NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



J 47 



(hat planted them. It gfives me pleasure 



ofd, that two younsf geiUlcmen have evin- 



like public spirit by adding, in like man- 



;o the comfort and ornament of Worcester. 



we not hope tills spirit will be cultivated 



iTused, until the higlnvsy through our 



country shall appear one beautiful and 



sive mall ? 



electing trees for public roads, their use 



II as beauty should be considered. In this 



the mnzard cherry, the ash, the maple, 



e elm "ill be preferred. In cultivating 



(vhether for fruit or shade, the farmer is too 



to abandon his busmess at its commence- 



Having begun a good work, he ought 



rv it on to perfection. To replace ihe 



ed, to cure the diseased, to prune the too 



3US, and to protect the whole, is a dtity 



imperative from the pledge bestowed in 



bor of lir-t planting ihcm. The gro:t:t!i 



trees will avail us little, should this be 



ered our principal concern. They hare 



cs from without as well as from within : 



ost formidable is the caterpillar, which, 



veral years past has made great deprc- 



and seems now to enjoy an unmolested 



Does it not argue great imperfection in 



aracter as farmers, that reptiles so loath- 



and injurious, and so easily destroyed in 



early stage, should be suflered to hold, 



year to year, such quiet possession of 



ost valuable trees ? A foreigner, in pas- 



arough our country, and noticing their 



tions, which remain inviolate from our 



owed touch, would be led to imagine 



e had adopted the idolatry of Egypt, and 



nstead of the ichneumon and crocodile, 



ad substituted the caterpillar. Even 



hey harmless, it would be a reproach to 



ler to sufi'er the beauty ol his trees to 



RS defaced. 



«d fences upon the highways are not oniy 

 irity, but add an ornament to the country. 

 nt of our inclosures, as well as on the 

 1 of our tields and mowing grounds, bushes 

 leeds should not be suflered to mar the 

 of our roads, or injure the produce of 

 ms. But how common is it, to see liclds 

 jhways laden with a crop, and left to 

 late on the soil, or washed upon the adja- 

 ind ? If dock and other noxious weeds 

 «ot suflfered to ripen, they would soon be 

 Hted. The chaff from our barns would 

 fford pure seed for our fields and pastures, 

 ittle expense for the purchase. 



aware, that the ardor with which we 

 rsuing the improvement of our farms and 

 cks has entrenche<l not a little upon our 

 ry, and our domestic regards. A friend 

 imble through our enclosure'', to witness 

 iwth of our Ruta Baga or Mangel VVurtzel, 

 it the tenants of our barns and sties be- 

 I can be admitted to our parlors, to en- 

 interview with our wi\ :s and children 

 < in the purview of the concerns of the 

 , the health and management ol' his chil- 

 e embraced, inasmuch as his business re- 

 more of the immediate and uninterrupted 

 )n of a robu't family — I avail myself of 

 casion to oiler a few remarks upon a 

 of ; ur general duty. 



ispecting the bills of mortality, it is found 

 great proportion of our race are cut off 

 icy and childhood. Is this the necessary 



state of our existence ? Has our wise Creator 

 left the noblest of his work to perish, before 

 the intellect, which is his image, has expanded 

 to contemplnte his goodness, and to adore his 

 perfections? Has he bestowed on the brule 

 creation better organs and powers for existence, 

 and rendered inslinct superior to reason in rear- 

 ing their young? The supposition is both im- 

 pious and absurd. 



Man is the enemy of his rare. He is the only 

 created being endoued with reason and the 

 power of reflection, and he alone violates the rlic- 

 tates of nature in 'ho management of hisolTspring. 



Tiie wants of the infnnt, at its introduction 

 into life, like those of the brute creation, are 

 merely aninutl. — NouvislimenI and rest comprise 

 the lirst demands of nature. To the indiscreet 

 management of children, as respects the kind 

 and (|uantity of their food, is, in a great meas- 

 ure, to be ascribed their sickly frames, and pre- 

 mature death. In early infancy they are com- 

 monly gorged to repletion. It' kind nature in- 

 terleres to throw oil the oiTending surplus, it is 

 interpreted into an indication tliat too much ac- 

 id of the stomach has contaminated the food. 

 Instead of more caution, and a little abstirgnce, 

 recourse is had to medicine to correct and rem- 

 edy what does not exist. By the repetition of 

 his error, and the means to counteract it, the 

 tender organs of the stomach are deranged. 

 By debility, the necessary consequences of dis- 

 tension, it soon becomes irritable, and unfit to 

 retain and digest what, otherwise, would con- 

 duce to health and growth. Acrimony is now in 

 fact generated : the first passages are disorder- 

 ed and cholera morbus or dysentery ensues. If 

 the child survives infancy, the same indiscreet 

 course awaits it. Instead of a simple and nu- 

 tritious diet, in restricted measure, it surfeits on 

 every thing it can see, which a vitiated appe- 

 tite can crave. Its restlessness and flushes are 

 ascribed to teething'; and its cries and starts, to 

 worms. Some injudicious application is made.: 

 it dies in fits, or a fever terminates ils life. 

 By rest, the other primary requirement of na- 

 ture, 1 mean still and quiet repose. The cradle 

 has so long been considered such an essential, 

 if not the first requisite in house-keeping, that 

 i may be thought to have entered my second 

 childhood, by denouncing it. But I venture to 

 assert that its use is unnatural, and that it is not 

 found a labour saving machine. Nature requires 

 total, unbroken rest. — That use is second nature, 

 is very strikingly exemplified by the introduction 

 of this ap])endage to the nursery. The infant 

 is not only learned to sleep by uimatural motion, 

 but, in process of time, will not sleep without ; 

 and instead of stillness, may be made to require a 

 serenade in the vociferous lullaby of the nurse. 

 It must now be incessantly watched. If it stirs, 

 it is the business of some one to "give the cra- 

 dle a jog." By the ordinary noise and business 

 of the family, its nap is rendered short and unin- 

 terrupted: it awakes fretful : it must be caress- 

 ed and nursed until it again falls asleep; when, 

 on tiptoe, it is again deposited in the cradle, to 

 be watched and jogged. This is trouble enough, 

 but it is only the beginning of it. The ciiild 

 has been so accustomed to rocking and singing, 

 that the mother must spend a restless night, in 

 bed, applying some substitute, or enduring its 

 cries. I say nothing of the luckless father, who, 

 fatigued by the labour of the day, isurg,ed from 

 his perturbed slumber by his row impatient 



mate ; and, in groping for a candle or a cradle, 

 comes in contact with some anglcor projection 

 of this ever protruding furniture; and, in his 

 agony, execrates the cradle and all its concerns, 

 and is half tempted to wish himself thezuorst ot 

 all -.visiles, that be had remained a baichki.ok ! ' 



Having banished the cradle, the Ladies will 

 require me to furnish a substitute. A pillow, 

 securely placod in a darkened room — or a bed,' 

 is all that is reipiired. Begin early with (he' 

 business. Let not the infinil be hushed to rest 

 in the nurse's arms. At the lit scas( n for sleep, 

 deposit it in the yb.t-.e i)rcpai'ed, and Io:ivc it 

 lo itself, — should it cry, as it may at first, let 

 not maternal fondness lead you to its side. The 

 struggle. I know, will be hard lo a fond mother ; 

 but her discretion will induce her lo persevere. 

 A few repelilionsof the (ask, and it will become 

 as pleas;vnt as any olher endearing service. One 

 week's discipline of mother ami child, will les- 

 sen, by at least one hall', the trouble of rearing 

 our offspring. I have witnessed this process 

 and ils eU'ect in two families, by the most ten- 

 der, but resolute mothers. Their children in 

 infancy, were of little more trouble to them, 

 than at an advanced period. When they ceas- 

 ed to require sleep in ihe day-time, they were 

 conveyed to their remote apartment, by day- 

 light or in the dark, to them no matter which, 

 and laid by for the night. By Ibis course, the 

 period as well as the cares ol infancy and child- 

 hood are abridged, and Ihe energies and mental 

 powers of youth and manhood are more early 

 developed. 



But 1 am admonished that more interesting 

 services await us. 



It is a sniijcct of gratulation, Gentlemen, that 

 since our Inst anniversary, the Legislatiue, with 

 a foresight and liberality which evince their 

 care lor the best interests of the Conmionwealth, 

 have extended their bounty for the encourage- 

 ment of Agriculture and Manufactures, to ano- 

 ther period ef five years. This patronage, we 

 trust, is in approbation of the measures we have 

 taken lor the imi)rovement of these branches of 

 national prosperity and independence, as well as 

 in aid of our further exertions. The specimens 

 of skill, industry, and enterprize, which our Ma- 

 nufacturers exhibit — the produce of the dairy — 

 and the noble animals from our farms — tiut, 

 more than all, the congregation of so many of 

 our most respectable and substantial yeomanrv, 

 whose deportment gives credit and character lo 

 the (lay, afford a demonstration that our zeal 

 has not declined. 



Amid the variety of aHJmals exhibited, if will 

 be noticed that the noblest is excluded. The 

 Trustees have been governed bv the considera- 

 tion that the breed of Horses common in New- 

 England, taking into the account the expense of 

 rearing and keeping, and llie qualities for la- 

 bour on our rugged soil, is the best that can be 

 introduced. In addition to this, it is believed 

 that the interest of the farmer is promoted by 

 subslituting the Ox for the Korse, for most pur- 

 poses, as he is fed with less expense, is more 

 patient of labour, and more valuable when this 

 service is ended. 



If wc^'g- is essentia! to the improvement of 

 bis bleed, we may congratulate ourselves that 

 this noble animal has no part assigned in our ex- 

 hibition, if the cruel service imposed ;• for Ihe 

 mere purpose of specni:itioa and amusement, we 

 may be more grateful that we have no feelings 



