VOL. XI. NO. 3r. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



293 



prevent the waste aiul destruction of an article, 

 which is becoming yearly of more and more con- 

 sequence. It is a subject alilvc interesting to buy- 

 er and seller. I have thought, that the owners of 

 wood lots have, in some instances, been too anx- 

 ious to realize an immediate income, and for the 

 sake of present gains, have sacrificed much larger 

 profits in prospect. I liave thought, also, tliat, 

 after a lot has been cut over, sufficient care has 

 not always been taken, by fencing and other 

 means, to preserve tlie new growtli from injury. 

 I am not competent, however, to give advice ; 

 but have felt it to be my duty to suggest this sub- 

 ject, as being one, in my opinion, of primary im- 

 portance, for the consideration of those who un- 

 derstand it better than I do. 



The prospects of the farmer in New England 

 were never, probably, more encouraging than at 

 the present time. His Indian corn may, occasion- 

 ally, be injured by an early frost, as it has been 

 in some places, this year, and as it has been in 

 former years ; but he may look forward, as it 

 seems to me, with confidence, to a course of con- 

 tinued and increasing prosperity. The policy of 

 our government in relation to the protection of 

 American Industry, it is to be hoped, is now settled; 

 and as long as our manufacturers are able to real- 

 ize a fair profit in their business, so long the 

 farmer will find a ready market for his produce at 

 fair prices. The interests of agriculture and man- 

 ufactures, in this section of our country, it can- 

 not be doubted, are inseparably connected. The 

 facilities for communication and transportation, 

 which public-spirited individuals are now open- 

 ing to us, by the construction of Rail Roads, will 

 greatly promote the interests of those ip'portaut 

 branches of industry. The road, which is already 

 commenced, will place us by the cheapness and 

 quickness of transportation, almost in the imme- 

 diate vicinity of our metropolis ; and another, 

 which has been recently surveyed by enterprising 

 citizens of a neighboring State, and which, there 

 is good reason to expect, may, in due time, be lo- 

 cated and constructed, will bring us into, close 

 connection with Long Island Sound. If any man 

 can possibly doubt the advantages of an easy and 

 cheap communication, to all branches of business, 

 I would advise such an one to take another view 

 of the beautiful village where we are now assem- 

 bled, and then to follow the course of the Black- 

 stoneCanal to its termination at Providence, in order 

 that his doubts may be removed. Massachusetts, 

 though she has manifested some reluctance to en- 

 gaging in public improvements of this description 

 and has permitted other States to get far in ad- 

 vance of her, will not, wc trust, now that she has 

 fairly set herself at work, be wanting in the en- 

 terprise and zeal, which are necessary to carry 

 them forward into full and successful operation. 



I have alluded, in the course of my rambling 

 remarks, to some of the moral influences of 

 agricultural pursuits; and though I may, perhaps, 

 have trespassed already too long on your patience, 

 I cannot forbear to ask your indulgence for a very 

 iew additional remarks on this interesting part of 

 the subject. 



It is recorded of King Numa, that " he intro- 

 duced among his subjects, an attachment to agri- 

 culture as a charm of Peace ;" for, says Plutarch, 

 " no occupation implants so speedy and effectual 

 a love of peace, as a country life ; where, without 

 dimiuiihing the courage and bravery necessary to 



defend pi-opcrty, the temptations to injustice and 

 avarice are removed." 



We accordingly find, that in his reign, the tem- 

 ple of Janus was closed — an occurrence which, 

 with a single exception, happened not again during 

 the lapse of seven centuries. Nor is this peaceful 

 disposition confined to intercourse with foreign 

 nations. In the daily intercourse of citizens of the 

 same State ,town, neighborhood, the same disposi- 

 tion among the tillers of the ground is, I think, 

 equally apparent. There is among them more of 

 harmony and good feeling, — less of personal en- 

 vying and strife, and less of party-discord and 

 bitterness, than is to be found in any other pro- 

 fession. 



Another advantage of agricultural pursuits is 

 their happy adaptation to the formation of virtuous 

 habits. It has been said, — " An undevout astron- 

 omer is mad !" If, he, whose business it is to 

 study the far-off worlds in the firmannent above 

 us, — 



" Observe how system into system runs, 

 What other planets circle other suns,'' — 



is to be called a mad-man, because he fails to re- 

 cognize, in the wonders of nature, the existence 

 of an all-wise Creator and Disposer — what can 

 we sity of the infidel farmer, whose whole inter- 

 course is with nature in what we are wont to con- 

 sider her simplest forms, and yet he cannot tell, 

 how a single one of all earth's various products, 

 which he gathers into his store-house, is made to 

 grow 1 Surely, if true devotion is any where to 

 be found on earth, we should expect it to burn 

 bright and pure on the farmer's family altar. 



Again, where shall we look for genuine patriot- 

 ism, — pure, unadulterated love of country? 

 Where, if not among the independent yeomanry 

 of the country ? " The merchant," says Adam 

 Smith, "is not necessarily the citizen of any par- 

 ticular country. It is, in a great measure, indiffer- 

 ent to him, from what place he carries on his 

 trade ; and a very trifling disgust will make him 

 remove his capital, and together with it all the in- 

 dustry which it supports, from one country to an- 

 other. No part of it can be said to belong to any 

 particular country, till it has been spread, as it 

 were, over the face of that country, either in 

 buildings, or in the lasting improvements of land." 

 The same may be said, perhaps, witli equal truth, 

 of all other professions, except that of agriculture. 

 The Home of the farmer is on the soil which he 

 owns, and which he cultivates for the support of 

 himself and his family. There he expects to live, 

 and there he expects to die, and there he hopes, 

 will be found his descendants through a long suc- 

 cession of generations. 



How deep, then, the interest, he must feel in 

 the welfare of his country ; — how intense the de- 

 sire, that she may continue to be free, and pros- 

 perous, and happy ; and with what melancholy 

 forebodings, must he witness the first gathering of 

 clouds which threaten her with ruin ! 



Such clouds may now be seen rising above our 

 political horizon. Sentiments at war with the 

 fundamental principles of our Union are, in one 

 section of our country, openly avowed and advo- 

 cated. If they shall gain currency and spread ex- 

 tensively among us, the oldest of us, now here as- 

 sembled, may live long enough to listen to the 

 knell of his country's liberty and to exclaim, — 

 " Had I but died an hour before this chance, 

 1 had hvcd a blessed time. — " 



But let us hope belter things. Our Fathers would 



start from their graves, and cry — shame upon us! 

 There must be, — there must be a redeeming spirit, 

 winch will save us from such utter infamy. 



Frotn tin' Oittesee Farmer. 

 FKKDING CALVES. 



On a late visit to one of my friends in Farming- 

 ton, Ontario county, who, by the bye, I consider 

 one of the best farmers in that section of our coun- 

 try, and who has eighteen of the finest calves, 

 (with one exception) that I have seen, all of the 

 Short Horned Durham and Devonshire breeds. 

 His mode of feeding them is the following, which 

 I think worthy of imitation : — He takes a plank of 

 oak, three inches in thickness, and twelve feet 

 long, and two feet wide. On either side of this 

 j)lank, and about one inch from the outer edge of 

 it, iioles are bored in a slanting direction inwards 

 towards the middle of the bottom of it, quite 

 through it. These holes are five inches apart, 

 from centre to centre, and are made with an inch 

 and a quarter augur. In these holes are placed 

 sticks, of the same size of the holes, and three feet 

 six inches long. The upper end of these sticks 

 are secured in a plank one and a half inch thick, 

 and five incites wide, of the same length of the 

 bottom, with holes of a similar size. On these, 

 rafters are placed, and the whole is covered with 

 common siding, cut so long as to project on either 

 side a sufficient distance to cover the trough un- 

 derneath, in which the grain or meal with which 

 they are fed is to be placed. The ends are secur- 

 ed by sliding doors, made of light boards. — This 

 is supported by four legs of such a length as will 

 raise the rack two and a half feet from the ground, 

 and diverging outward so as to prevent its blow- 

 ing over. The lower end of these legs are framed 

 into two pieces of four by four scantling, with a 

 piece pinned on across one or both ends, for the 

 purpose of attaching a horse or ox to it, when it 

 may be necessary or convenient to move it to some 

 other place. Attached to the legs is the trough 

 for catching the litter that would otherwise fall on 

 the ground, and be trodden under foot, while the 

 animals were feeding from the rack, and also for 

 feeding them with grain or meal. This is con- 

 structed of boards, and sufficiently high to prevent 

 swine from reaching it. 



The whole expense of such a rack will not ex- 

 ceed three dollars, and will amply repay the ex- 

 pense the first winter or season of foddering, and 

 will answer for twenty or twenty-five calves to feed 

 at. Twenty can feed at it at one time. This will 

 also answer a valuable purpose for feeding o.xen 

 in the spring, as by this means they waste no hay, 

 or meal, or grain, if fed with it ; but can be placed 

 in a shade, in the open air, which is of great con- 

 sequence in warm faint days in the spring. 



N. B. The sides of the trough for feeding 

 meal or grain, should be placed at an angle of 

 about 45 degrees with the bottom, so as the more 

 readily to catch all the hay which may litter down 

 during the animal's feeding. J- W. Smith. 



TOWN FARMS. 



The Lowell Journal, in illustration of the utili- 

 ty of town farms, observes, that in 1812, the 

 town of Tewksbury was at an expense of $1200 

 fur the support of the poor, who were then hired 

 to the lowest bidder ; and that last year, the income 

 of the poor farm exceeded the expense of maintain- 

 ing the paupers, by $315. 



