20G 



NP:W ENGLAND FARMER. 



May 



able to read lessons of divine wisdom written 

 upon its teeming furrows. As he sees the 

 matchless beauty of the blade springing from 

 the seed which he has scattered, first gay with 

 flowers', and then loaded with rich fruit to fill 

 his *storehouse and feed himself and those de- 

 pendent upon him, would he not find great 

 satisfaction in knowing how this wonderful 

 result has been effected ? An apparent mira- 

 cle has been wrought in his presence, — and 

 yet it it is no miracle, for it has been wrought 

 in accordance with law. Shall he not seek to 

 understand this law of beauty and growth, 

 and thus feel that in laboring for the same re- 

 sult, he is a co-laborer with nature ? Living in 

 the open air, he observes the movements of 

 the clouds, and spans the firmament with his 

 eyes. How grateful to him would be a knowl- 

 edge of the philosophy of light and air, — of the 

 winds and storms, — of rain and drought. And 

 the movements of the heavenly bodies, and 

 the eternal laws which govern the solar sys- 

 tem, how would a knowledge of these elevate 

 his mind and quicken his devotion. 



All these matters, and many others of the 

 same class are closely connected with the prac- 

 tice of husbandry, and the advancement of 

 agriculture, and do they not contribute to the 

 daily enjoyment of the farmer himself ? It is 

 to be hoped the time will come, when the 

 farmer shall be familiar with such knowledge. 

 Never, till then, will he feel the strength of 

 the position which he occupies. Then let him 

 press onward, seeking for knowledge, not only 

 as a means of success, but as a means of enno- 

 bling both himself and his calling. 



"What the farmer needs most to know is the 

 principle that governs, — the pliilosophy that 

 underlies and controls, every operation. His 

 farm is a mighty laboratory, — every operation 

 an experiment. While these are going on, he 

 should watch them with an infelligent eye, and 

 trace effects to their causes, and understand I 

 how his plants are fed, and on what they feed ; 

 how much food they need, and how it shoidd i 

 be modified to promote their health and 

 growth, and how they are affected by climate 

 and season. In short, let him study the laws 

 of nature. These are uniform and certain, and I 

 only when he learns to conform to them, and i 

 act in accordance with them, will he achieve ' 

 satisfactory results, and comprehend the true 

 nobility of his work. I 



AMERICAN "WOOL, 

 Mr. Edward Harris, the great Rhode Island 

 manufacturer, wrote a letter, dated January 

 30, 1868, to the Congressional Committee on 

 Ways and Means, in which he says that in 

 thirty-seven years' experience in manufactur- 

 ing he has never seen the business so depressed 

 as at present ; that for the best goods, the 

 SoRth American wools are necessary ; that the 

 present tariff on this kind of wool amounts to 

 30 cents per cleansed pound, in gold, and con- 

 sequently the drift of his letter is to convince 

 Congress that the depression in manufacturing 

 is the result of the operation of the tariff on 

 wool. In commenting on this letter, Dr. 

 Randall says in a late ai'ticle in the Rural New 

 Yorker, that he knows of only two other 

 manufacturers — Mr. Hazard, of Rhode Island, 

 and Mr. Slater, of Massachusetts, — who agree 

 with Mr. Harris in his views. That the great 

 body of manufacturers in the country do not 

 sympathize with him appears from the fact that 

 the following resolution was adopted unani- 

 mously by their National Association at its last 

 annual meeting, October 2, 1867 : 



Resolved, That the present tariff on wool and 

 woolens is as well adapted, as any legislation 

 which can be devised, to promote the growth and 

 development of wool manufacturing and wool 

 growing, and the interests of consumers and the 

 public revenue. 



In addition to this. Dr. Randall publishes 

 the following letter from another "manufac- 

 turer of reputation," whose name he does not 

 feel authorized to give, in which some of Mr. 

 Harris's positions are directly controverted : 



"In answer to the letter of Mr. Edward Harris I 

 will say, that few of the manufar'turers ofcassi- 

 meres "and cloakings have closeil their mills. I 

 will only name a few that have not. The River- 

 side Mills, Lippet Mills, Ouby & Metcalf, near 

 Providence, R. I., Ed. S. Ilall, Millville, and 

 Messenger & Wright, of Worcester, Mass., and 

 many others in the vieinit)- of Mr. Harris' Mills ; 

 the Globe Mills and Steam Woolen Mill at Utic:', 

 the Empire Mill at Clay ville, the Elboeuf and Mo- 

 liawk Mills at Little Falls, the Mowry and Hun- 

 Joon, Eaton, N. Y., the Troy Woolen Mills, the 

 Washington Mills at I/nvrence (v.hosc goods were 

 so handsomely noticed at the Paris Exposition;) 

 the Burlingron Mills and S. Woodward's of Vt.; 

 the Yantico Mills, Franklin, N. J., and the Newark 

 Woolen Mills, Geo. P. Evans.' Mills, of Philadel- 

 phia, and a great many others make as fine goods 

 as Edward Harris, or can make them, and all 

 made or jn.4rly so of American wool. Many of 

 the mills mentioned make medium goods as well 

 as tine. I saw as tine a piece of goods of siik and 

 wool, within a week, that was made in Indiana, as 

 Edward Harris can make. Did the manufacturer 

 get his wool from South America ? Not a bit of it. 

 It wa.s raised in flic United States. There is plenty 

 of tine wool and at fair prices, to those who can 

 give good city paper or cash. If the mills named 



