426 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



SIGNS OF FOUL WEATHER. 



EY THE FAMOUS DR. JENNER. 



The hollow winds begin to blow, 



The clouds look black, the grass is low ; 



The soot falls down, the spaniels sleep. 



And spiders from their cobwebs peep. 



Last night the sun went pale to bed. 



The moon in halos hid her head ; 



The boding shepherd heaves a sigh. 



For sec, a rainbow spans the sky. 



The Wills are damp, the ditches smell. 



Closed is tbe pink-eyed pimpernell. 



Hark i how the chairs and tables crack. 



Old Betty's joints arc on the rack : 



Her corns with shooting pains torment her, 



And to her bed untimely sent her. 



Loud quack the ducks, the sea-fowl cry. 



The distant hills are looking nigh. 



How restless are tlie sporting swine ! 



The busy flics disturb the kine. 



Low o'er the grass the swallow wings. 



The cricket, too, how sharp he sings ! 



Puss on the hearth, with velvet paws. 



Sits wiping o'er her whiskered jaws . 



The smoke from chimneys right ascends ; 



Then spreading, back to earth it bends. 



The wind unsteady veers around. 



Or settling in the south is found. 



Through the clear stream the fishes rise, 



And nimbly catch the incautious flies. 



The glow-worms numerous, clear, and bright, 



Illumed the dewy delMast night. 



At dusk the squalid toad was seen. 



Like quadrupeds, stalk o'er the green. 



The whirling wind the dust obeys, 



And in tlie rapid eddy plays. 



The frog has changed his yellow vest. 



And in a russst coat is dressed. 



The sky is green, the air is still. 



The mellow blackbird's voice is shrill. 



The dog, so altered in his taste. 



Quits mutton bones, on grass to feast. 



Behold the rooks, how odd their flight, 



They imitate tlie gliding kite. 



And seem precipitate to fall. 



As if they felt the piercing ball. 



The tender colts on back do lie. 



Nor heed the traveller passing by. 



In fiery red the sun doth rise. 



Then wade through clouds to mount the skies. 



'Twill surely rain, I see 't with sorrow, 



Our jaunt must be put off to-morrow. 



For the New England Farmer. 



THE CURRANT. 



There arc many distinct species as well as nu- 

 merous varieties of the currant under cultivation ; 

 some produce fruit of excellent quality, Avhile 

 others are merely ornamental, and esteemed for 

 the beauty of their foliage and flovrers only. — 

 Tlie Missouri, a species with fragrant yellow 

 flowers, is among the most beautiful shrubs. — 

 There are other kinds, of various colors, found in 

 extensive gardens and nurserioJ, which are worthy 

 of a place in the least collection of shrubbery. 

 Of those which arc cultivated for their fruit, 

 there are many kinds, such as the common red and 

 white, and the Dutch of the same color, with a 

 multitude of other species, and their varieties, 

 from which a person may select to suit his fancy. 



The black currant is medicinal. A eyrup is 

 prepared from the fruit which is useful in affec- 

 tions of the throat and other diseases. Wine, of 

 excellent quality, is made of the juice of the com 



mon red, without the addition of alcohol, which 

 is less detrimental than much of the imported 

 wine, and is eqjployed as a restorative in cases of 

 debility. We have, in this immediate vicinity, 

 two native species of the currant, the wild l;»lack 

 and the mountain ; tlie last species produces a 

 large red fruit which is not eatable ; it is found, 

 as its name indicates, on mountains ; the black 

 kind is also met with most frequently on elevat- 

 ed land. The existence of these species, in this 

 region, proves, most conclusively, that the 

 soil and climate are adapted to the growth of this 

 class of fruit, which should encourage us to en- 

 gage in its cultivation with an assurance of suc- 

 cess. Room may be found in a small garden to 

 grow currants for the supply of a fiimily, and 

 they will be found very useful and palatable in 

 various methods of cookery, as well as in the raw 

 state ; their cultivation is simple, and they will 

 produce well with ordinary caiie, and j^rofusely, 

 with high culture and judicious training. 

 Leominster, 1854. 0. V. Hills. 



THE CURRANT CROP IN ZANTE. 



Our Zante correspondent, under date of June 

 21, says : — "The disease of the cun-aut vine has 

 already made great progress. Many think that 

 it will be more severe this year than in previous 

 years, but I believe that this will not be any 

 worse than the last one. As it is, however, it 

 is bad enough. The misery attending such a 

 state of things is of course on the increase. — 

 Our rich land-owners are doing all they can to 

 economize. They deny themselves every comfort, 

 and even what are considered indispensable ne- 

 cessities. They are now selling their equipages as 

 fast as they can get buyers ; while the poor people 

 who had, before this calamity, fared as poorly as 

 they well could, have had lately to give up regu- 

 lar meals and feed upon the coarsest materials, 

 whenever and wherever they were to be found. 

 These poor people are now suffering extremely. 

 Our condition, indeed, can scarcely be worse ; and 

 yet to a worse state it must come, particularly in 

 the coming winter. What is to become of us I 

 cannot see, unless we turn cannibals and feed up- 

 on each other. 



A farmer here pretends to have discovered a 

 remedy for this currant disease, and asks the Ioni- 

 an government to give him $5000 in ease his dis- 

 covery proves a remedy. This is, however, very 

 doubtful, to say the least. This pretended discov- 

 ery consists in dipping each separate bunch of 

 currants in a [^mixture of clay and cow's dung 

 moistened with water, and so gi-eat is the- anxiety 

 of tlie people here, that they have seized even 

 upon such a forlorn hope as this. Tliousands 

 have actually set to work in good earnest to give 

 the experiment a fair trial. — I3oston Traveller. 



Remarks. — This currant disease, the American 

 Agriculturist says, shows the folly — nay, absolute 

 wickedness of people depending upon a single crop 

 for their support. The vine-growers in some parts 

 of Europe are now suffering nearly as much as the 

 currant-growers, on account of the vine disease. — 

 Let them reflect on the horrors of the late Irish 

 famine, in consequence of the peasantry placing 

 their whole dependence on the potato crop. Our 



