j2 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Jan. 



are, for this reason, hesitatin<T whether to choose 

 the farmer's Hfe or some other, that unless you 

 desire a profession which is purely literary or sci- 

 entific, there is none other than the farmer's more 

 favorable to the improvement of the mind ; but it 

 will depend wholly upon your own will and efforts, 

 if you choose this profession, whether it will, in 

 your case, prove to be such, or otherwise. 



It is not my purpose, in this article, to point out 

 any particular means by which the farmer can best 

 improve his mind — I leave that task for abler pens, 

 (indeed, it h:is already been partially done, through 

 the columns of the Farmer,) but only to awaken 

 him to a proper sense of the importance of man's 

 true work — self-improvement. But if a farmer 

 lias had no such means pointed out to him, he need 

 not despair ; for if a man sees the importance of 

 a certain work, whatever the work may be, and has 

 a determination that it shall bte done, in spite of all 

 obstacles, the probability is very great that the 

 work will be accomplished. 



But "the tree of knowledge is not the tree of 

 life." A man may possess the knowledge and in- 

 tellectual capacities of an angel, and yet, if his 

 moral powers are weak and uncultivated, he is want- 

 ing in those qualities of the mind which are essen- 

 tial to true happiness, and which are alone capable 

 of making him a useful and trustworthy member 

 of society. Thus, while the farmer, and every in- 

 dividual, should strive, by every possible means, to 

 discipline, improve and enlarge both his perceptive 

 and reflective intellect, that higher part of his na- 

 ture — his moral powers — should not be neglected. 



A spirit of humility, of contrition for sin, of de- 

 votion to the Supreme Being, of honestj', of kind- 

 ness and forbearance toward our fellow-men, should 

 be constantly cultivated; and we should everiook 

 forward, with faith and hope, to that glorious land 



and beans, kill your pork, and do a thousand oth- 

 er things v.-hich reqtiire smiles of the moon. If 

 you wish your colts, calve?, pigs and babies to do 

 well, vv-ean then while the moon is waning. 



Now, ]\Ir. Editor, I regard this all as sheer non- 

 sense — as mere twaddle — as among the shallowest 

 of that species of troublesome insects, called hum- 

 Ijugs. To talk of the changes of the moon affect- 

 ing the weather and controling vegetation, is un- 

 worthy the intelligence of the age, and should be 

 exploded. I should as soon think of attributing 

 influence to the recent letter of a certain promi- 

 nent Boston attorney, who would save the Union, 

 or his bacon, by a flourish of his pen. Moonshine 

 all. 



EESDING CATTLS. 

 Much attention is now given in this country to 

 the breeds of all the various kinds of farm stock, 

 from horses to bantams. The old world has been 

 pretty thoroughly explored for choice specimens of 

 animals, which have been purchased and brought to 

 this country with little regard to cost or expense. 

 At nearly all our cattle shows may now be seen the 

 representatives of the herds of England, France, 

 Spain, and even of the Celestial Empire, and they 

 very often carry away the highest premiums. We 

 do not object to this. We rejoice to see American 

 farmers manifesting a determination to have the best 

 stock the world affords, and to avail themselvs of 

 all improvements, whether made by the Arabs, by 

 the Caravan drivers, or by the graziers of Europe. 

 But while we have admired the fair forms of these 

 animals at our Agricultural Exhibitions, or traced 



