NEW ENG1.AND FARMER. 



PUBLISHED BY GEO. C. BARRETT, NO. 52, NORTH MARKET STREET, (at the Agricultural Warehouse.)— T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



BOSTOiV, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 1 , 1833. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



The following, from a eon-espoiident, whose 

 coininuiiications are very popular as well as useful, 

 is a counterpart to au excellent production entitled 

 "Brother Jonathan's Advice to his Son," published in 

 the JVew England Farmer, vol. 10, p. 336. 



For the Neic England Farvier. 

 Brother Jonathan's Wife's advice to her 



daughter on the dat op her marriabe. 



Now, Mary, as you are about to leave us, a few 

 words seem appropriate to the occasion. Al- 

 though I regret the separation, yet I am pleased 

 that your prospects are good. You must not think 

 that all before you are Elysian Fields. Toil, care 

 and trouble, are the companions of frail human 

 nature. Old conne.xions will be dissolved by dis- 

 tance, time, and death. New ones will be form- 

 ed. Every thing pertaining to this life is on the 

 change. 



A well cultivated mind, united with a pleasant, 

 easy dis])Osition, is the greatest accomplishraeut in 

 a lady. I have endeavored, from the first to the 

 present moment, to bring you up iu such a laan- 

 ner, as to foiin you for usefulness in society. Wo- 

 man was never made merely to see and be seen ; 

 but to fill au important space in the great chain 

 of nature, planned and formed by the Almighty 

 Parent of the universe. You have been educaleii 

 in habits of industry, frugality, economy and neat- 

 ness, and iu these you have not disappoiiiled me. 



It is for the man to provide and for the wife 

 to care and see that every thing, within her 

 circle of movement, is done in oi'der and seasjin ; 

 therefore, let method and order be considered im- 

 portant. A place for every thing, and every thing 

 in its place. A time for every thing and every 

 thing in its time, are good family mottos. 



A thorough knowledge of every kind of busi- 

 ness appropriate to the kitchen, is indispensable, 

 for without such knowledge, a lady is incapable 

 of the management of her own business, and is 

 liable to imi)Osition by her servants, every day. 

 But in these things you have been instructed. 



You will be mistress of your own house, and 

 observe the rules in which you have been educa- 

 ted. You will endeavor, above all things, to 

 make your fireside the most agreeable place for 

 the man of your choice. Pleasantry and a happy 

 disposition will ever be considered as necessary 

 to this important end ; but a foolish fondness is 

 disgusting to all. Let reason and common sense 

 ever guide : these, aided by a pleasant, friendly 

 disposition, render life happy ; and without these, 

 it is not desirable. Remember your cousin Eliza. 

 She married with the brightest prospects ; but, 

 from her petulant, peevish, and complaining dis- 

 position, and negligence, every thing went wrong ; 

 and her homo became a place of disquietude to 

 her husband. To avoid this, he sought a place to 

 pass away vacant time, where, associated with 

 those more wicked than himself, he contracted 

 the habit of intemperauce, and all was lost — and 

 poor Eliza was thrown on the charity of her 

 friends. 



Be pleasant and obliging to your neighbors — 

 ready to grant assistance, when necessary. Be 

 careful of their characters, and not readily believe 

 an ill report. Throw the mantle of charity over 

 tlieir failings, knowing that we are all human and 

 liable to err. Abhor a tattler, and give no j)lace 

 o the reports of such. However strong a provo- 

 cation may be, never contend for the last word. 



Let your bible show that it is used. Give no 

 place to novels in your library. Let history, bi- 

 ography, and travels, bo read, when tiu)e and op- 

 portunity admit — without interfering with the im- 

 portant duties of the family. Be not ignorant of 

 the events of the titne being, therefore read some 

 journal of the day. 



As to friends who may call on you — never be 

 confused, nor in ahurry: treat them with hospitality 

 and politeness ; and endeavor to make them hap- 

 py in their own way. Never teaze them to do this, 

 or that, which they do not prefer. True politeness 

 consist* in an easy and pleasant deportment, and 

 making our friends easy, and permitting them to 

 enjoy themselves in that way which is most pleas- 



; to them. 



Speak with deliberation. The other sex tell us 

 that, "the female tongue is never tired ;" be it so: 

 let it it be regulated by reason and common sense. 



At the close of the week, if possible, let all your 

 work, for the titne, be done ; so that on Sunday 

 you may improve your time in such a manner, as 

 will be appropriate to the day, and never, extra- 

 ordinaries excepted, let your seat be vacated at 

 church. -■ 



As to dress : decenc'y is becoming to all, but 

 extravagance opens a door to want — follow the 

 fashions of the day so far as decency and good 

 sense will approve, biit avoid singularity. Be not 

 troubled for what you have not ; but be thankful 

 for, and take care of what you have. A Leghorn 

 hat, loaded with flowers, will not cure the head- 

 ache, nor a gold watch prevent the consumption. 



Avoid night-meetings, at private houses, where 

 every one is priest. These, I fear have a ten- 

 dency to affect the passions more than mend the 

 heart. Who knows the resting place of au en- 

 thusiastic and fanatic mind .'' Let your evenings 

 generally be spent at home. 



As you have attended to the study of Botany 

 and discovered a taste for flowers, I would not 

 by any means draw your attention from so inno- 

 cent and pleasing an amusement. But let your 

 garden be small, well laid out, and the plants 

 selected to your taste. See to the management 

 of it yourself. It is a pleasant exercise, i)roduc- 

 tive of health of body and serenity of mind. Let 

 the order, neatness, and the display of beauty in 

 your garden be the index to what may be seen 

 iu your house. 



One thing more : the management of domes- 

 tics. See that all things go right in the kitchen. 

 Let every thing be done according to order. 

 Never dispute with a servant iu what vi'ay a thing 

 sliall be done. Let your commands be promptly 

 obeyed. Observe a mild dignity ; but avoid 

 all improper familiarity with those who may be 

 placed imder you. Be never hasty and impetu- 

 ous ; but calm and deliberate. Reprove when ne- 

 cesiary, witli mildness and determination ; but 



never make a long harangue about matters of mi- 

 nor importance. Too much reproof, especially 

 if delivered in a passion, or high tone of voice, is 

 apt to lose its desired effect, and produce reaction 

 on the ]iart of the dependent. Dignity, decision 

 and condescension, must be assimilated in such a 

 manner as to command respect. Undue severity 

 will so operate on the mind of domestics, as to 

 destroy respect, and create disaffection and hatred. 

 Never charge a domestic with lying without irre- 

 fragable proof — then punish or dismiss him. To 

 say frequently and upon all occasions to a do- 

 mestic, " you lie," is perfectly ridiculous, and has 

 an evil tendency. If he be a liar, you harden 

 him ; if otherwise, you injure his feelings and de- 

 stroy his confidence. 



I have done — you have my best wishes. 



For the New England Farmtr. 

 liBAVES FOR MANURE. 



Mr. Editor. Sir, — I agree with your corree- 

 pondent, L. L., that leaves are very valuable in a 

 dungheap, but believe me, sir, and I spsak from 

 full experience of their effects, if the cattle were 

 littered with them as profusely as he speaks of, — 

 if " twenty substantial loads were used for the 

 daily and thorough littering of eight or ten cattle, 

 from the time they were housed in the fall until 

 they were pastured in the spring," — I should vaU 

 ue the manure so mixed at less than half that of 

 a heap in which the leaves were used in propor- 

 tion to oth. Utter, say straw and refuse hay, as 

 one to four. Indeed, I think such a manure 

 would be good for nothing. Used sparingly, leaves 

 are one of the best ingredients in a dungheap ; 

 used in profusion, they are one of the worst. My 

 barnyard is so situated that I command any quan- 

 tity I please. Wood-land commences within four 

 rods of one corner of the barn, and extends, in 

 two directions, eight and ten miles, yet the quan- 

 tity of leaves I use does not exceed three or four 

 loads annually. AVhen I tell you that I make as 

 many as eight loads apiece to all my neat cattle, 

 and more than ten to my hogs ; that I cart eel- 

 grass a distance varying from one to two miles, 

 to litter them with occasionally, and mix with 

 the dung ; that I shall be able, the present year, 

 to dress eight acres, at tjie rate of twenty loads 

 per acre ; that I have the very place he recom- 

 mends to receive the " washings of the sink' — 

 you will not impute to indolence or apatliy, that 

 I use leaves so sparingly in my dungheaps. 



Yours, A Laboring Farmer. 



By the Editor. There exists in most, if not ia 

 all leaves, a vegetable acid, which must have a 

 tendency to make the soil sour to which they are 

 applied. Besides, vegetables, of all sorts, gene- 

 rate and develope an acid, called the acetous acid, 

 during the process of fermentation, which, pei- 

 haps, may be injurious. We would recommend 

 to our correspondent the trial of a little quich- 

 lime, applied to his leaves before they are mixsd 

 with stable or barnyard manure, to neutralize any 

 acid, which might otherwise prove hurtful to tb« 

 soil and crop. 



