THE RURAL SOCRATES. 35 



crops,' which he takes care to vary. — One of thefc paf^ 

 tures he has made uie of for hemp ; and it is well known 

 that the bed foil is always feleded for this purpofe.— 

 He delights more in this part of his eftate, becaufe he is 

 at liberty to farm it as he pleafes, without thofe reflric- 

 tions which confine him to cftablifhed cuftoms in the 

 culture of lands dependent, in fome refpeds, on the 

 Village of Wcrmetchweil. 



Five acres of this pafture knd, which lie mod conti- 

 guous to his IVoods^ are fet afide for planting. — He 

 leaves to nature the care of fowing pines and firs ; not 

 having been able as yet, to gain proper information in 

 reg^ard to planting trees ; aipecies of knowledge with 

 which our country is unfortunately little acquainted. 

 Woods in Switzerland are regarded as wild uncultiva- 

 ted jpots, fclf fown, and requiring no other attention 

 than to cut them down at a proper age. — To this falfe 

 .prejudice, the offspring of indolence and ignorance, we 

 may attribute.thatfcarcity of wood for fuel, which is more 

 lenfibly apparent every day. — I remarked jujfl now, that 

 the pafturage dependent on the village of Wcrmetch- 

 weil, had its origin from new-felled parts of the forefb, 

 which the cattle had rendered incapable of bearing far- 

 ther wood, by wounding the young (hoots. — To the 

 fame caufe i.s ovv^ing thofe defart trads, fometimes of 

 confiderable extent, which are to be met with in our 

 forefls, in places where the foil and expofure are re- 

 markably favorable. Happy (liould I be, were I capa- 

 ble of awakening th,c attention of my countrymen to an 

 objet^ fo efTential to public utility, where ncgle£t will, 

 in time, infallibly be produ<5live of ruin. 



Kliyogg beflows a kind of culture on his woods ; but 

 Avith a viev/ very different from what 1 fpeak of. His 

 prime motive^ as evidently appears, is the increafe of ma- 

 nure ; for which purpole, he colleds, with the utmofl 

 indudry^fmall branches of pines and firs,with dead leaves 

 and mofs. It is with thi^ view alfo, that he carefully roots 



out 



