is poisonous, but cannot be 

 mistaken for the other, because it ripens its fruit long 

 before the black elder comes to maturity. When 

 this very abundant berry is better known, it will be 

 more highly prized, and doubtless would improve in 

 quality under judicious cultivation. 



Doutl)'s Department. 



A Word for the Boys. — In attempting to point 

 out some of the evils attending other branches of 

 business, I did not intend to be understood as inti- 

 mating that the farmer was withont his difficulties. 

 But the great truth which I would, if possible, im- 

 press on the minds of the youthful part of the agri- 

 cultural community is, that the farmer has, on the 

 whole, fewer evils and temptations to encounter, and 

 has within his reach more of the means of substan- 

 tial and lasting happiness, than any other inhabitant 

 of this beautiful world — yes, this beautiful, glori- 

 ous world of ours, for so it is, notwithstanding Avhat 

 all the croakers may say to the contrary. But labor 

 is his destiny, and this we do not wish to deny or 

 conceal. Indeed, it seems to have been the original 

 intention of the great Creator, that man should spend 

 his days on earth in constant labor and exercise. For 

 what does the good book say ? — that he was put 

 into the garden to sit under the shady trees all day, 

 and when he was hungry, merely to stretch out hia 

 hand and pick up the fruit ? No ; it says no such 

 thing. It says, " The liOrd God took the man, and 

 put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and to 

 keep it." Whether or not he performed that part of 

 his duty well, we are not particularly informed ; but 

 as we have an account of his doing one " thing that 

 he ought not to have done," I think it is very natu- 

 ral to conclude that he might have " left undone 

 some of those things Avhich he ought to have done," 

 and that, in fact, it may be barely possible that if ha 

 had been busy " keeping and dressing " his garden, 

 he might have been out of the way of temptation. 

 Be that as it may, it is very certain that in our day 

 there are many gardens and farms which bring forth 

 " thorns and thistles " most abundantly, " for the 

 sake," or at least in consequence, of the indolence 

 of their occupants ; and I believe these are the kind 

 of men most likely to be found in the employment 

 of the Old Serpent. 



This brings us, however, to another great truth, 

 which mankind have been and still are to this day 

 slow to believe, namely, that labor is not an evil, but 

 a great and incalculable blessing. Doubtless it may 

 be, and in some cases is, carried to excess, and wears 

 out the man prematurely. Notwithstanding, that 

 constant labor, day after day, is a blessing, and not 

 an evil, is a great truth, which should be impressed 

 on the mind of every man, woman, and child. But 

 that we may know and feel that labor is really and 

 in truth a blessing, the mind and the body must both 

 labor together ; and this carries us away back to 

 when I was talking about " food for the mind." 

 Here lies the great secret, the "philosopher's stone " 

 that turns all the iron into gold — food for the mind 

 — or more properly, perhaps, work for the mind. 

 The body cares nothing for work, nor heat, nor cold, 

 nor rain, nor snow, provided the mind too is at work. 

 But when working alone, the body tires, and the 

 mind, for the want of better employment, soon be- 

 gins to sympathize with the poor body, and both get 

 into a bad fix. On the other hand, the mind cannot 

 long work alone. The body, when left idle, soon be- 

 comes enfeebled and diseased; of this, the pale faces 

 and slender forms of multitudes of students and profes- 

 sional men afford the most melancholy and conclusive 

 evidence. Now, the only proper system of education 

 and practice, through fife, is, that both body and 

 mind work together ; for experience proves that they 

 are mutually strengthened and invigorated by con- 

 stant exercise. And mankind are beginning, though 

 slowly, to profit by the experience. And I think 

 that even a boy may satisfy himself, by a little re- 

 flection, that these things are so. Suppose you were 



