JNEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



VOL. IH 



PUBLISHED BY JOHN B. RUSSELL, ROGERS' BUILDINGS, CONGRESS STREET, BOSTON.— THOMAS G. FESSENDEN, EIMTo'r. 



"^ FR I DA y7 DECEMBER 10, 1824. 



lie ilivollings ; in flie oreclion of spacious and 

 jiorniiinent mnnufiictoiies in every branch of 

 Ihe arts; in Ihe general appearance of tlic 

 connliy, " ^rccn wi(li ll>e dew of heaven," and 

 rejoicing in ihe labour of its iuhabilants ; and 

 in tiie smiles of contcndnent that are fo gener- 

 ally spread upon the countenances of a grate- 

 occtinatinn of all olhe"rs best filled to promote 1 1'"' I";"!'.'''- No"- "^^^ "e travel beyond the 

 his health, by alternate re?t and labour; to pre- 1 'J'^'™;'";«''"' our own County to witness the 

 serve his virlne, by withdrawing him from lhe|';'P"' "<lvances that have been ma.le during the 

 contagion of Ihe more busy world; and to ad- i "'',"■■' P'^.n"'! of the existence ot this Society, an' 



Sin antircjss 



Dt-liiered before t'tc JVorceal<:r ^Igricullural Socichj, 

 Oct. 13, 1C21 ; bfing Iheir anniiersari/ Caltk Show 

 and Exhibilion of Mamifaciurcs. By Ipaac Goon- 



VilS. — 



The cnltivalion of the earth is the employ- 

 ment destined to roan by bis Creator. It is the 



vance his civilization, by calling him away from 

 the scenes of violence incident to a roaming 



Mhich furnish the best coipmentary upon Ihe 

 motives of its foniidets. Yes, the spirit of iin 



life, to the cultivation of Ihe soft arts of peace. I P''^''^^'^'""" ''^^ gone forth, through our valleys 

 Hence it has been cherished by the most en- 1 ''"'' "ver our plains: ils march upon our hill- 

 li.rhtened of all nations. It has been the source ! '"1'^ '"* that ol a giani in his strength : its course 

 of su.stenance alike to the palace and the col- 's not to be obstructed by jealousy, by ignorance. 



tage, to the king and the bcgg.ir. In reviewing 

 the history of mankind, we fiud their advance- 

 ment and decline in publick virtue have kept 

 concurrent progress with this art. From Baby- 

 lon, from Greece and from Judea, agriculture 

 ivas Iranslcrred with every thing that served In 

 embellish life, to Rome, where it was ilie theme 

 of her statesmen and her pnels. Willi ihe dc- 



or by parsimony : it crushes beneath its feet 

 alike the useless traditions of our predecessors, 

 and the ridiculous theories of fanciful innova- 

 tors : ils progress is directed by science, by 

 reason, and by experience ; and ils footsteps 

 may be traced by fertility and by abundance. — 

 On every side, the senses are regaled with all 

 that is fragrant and delightful. Fields of the 

 ighest culture, orchards of bending fruit, and 



dine and_/"rt// of civilization in that vast empire,, 



the vincvards and the gardens that overspread [''■"■"' °' '"•■^''<'<' treasures salute the eye. In 

 her almost-jllimitable domp.ins were converted '"'"" '*"'"^''''' ""^ «■'"■ '^ greeted with Ihe ?ound 

 either into wasles for field beasts, or into fields j "^^ the hammer, the spmdle, and Ihe loom ; and 

 of slaughter and of war. The burdens and eii- ''^^^ry breeze is mingled with the lowing of our 

 actions of the lords of the soil upon the pro-h,^"''y*' ""."^ •''- ''leiilmg oi ihe Jlocks upon a 

 ducts of the tenants, were the great evils of "'""isavd lulls. 



the feudal s\stem. Industry consequently v?as 

 discouraged and extinguished. Agriculture an! 

 the arts expired ; and the mal.Micholy train iv^* 

 followed by the downfal of learning and civili- 

 zation. For centuries, the tields and the work- 

 shops of Europe yielded scaicely a pro<lu<;l but 

 " man and steel, the soldier and liis sword." — 

 That long and dreary night had passed away, 

 and, with the returning dawn of civilization and 

 letters, the earth was made to yield her in- 

 crease. And the cultivation of Ihe soil of Eu- 

 rope, and the proper mode of encouraging her 

 niSnufactures, have for a long time been Ihe fa- 

 vourite topics that have employed her states- 

 men and wisest scholars. Both the theory and 

 practice of tilling her soil, now employs llie 

 ablest of her hand?, the wisest of her heads, 

 and the purest of her hearts. All the know- 

 ledge that cm be derived from Chemi-try and 

 from Natural Philosophy is there daily >hedding 

 new light upon this science. And irj the present 

 period of peace, the comparatively small de- 

 mand she has for our products is the jest evi- 

 dence that the agricultural exertions o' Europe 

 are not made in vain. Every part of that in- 

 leiesting continent (if we except the psninsula) 

 is now probably making greater advances in ev- 

 ery branch of local improvement ihar at any 

 former period. 



Do we not also sec the beneficial results of 

 ' domestic industry in every part of our own belov- 

 ed oalion? We witness it in the uaexamjled im- 

 provement of our public canals, bridj;es and 

 ways; in the facilities for transportation to the 

 most remote parts of the land ; in the superior 

 taste displayed m our public edifices ani domos- 



.\t this sober season of the declining yea^*, 

 when our inordinate passions fade vvilli the fail- 

 • iig leaf — w'if.n our envies, our little jealousies, 

 and local prejudices should all be buried in an 

 overwhelming tide of thaiikfulnesg to the Giver 

 of ail Good, for the many favours so bountifully 

 showered down upon our land — who does not 

 feel his patriotism revived ? Who does not feel 

 encouraged to renewed and more vigorous ex- 

 ertions in the great work of encouraging do- 

 mestic industry ? 



But let us. Fellow Citizens, recollect that for 

 our advanlages we are not indebted to any pe- 

 culiar excellence of soil or climate. A large 

 proportion of the globe, tar behind lis in im- 

 provement, is more highly favoured in these 

 particulars than our native home. No : there 

 are, under Divine Pro\idence, certain moral 

 causes, unr enlightened Instilvlions, that have 

 given to our land a s[)lendour that Nature de- 

 nied it. Without these, barrenness and pover- 

 ty would have still reigned in silent desolation 

 over these fields, Ih it have so recently been re- 

 claimed from the wilderness. It is these causes. 

 Citizens of the County of Worcester, that have 

 given to so many of your sons Iheir opulence 

 and their elevated rank in this and many of our 

 sister States. It is these, that enable so many 

 of you to see "distinguished talent and high 

 public trust resting where your names rest." 



And while reviewing the progress of our 

 County in Husbandry and the Arts, and with 

 each returning year finding more abundant cau- 

 ses for exulting ia our success, is not this anni 

 versary a proper se.ison to enquire whether a 

 correspondent advance has been made ia those 



No. 20. 



greater objects that are equally under our con- 

 Iroul, and which are the causes of these bles- 

 sings ? With our increased population," and the 

 means of doing good, have we done more to- 

 wards the education of our children and youth? 

 flave we been more liberal in Ihe support of 

 our public and private Schools? Are our So- 

 cial Libraries increased ? Have School Books 

 j and co])ies of Ihe Holy Scriptures been placed 

 in the hands of our destitute neighbours? Are 

 I Ihe institutions of Ihe Lord's day, those Schools 

 'for children of a larger <^ron'th, been better 

 j supported and more generally attended? Are 

 jour municipal concerns free from embarrass- 

 ment, and under jiroper regulation ? Is the 



slandard of /)i(&/(c moruls more elevated? 1 



know that, t'rom many of our towns, these ques- 

 tions would receive favourable responses; but 

 if negligence any where exists, it peculiarly 

 behooves the possessors of the soil to see that 

 a remedy is provided. The character of your 

 towns is determined by these things: your own 

 respectability and hapjiiness and that of your 

 children depend ufion ihem. The (enure of 

 our lands is allodial: we ourselves hold Iheyee- 

 siniple, and arc accountable to no liege lord. — 

 But not so the institutions of our fathers: of 

 them we are in the fine of Iransmission — we 

 are barely tenants for If c,7iud posterity will hold 

 us iinpeac.'iable for i<:aslc. or for alicnalion. 



The system of furnishing public instruction 

 to the whole population, by a tax upon the es- 

 tates, has been practiced liere for two centuries, 

 and has been fdhiwed by Ihe most happy re- 

 sults. Il ].« t:",sidere'' bv our most distinguish- 

 ed statesmen as "a wise and liberal system of 

 police, by which property and life and the 

 peace of society are best secured." It renders 

 unnecessary those more violent and expensive 

 methods to which other governments have been 

 compelled to resort, to restrain the licentious 

 passions of their subjects. Notwithstanding the 

 great increase oi" our numbers, and the varied 

 employnipnfs that they are constantly pursuing, 

 it is compiMfilively rare that the penal code is 

 called to exert itself upon one of our native 

 citizens. Who is more interested in a continu- 

 ance of this state of things than the landhold- 

 ers of New England, where ihe meanest labour- 

 er is tar from being a slave, and to whose integ- 

 rity and moral principle and intelligence we are 

 often obliged to trust? A degree of mental cul- 

 tivation is essential to the happiness of a Far- 

 mer, as well as a security for his rights. His 

 occupation is furnishing him with constant op- 

 portunities to reflect upon the dignify of his 

 moral nature. The smiles and the frowns of 

 Providence affect his interests immediately, 

 without the intervention of second causes. Ev- 

 ery object around him leads to the most sub- 

 lime and interesting contemplations; and if pur- 

 sued with proper feelings, must lead to the 

 most beneficial effects fo his character. Let 

 our literary institutions decay, (as appears to 

 he the wish of modern innovators) and but a 

 few generations will pass before our descendants 

 from the Hesperian gardens of the West will- 

 look in vaio for the Deal School-Houses, for tbe 



