500 



NEW ENGLAND F^iEMER. 



Nov. 



of trees alone which imparts fertility to the soil 

 I have not a doubt. But just how the process is 

 brought about I cannot say at present. The com- 

 parison made by the editor, that if shade im- 

 proved the soil then the soil on the north side of 

 buildings would become rich, is not to my mind 

 a case in point : because in case of the building it 

 is "dead matter," while that of a tree, is a living 

 acting principle, imparting fertility to the soil by 

 its own reproduction. Then again, where the 

 soil is completely protected from the sun and rain 

 as under a building, after a number of years, 

 "salts of nitre," or "saltpetre," in its crude state, 

 will be formed, which is of itself a good fertilizer 

 for soils. Every farmer knows that where a pile 

 of old rails or boards lay upon the ground a 

 year or two, the soil will be much enriched by 

 it. So too a stack of hay,whethcr resting directly 

 on the ground or raised a few inches from the sur- 

 face, the soil will be improved, as we consider it 

 rather a difficult matter to make the covering 

 air-tight by a stack of hay or straw. 



The subsoil, where it remains several inches be- 

 low the surface, is of course dead and inert mat- 

 ter, and cannot be much improved, until it is 

 opened l)y the surface and subsoil plow. Most 

 or all of the cultivated grasses, together witli the 

 various kinds of grains, grow and mature well un- 

 der shade ; while the hoed crops, such as corn 

 and potatoes, with the various kinds of root crops, 

 will not come to much, where the ground is pret- 

 ty effectually shaded. Of course, the waste lands 

 improved by growing young trees, will not be 

 plowed, but remain in permanent pasture for cat- 

 tle. On many of such lands, if the plow is kept 

 out, the young trees will come in naturally. But 

 where this is not the case they should be planted. 

 The white oak, with most of the other oaks, to- 

 gether with the chestnut, will grow as well on a 

 thin soil. While on a thin barren soil the white 

 birch will grow successfully, so that there need be 

 no difficulty in making a selection of trees suita- 

 ble for the soil. These ideas lead me to make 

 some remarks ©n a particular class of wood- 

 lands," more or less scattered on many farms 

 throughout the country. These "woodlands," 

 consist of thin scattering trees with very little or 

 no underbrush or young sprouts and suckers ; 

 such lands are what would be called "oak open- 

 ings," at tlic West. Most of these lands natur- 

 ally grow nothing but a thin slippery wood-grass, 

 which is not of much account for pasture or feed 

 for cattle. But by feeding this grass down effec- 

 tually with cattle, the better grasses will come in, 

 and this, with sowing some of the grasses, such as 

 timothy, red-top and clover, a good and perma- 

 nent pasture may bo obtained. I look upon 

 such land where properly managed, as among the 

 most valuable lauds for pasture on the larm. The 

 permanent shelter which the growing trees afford 

 for cattle through the season from hot suns and 

 washing rains, is worthy the attention of every 

 farmer. If under-brush should grow up, they 

 should be cut out and kept down, but if the trees 

 are out, then the improvement is done with, as 

 the sprouts ivill not grow on such lands to any 

 amount. Yours truly, L. Dukand. 



Derby, Ct., Sept. 21, 1854. 



EsPAXDiNG TiiE Chest. — Those in wealthy cir- 

 cumstances, or who pursue sedentary employment 



within doors, generally use their lungs but very 

 little, breathe but very little into the chest, and 

 thus, independently of positions, contract a 

 wretchedly narrow, small chest, and lay the foun- 

 dation for the loss of health and beauty. All this 

 can be perfectly obviated by a little attention to 

 the manner of breathing. Recollect the lungs are 

 like a bladder in their construction, and can be 

 stretched open to double their ordinary size, with 

 perfect immunity from consumption. The agent, 

 and the only agent required, is the common air 

 we breathe, supposing, however, that no obstacle 

 exist, external to the chest, such as lacing, or ty- 

 ing it around with stays, or tight dress, or having 

 shoulders lay upon it. On rising in the morning, 

 place yourself in an erect posture, your chest 

 thrown back, and shoulders entirely off the chest ; 

 now inhale or suck in all the air you can, so as to 

 fill the chest to the vei'y bottom of it, so that no 

 more can be got in ; now hold your breath and 

 throw your arms off behind, holding in your breath 

 as long as you please. Done in a cold room is 

 much better, because the air is much denser, and 

 will act more powerfully in expanding the chest. 

 Exercising the chest in this manner,it will enlarge 

 the capacity and size of the lungs. — Common 

 School Advocate. 



For the New England Farmer. 



ANOTItER SPECIMEN OE EAEMING. 



Mr. Editor : — Three years ago I bought the 

 farm on which I now live, consisting of 100 acres, 

 15 of which are pond and marsh, consisting of 

 muck and shell marl in great abundance, for 

 which 1 paid $1500. I keep 9 cows, besides my 

 team. 1 raise what wheat, corn and vegetables 

 I consume in my family, and some to sell; my sales 

 of butter, pork and beef have averaged $400 a 

 year. I have done the work of my farm, with the 

 help of a boy about 15 years old, and have paid 

 $50 for his services through the summer season. 

 I raise most of every thing we need in the family, 

 (which consists of my wife and two children,) ex- 

 cept clothing and groceries, and I sell off grain 

 and the avails of the poultry yard, sufficient to 

 pay for them. I own my house and barns, filled 

 with an abundance of the produce of niy own 

 acres, and at night sleep under my own roof, and 

 if not a princely hired mansion, with carpets that 

 are like velvet under our feet, yet it protects us 

 from the inclemencies of even a Vermont winter ; 

 the rag carpeting answers all the purpose of one 

 of finer texture, and what is better still, is the 

 work of my own industi'ious wife, and then how 

 sweet the pure, country air, from our verdant hills 

 and mountain^, instead of the pent up atmosphere 

 from heaps of brick and mortar, and the cast-off 

 rubbish of cities. Then we have a pure moral 

 atmosphere that surrounds us, where we will not 

 hear an oath once in a twelve month. Our chil- 

 dren can skip and gambol in our own fields as in- 

 nocently as the calves of our herd. 



We have no piano, but we have what to us is 

 a soui'ce of more real enjoyment, the music of low- 

 ring herds and bleating sheep, and the clarion 

 voice of chanticleer, the elder, and all the young- 

 er ones of his train, and a full chorus of cackling 

 hens to indicate the larder is to be kept replen- 

 ished with eggs fresh and good ; but I am weary- 

 ing your patience with my " yarn," but it is no 



