DEVOTED TO AGRICUIiTURB AND ITS KINDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES. 



VOL. VII. 



BOSTON, APRIL, a855. 



NO. 4. 



JOEL NOUKSE, Proprietor, 

 Office. ...Qfixcr Hall. 



SIMON BROWN, EDITOR. 



FRElJ'K nOLBHOOK, ) As 

 HENKY F. FRENCH, 5 Ei 



OCIATE 



Editors. 



CALENDAR FOR APRIL. 



" Now careful ffanl'iiors, durinfr sunny days, 

 Admit to greenhouses the genial rays; 

 Vines, espaliers, and stamlard trees demand 

 The pruner's skilful ej'e and steady hand; 

 And num'rous shoots and roots court the kind toil 

 Of transplantation, or another soil." 



^^v PRiL, showery, flowery, cold, 

 - windy, and warm, fickle 



;j" April, lias come again, 

 ^ knocking briskly at our 

 doors to learn whether we 

 ^ are prepared for him — for 

 of what usj are bright suns 

 r and warm showers to the 

 farmer, if his land remains 

 undrained, unplowed, and 

 nearly as compact as the beaten 

 road? We trust that the soils of 

 our readers are ready to appropri- 

 ate all the sunshine and showers 

 and vernal airs to themselves which 

 fall upon them, and will feel their 

 grateful effects until their harvests are 

 perfected. 



April, inconstant as it is, is wel- 

 comed by all. It kindles new senti- 

 ments of gratitude and love in every breast. Old 

 and young express new joys, and look for the ful- 

 filment of long cherished hopes. Birds begin to 

 appear, lambs skip and frolic, tlie hum of insects 

 is heard, and all animated existence awakens to 

 new life. 



And so it is with inanimate o1)jects. Tlie gar- 

 dens are "now rendered gay by the yellow, blue, 

 and the white striped crocuses, which adorn the 

 borders with a rich mixture of the brightest col- 

 ors. The fields look green Avith the springing 

 gra.ss, and a few wild flowers appear to decorate 

 the ground. Daisies begin to be sprinkled over 

 the dry pastures ; and farther soutii the moist 

 banks of ditches are enlivened witli tlie glassy 

 starlike ydlow flowers of Pearlwort. And in this 

 month Primroses peep out beneath the Iicdgcs ; 



and the most delightfully fragrant of all flowers,, 

 tlie Violet, discovers itself by the perfume it imr- 

 parts to the surrounding air, before the eye has- 

 perceived it in its lowly bed. Shakspearc com- 

 pares an exquisitely sweet strain of music to, th© 

 delicious scent of this flower : 



' it came o'er my ear like the sweet souths 



That breathes upon a bank of Violets, 

 Stealing and giving odor.' 



April, inspiring as it is, leaves a great deal of 

 hope and pleasant anticipation for May — especial- 

 ly for lovers — because May brings the fruition of 

 hope ; seals the plighted vow, brings tlie birds, 

 the flowers and blossoms of every delightful hue 

 and fragrance. But we must not venture too far 

 on that enchanting ground — other duties press, 

 belonging to April, and they must be attended to 

 now. 



Fexces. — In the country, where snows are 

 deep, and in places where the frost penetrates, 

 fences become more or less broken or displaced, 

 and need repairing. If cattle are turned to pas- 

 tures to browse the bushes, as is often tlie ease, 

 before fences are repaired, they rove at will over 

 other people's domains and thus acfpiire a habit 

 which no fence but one of the best character will 

 prevent. Replace fences early and thoroughly, 

 or you will probably be electrified some hot after- 

 noon in haying time by the announcement that 

 your herd is destroying your neighlwr's corn- 

 field. 



Timber cut in the winter will not last so long 

 for posts as that cut in September ; and good 

 chestnut cut in September, peeled, seasoned under 

 cover and charred the next April, will last 25 to 

 50 years. Mr. Reynolds, agent of the Copperas 

 Works at Stafford, Vt., states that "timber whicli 

 has been saturated with copperas and exposed to 

 all weather for forty years, is perfectly sound and 

 hard, and has become something of the nature oi 

 stone. Timl)or that has been soaked in copperas 

 water, one pound of copperas to two gallons of 

 water, will last more than twice as long as that 

 which has not been thus prepared." 



