1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



477 



and if they do not freeze, no ill effects will follow. 

 It is partial exposure that dcranj^es the system and 

 creates the colds, lung com])laints and rhcinnatisms 

 of life. Bai)tism by immersion is a case in point 

 and the thousand accidents by flood and storm ; 

 while a spoonful of water in the shoe, or damp feet, 

 or sitting by a cr\ck#d window-light, gives a cold 

 that costs life. Tlie only precaution is to keep mo- 

 \in<r; exercise and motion and a will, can carry the 

 person safely through almost any exposure. 



It is a simple exi)eriment, and the fees for advice 

 — gratis. — Rural JVew-Yorker. 



Fur the New England Farmer. 



TASTE IN RURAL AFFAIRS. 



To render the country tolerable to a resident who 

 makes it his home throughout the year, he should 

 take an intei'est in a garden, especially a fruit-gar- 

 den. Flowers and vegetables are transient; they 

 cannot in their nature excite that interest that new 

 and rare kinds of fruit trees do when coming into 

 bearing. In a fruit-garden or orchard, every addi- 

 tional year gives to it some new phase or lends to it 

 some new enchantment or value. And besides the 

 anticipated j)leasures which are awakened from year 

 to year, there is the real substantial delight of gath- 

 ering and eating fruit from your own trees, ren- 

 dered dear to you from the care which you have 

 bestowed upon them. These pleasures are among 

 the purest and most enduring kno\ra to ci\ilization. 



To a man of sense and reflection, the real poetry 

 of life is in the country. The monotony of city 

 life is proverl)ial. Brick and stone, human faces 

 and merchandise, is the sum of all that can be seen 

 Public trees are rare, and private ones tremble lest 

 the invigorating sun another season shall be forev- 

 er shut out, or the speculator's axe laid at their 

 roots. The seasons, too, present but little change, 

 as everything is artificial. But the country exhib- 

 its an infinite variety of landscape, and at every 

 step we take, new ol)jects arise, and the vision joer- 

 petually changes. Spring and autumn ])resent 

 marlied contrasts, and summer and winter possess 

 hardly a shade of resemblance. But to the lover of 

 natiu'e they differ but little in interest and beauty, 

 as his heart recognizes their necessity, and his eye 

 surveys them with veneration. 



In ])roportion to our knowledge of and taste in 

 horticulture is our pleasure. An acquaint;ince with 

 its kindred sciences — -chemistry, geology and miner- 

 alogy — adds great interest to the subject. The 

 tiistoful girdener not only wishes to make his garden 

 yield well, but he seeks to arrange his avenues and 

 plant his trees in accordance with economy and 

 land"!c ij)e beauty. A variety of soil is fitted for a 

 variety of trees. Some need a strong soil, others 

 will flourish on a light. The Williams a])ple and 

 the Koxbury Russet, for instance, require the for- 

 mer ; the latter will answer for peach trees, and for 

 some apple trees, among which is the Baldwin. So 

 also in ])lanting forest trees, a contrast in foliage 

 and shape is pleasing to the eye. The Abele near 

 a ))urple-leaved Beech, the ICurojjean Sycamore witii 

 P'lm-;, the Tulip tree and the Alantus, look finely 

 togetlier, when trees are not retpiired to be 

 matched or planted in coujdes, for some particular 

 effect, for instance, in forming a -vista ; and even 

 then they could be alternated in couples. Perhaps 

 there is no vocation in which so great a variety of 

 taste can be displajed as the landscape gardener's ; 



and this is why no definite rules can be laid down 

 for its develoj)ment. The jiosition, extent and sur- 

 face of the ground, must in all cases suggest the 

 style of embellishment. 



But the idea that taste in the arrangement of the 

 avenues, embankments and trees around a house 

 greatly enhances the satisfaction of its owner, never 

 seems to enter the mind of some who go to much 

 exjiense on their estate. If you make suggestions 

 of improvement, they will perhai)s thinlv them "first- 

 rate," and wish they had adopted them. They seem 

 to be devoid of any kind of taste ujion this subject, 

 yet admire Avhat others can do. They appear to 

 look to profit ; but ])rofit is not necessarily opposed 

 to good taste. If they wish to set out a particular 

 tree, they put it where there is the most room to 

 spare, regardless of its effect on the landscape. 

 Pig-jjens, hen-coops and dog-houses are set near 

 the dwelling, in defiuice of all arrangement, for the 

 sake of having tlieih "handy." And throughout 

 the entire gardens of such tisteless individuals the 

 "law of disorder" reigns supreme. 



The villages of the present day are of a different 

 character from those which our forefathers founded, 

 and in which they lived and flourished. In the 

 primitive times of New England, a grist-mill situa- 

 ted on a stream in some valley, furnished the nu- 

 cleus of many a flourishing village, and little or no 

 regard was paid to embellishment. Instead of 

 ])lanting trees, the mission of the people seemed to 

 be to cut them down. But villages now are spread 

 over the broad swells and extended ])!ains, and 

 where the proud forest trees were once laid low by 

 the axe of the pioneer, the hand of taste seeks to 

 reinstate them. Since New England has become 

 l)opulous and thriving, we covet retirement away 

 from the thoroughfares of business ; and instead of 

 erecting dwellings within ten or fifteen feet of the 

 ruts of the road, with a cherry tree and lilach bush 

 l)etween, we place them remote from noise and 

 dust, and by a discriminating arrangement of flow- 

 ers, shrubl)ery and trees, lend enchantment to their 

 view. This is leanng a "mark in the world" which 

 posterity might v,c\\ emulate. D. w. L. 



fVest Mcdford, Sept., 1855. 



Fiir the New England Farmer. 



THE DROUGHT. 



It is a common thing to hear it said, "I never 

 knew it so dry before." This was often heard in the 

 season of 1854. Whether it has been heard the 

 ])resent, I will not saj- — but this I can say, that I 

 have not known the time when it could l)e uttered 

 with more propriety. Vegetal)les that were grow- 

 ing luxuriantly on the first of the month, are now 

 shrivelled and fallen — I fear to rise no more. Corn 

 that had not then attained its growth, is now hesit^i- 

 ting to fill out. The only thing that gives indications of 

 improved condition is the potato — this is better than 

 was feared — the rot is slmjed or not gone ahead. — 

 Whether it was checked l)y the want of moisture, or 

 the cold nights that we had,or some other cause, it is 

 certainly less than there was reason to apju-ehend. 

 Although there have lieen more numerous rains, 

 since the first of April, than in most seasons — still 

 I do not remember the season, when the quantity 

 taken together has been so little. The consequence 

 is, the springs are very low indeed. Essex, 



Sept. 10, 1855. 



