78 



THE farmers' cabinet. 



VOL. I 



l^ortfculture antJ ijotani?. 



See various trees their various fruits produce, 

 Some lor rleiiglitlul taste, and some for use ; 

 See, sproutinj; plants enricli the plain and wood, 

 For physic some, and some desipn'd for food; 

 See, fragrant flowers, witli different colors dy'd 

 On smiling meads unfold their gaudy pride. 



Blachmore. 



On tlic Study of Botany. 



Botany is that branch of natural history 

 which treats of the vegetable kingdom. The 

 study of this science is not a trifling employ- 

 ment, undeserving the time and attention 

 bestowed upon it. Can we for a moment 

 conceive that the works of God are unworthy 

 the attention of man ] — that those productions 

 which bear such evident marks of the wis- 

 dom and power of the Creator, are too 

 contemptible for the examination of his 

 creatures'? Whoever has had the curiosity 

 to crop the humblest flower of the field, and 

 to observe the wonderful conformation of its 

 parts, combining the united purposes of ele- 

 gance and utility, will not hastily despise the 

 study of nature. But when these observa 

 tions are extended through the immense 

 variety of productions which compose the 

 vegetable kingdom ; when the different offi- 

 ces of each particular part of the plant, every 

 one essentially contributing towards its ex- 

 istence and propagation, are considered ; 

 when we advert to the variety of modes by 

 ■which these ends are effected, and the infinite 

 contrivance which is exhibited in their ac- 

 complishment, a wide field for instruction 

 and admiration is opened before us. 



We need not labor to prove how delightful 

 and instructive it is to 



" Look through nature up to nature's God;" 

 neither, surely, need we attempt to show, that 

 if any judicious or improved use is to be 

 made of the natural bodies around us, it 

 must be expected from those who discrimin- 

 ate their kinds, and study their properties. 

 Of the benefits of natural science in the 

 improvement of many arts, no one doubts. 

 Our food, our medicine, our luxuries are 

 improved by it. By the inquiries of the 

 curious, new acquisitions are made in remote 

 countries, and our resources of various kinds 

 are augmented. We find that gardening, the 

 most elegant, and agriculture, the most use- 

 ful of all arts, are improved only in those 

 countries in wiiichbotany is made subservient 

 to their advancement. And when a knowledge 

 of this science is more generally diffused 

 throughout our own country, we may expect 

 to see it more frequently enriched with fields 

 and adorned with gardens, which, while they 

 bestow honor on their possessors, shall prove 

 a pleasant recreation to the old, and a useful 

 study to the young. Nor should its influence 



on the moral character be disregarded. The 

 late President Dwight was an eminent cham- 

 pion of the virtue which he practised. He 

 often directed the attention of his pupils to 

 Sweden, to pointout tlie influence of natural 

 history on the moral character of man. In 

 that country botany is taught in the schools, 

 and the habitation of her excellent children 

 presents a cheering picture of domestic feli- 

 city. Their piety and their patriotism both flow 

 from the same source; for while they examine 

 the productions of their country, they became 

 attached to its soil, and while they contem- 

 plate the works of their Maker, they are 

 animated with the glowing spirit of devo- 

 tion. 



Botany deserves our highest regards as the 

 source of mental improvement. Nothing so 

 powerfully attracts the notice of the young 

 observer, as the gay, though fleeting beauty 

 of flowers ; yet these interesting objects serve 

 to produce an accuracy of discrimination, 

 which is the foundation of correct taste and 

 sound judgment. To those whose minds and 

 understandings are already formed, this study 

 may be recommended, independently of all 

 other considerations, as a rich source of in- 

 nocent pleasure. Some people are ever 

 inquiring what is the use of any particular 

 plant? They consider a botanist with respect, 

 only as he may be able to teach them some 

 profitable improvement, by which they may 

 quickly grow rich, and be then perhaps no 

 longer of any use to mankind or to them- 

 selves. They would permit their children 

 to study botany, only because it might pos- 

 sibly lead to professorships or other lucrative 

 preferment. These views are not blameable, 

 but they are not the sole end of human ex- 

 istence. Is it not desirable to call the soul 

 from the feverish agitation of worldly pur- 

 suits, to the contemplation of divine wisdom 

 in the beautiful economy of nature] Is it not 

 desirable to walk with God in the garden 

 of creation, and hold converse with his provi- 

 dence] If such elevated feelings do not 

 lead to tlie study of nature, it cannot be far 

 pursued without rewarding the student by 

 exciting them. The more we study the works 

 of the Creator, the more wisdom, beauty, and 

 harmony become manifest: and while we 

 admire, it is impossible not to adore. 



" Soft rnll your incense, herbs and fruits, and flowers, 



In miuKled clouds, to Him, whose sun e.xalts, 



Whose breath perfumes you, and whose pencil paints!" 



Liargc FlOM-ering Sensitive 

 Plant. 



There are many varieties of the Mimosa 

 or sensitive plant. Some of them are large 

 trees, and others rise only a few inches from 

 the ground, or rather creep along it, spread- 



