436 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



sown side by side, broadcast and in drills, with 

 various quantities of seed in each, and deposited 

 at various depths, and then accurate returns ren- 

 dered of the cost of labor and seed, and the pro- 

 duct of each experiment. In this way such infor- 

 mation may be obtained as will settle the ques- 

 tions presented, command the attention and re- 

 spect of the cultivator, and greatly increase the 

 product of a given amount of investment and la- 

 bor. Some of the questions which occur to us at 

 present are as follows : — 



1. Can the chemist so analyze soils as to tell 

 the farmer, with certainty, what particular ele- 

 ment, if any, is lacking in a particular soil, to 

 perfect a crop of wheat, or any other crop he may 

 desire to plant ? 



2. Can this be done at such a cost as to enable 

 the common farmer to avail himself of its bene- 

 fits ? 



3. If the two preceding questions are answered 

 affirmatively, can the chemist state, with confi- 

 dence, what quantity of lime, or potash, or am- 

 monia, or phosphate, or any thing else, each acre 

 should require for any given crop ? 



4. What are the benefits of draining and irriga- 

 tion to lands, and what are the true modes of op- 

 eration to realize them t 



These are questions of the first importance to 

 the agriculturist — indeed, they are so to the 

 world — and are sufficient to show our views 

 of the many points which ought to be set- 

 tled and established by some competent and high 

 authority. We are aware that these questions are 

 answered in the books — but the books don't agree. 

 They have been written, some of them, by em- 

 pyrics ; some are the garbled extracts of mere col- 

 lators, and some by those who wish the profession 

 well, but whose zeal ever outstrips their knowl- 

 edge, and makes them unsafe guides. 



There are, also, an hundred questions of lesser 

 magnitude, that demand a solution from high, 

 competent authority — such as, 



1. In reclaiming swamp lands, has it been as- 

 certained at what depth from the surface the 

 water should be taken off, in order to produce the 

 most, and the best quality, of English grass? 



2. What is dry swamp mud worth, per cord, 

 for agricultural ])urposes1 



3. Where farms are drained, is the old system 

 of transverse ditching the lowest parts of the land 

 still adhered to, or are the true principles of drain- 

 ing applied 1 



4. Where large quantities of stones have been 

 taken from a field, including those so large as to 

 require blasting, does the land remain equally as 

 fertile as it was before they were removed 1 



5. What is the most expeditious way of getting 

 rid of large stones, when they are not wanted for 

 building or other purposes? 



Then there are numerous questions relating to 



the feeding of stock, and to the stock itself — in 

 relation to the grass and root crops, to the various 

 fruits, implements, &c., all of which seem to be 

 involved in doubt and uncertainty. 



We cannot be present on the interesting occa- 

 sion mentioned in the letter, and have been able 

 to throw out these crude remarks in the midst of 

 sickness and suiFering. We shall send, however, 

 with this, the well-considered plan of a Model 

 /'''arm, furnished by our Associate, Mr. French, and 

 published in the fourth volume of the monthly 

 Farmer. 



We have no confidence, however, in the success 

 of this cause in any institution where it is intro- 

 duced to catch the popular favor and made to take 

 a secondary place. As it underlies and sustains 

 all the other occupations of man-all arts, sciences 

 and trades, so does it all our institutions of learn- 

 ing. Let the national agriculture languish, and 

 all these will sufier with it. But let it be gener- 

 ously sustained — let those engaged in prosecuting 

 it be enlightened in the manifold operations which 

 it requires, and the whole body politic will feel 

 its pulse and power. 



DYING SELDOM A VERY PAINFUL 

 PROCESS. 



According to my observation, the mere act of 

 dying is seldom in any sense of the word, a very 

 painful process. It is true that some persons die 

 in a state of bodily torture, as in cases of tetanus ; 

 that the drunkard, dying of delerium tremens, is 

 haunted by terrific visions ; and that the victim of 

 that most terrible of all diseases, hydrophobia, in 

 addition to those peculiar bodily suiferings from 

 which the disease has derived its name, may be in 

 a state of terror from the supposed presence of 

 frightful objects, which are presented to him as 

 realities, even to the last. But these and some 

 other instances which I might adduce, are excep- 

 tions to the general rule, which is, that both men- 

 tal and bodily suffering terminate long before the 

 scene is finally closed. Then, as to the actual 

 fear of death, it seems to me that the Author of 

 our existence, for the most part, gives it to us 

 when it is intended that we should live, and takes 

 it away fi'om us when it is intended that we 

 should die. Those who have been long tormented 

 by bodily pain are generally less anxious to die, 

 as they ever were to live. So it often is with those 

 whose life has been protracted to an extreme old 

 age, beyond the usual period of mortality, even 

 when they labor under no actual disease. It is 

 not very common for any one to die merely of old 

 age. But I have known this to happen ; and a 

 happy conclusion it has seemed to be of worldly 

 cares and joys. It was like falling to sleep, never 

 to wake again in this state of existence. Some die 

 retaining all their faculties, and quite aware that 

 their dissolution is at hand. Others ofier no signs 

 of recognition of external objects, so that it is im- 

 possible for us to form any positive opinion wheth- 

 er they do or do not retain their sensibility ; and 

 others again, as I have already stated, who appear 

 to be insensiW? and unconscious, when carefully 

 watched, are found not to be so in reality, but 

 they die contentedly. — Psychological Inquiries, 



