178 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



DEC. 16, 18:s. 



no retiring elil), ami whose miiuifieent cnntril)ii- 

 tion?, lessons of instruction and practical labors 

 will be enduring raonnments of their fame. Other 

 portions of the republic can boast of like bene- 

 factors. S'till there is much to be done ; and if 

 there is an earnest and generous co-operation, 

 much can be accomplished by individual enter- 

 prise, numerous and active associations, and gov- 

 ernmental encouragement. We have already ex- 

 perienced, in this State, the beneficial conserpien- 

 ees of all these influences. It is to be traced iu 

 »ur gardens, orchards and fields — in our flocks 

 and iierds, our farm-houses and villages, from the 

 bleak shores of the ocean to the luxuriant banks 

 ef the Housatonic. 



^Vithin a few years the occupation of a farmer 

 has been elevated in general estimation ; a r si- 

 tlence in the country has become more desirable 

 anong those who have accumulated fortunes in 

 other pursuits, and a taste for useful and orna- 

 mental culture evinced, .which are full of promise 

 for the future. But to rival other nations, there 

 must be a more thorough cliange effected in pub- 

 lic opinion. Here; unfortunately and inexplicably, 

 the fashion has been in favor of congregating in 

 large towns and cities, as well among such as 

 have been reared or acquired fortunes there, as 

 those who were born and reached afl3uence in 

 the interior ; while in England the reverse has 

 been the universal taste. There the nobleman 

 and commoner, the statesman, orator and poet, 

 tiie generals of armies and the admirals of fleets, 

 tJie merchant and manufacturer, and men of for- 

 tune and intelligence in every rank and station, 

 consider the country not merely the most desira- 

 ble, but the only proper residence of a gentleman. 

 It is, in fact, an indispensable prerequisite to the 

 assumption of that character, and obtaining the 

 position in society which it commands, while the 

 towns and cities are deemed but as temporary 

 abodes, or as the places where means may be 

 acquired by such as do not inherit an estate, for 

 iiid(dging, at some future period, in the comforts, 

 honors and luxuries of a country life. It is to 

 this enlightened sentiment that may be traced all 

 that there is of freedom in that flourishing empire. 

 It was in conseq^uence of this condition of society, 

 that civil liberty was there so early established, 

 !ind has been so gloriously maintained, while it 

 has either never been enjoyed, or been speedily 

 eloven down, in all the other portions of the east- 

 ern continent. It was the hold and independent 

 land-holders who compelled the tyrant John to 

 sign the great Charter of England ; and they have 

 stood ever since, in tlie midst of the nation, a 

 colossal political Janus — opposing, with stern 

 defiance, the attempted encroachments of the mon- 

 arch on the one side, and restraining the licen- 

 tiousness of the stormy multitude on the other — 

 obliging each to respect the Constitution and the 

 laws. The proprietors of the soil have ever pri- 

 ded themselves in participating in the useful avo- 

 cations, comforts, embellishments and amusements 

 of a country life. There they expend their vast 

 incomes in a manner which gives the greatest 

 encourageiticnt to rural industry. The experi- 

 ments which they have made in field cultivation, 

 for improving the brpeds of domestic animals, 

 extending the bounds of horticulture and orna- 

 mental planting — their liberal expenlitures in 

 the erection of private and public edifices, in the 

 construction of roads and canals, and their gene- 

 rous endeavors to alleviate the condition, elevate 



the character, and promote the prosperity and power is in the owners and cultivators of the soil 



happiness of all classes, in their multifarious voca 

 tions, and to advance the public weal, have had a 

 powerful tendency to excite emulation, and give 

 an activity, determination and elevation of char- 

 acter to the entire popidation, unprecedented in 

 the annals of the world. There we behold the 

 indispensable and useful, studiously combined 

 with the ornamental, from the baronial establish- 

 ment to the thatched roof cottage. A taste uni- 

 versally prevails for giving either a more magnifi- 

 cent, picturesque, beautiful or neat a|!pearance to 

 every estate, while the necessary and profitable 

 labors receive the most careful consideration and 

 exact attention. '1 he refinements of the arts are 

 blended with all the possible comforts of each 

 habitation, whether it rises in antiquated battle- 

 ments, from the heights of a princely domain, or 

 is the dearly cherished home of him, who is but 

 the tenant out of a rood of land. 



What more interesting iucpiiry can there be 

 presented to the statesman, than the intiinate 

 connexion which exists between the political and 

 agricultural histories of England. Are they not 

 striking illustrations of the reciprocal influence of 

 each, upon the character and condition of the 

 people, in their domestic and national relations. 

 We have only to look into the annals of the past, 

 and examine the present condition of Great Brit- 

 ain, Spain and France, for a full solution of the 

 problem, how and why it is, that the two latter 

 are so far iu the rear of the former, in their in- 

 stitutions of government, and the general aspect 

 of the country. 



In Spain, the rich proprietors of the soil were 

 compelled to live at Madrid, from an apprehen- 

 sion of the sovereign, that their residence in the 

 midst of their numerous tenants would be dan- 

 gerous to his power ; and the disastrous conse- 

 quences have been despotism, an ignorant and 

 impoverished population, and an uncultivated 

 kingdom. In France, especially after the acces- 

 sion of Henry IV. to tlie throne, if the nobles 

 were not required to abandon their estates to the 

 management of the peasantry, they were induced 

 to concentre round the court, from the splendor 

 .with which it was maintained, the prestiges which 

 deluded the ambitious, the stations which were 

 conferred on tnany of the iriost powerful, and the 

 hoj)e of royal favor in all. .f the country was not 

 as badly cultivated as that beyond the Pyrennees, 

 the peo|)le were nearly as ijupoverished and de- 

 graded in character. 



How often, in our day, have we seen those na- 

 tions convulsed by revolution, when the only mea- 

 sure required for producing a chalige of govern- 

 ment, or of dynasty, was the unfurling a new 

 banner on the Palaco I'leal, or the Thuillerius. 

 Paris and Madrid, like Rome, when in the pleni- 

 tude of its glory, have each become the state of 

 their respective kingdoms, insolently uniting the 

 prerogatives of the senate and the forum, and 

 whoever can wield the physical and moral power 

 of either, may dictate law to all the other pro- 

 vinces, as to so tnany distant colonies. 



How different is the situation of Great Britain. 

 The tower may be stormed, the palace of St James 

 razed to the ground, and Loudon controlled by 

 a mob, the myrmidons of a tyrant, the army of an 

 usurper, or the legions of invasion, — still England 

 would no more I.e conquered, or its governinent 

 subverted, thai; by the destruction of i;over castle, 

 or one of her ships of the line 



scattered broad cast over the whole surface of the 

 island, where every yeoman is a champion of lib- 

 erty, and every house a fortress. 'J'here the whole 

 people must be consulted for change or reforma- 

 tion, and every gallant Briton must be cut down 

 in battle, or subdued by overwhelming numbers, 

 from Cornwall to Caithness, before the govern- 

 ment can b^ abrogated, or the nation yielded up 

 to foreign comiuest. 



Who will ask the cause of this intense attach- 

 ment to their homes and firesides, — of this lofty 

 and ardent patriotism, when there is not an acre of 

 land in England, that has not been rendered fa- 

 mous in history, or dear to the inhabitants by 

 some i-emarkable event, some deed of valor, soine 

 monument of art, or some developement of mind. 

 Every hill top and vale, every forest, grove and 

 glade, — the ocean which bathes its rock bound 

 shores, — each island, river and stream, each 

 sequestered dell and shaded fountain, — the daily 

 life and evening pastimes, from prattling child- 

 hood to hoary age, — all, all are embalmed in the 

 traditions of England. Her literature is redolent 

 of that captivating scenery which nature and art 

 have rendered so admirable ; and the glorious 

 feats of war, the splendid achievements of genius, 

 and taste in peace, — with the names of her illus- 

 trious men, have been immortalized by her gifted 

 bards, the undying echoes of whose thousand 

 harps are yet heard in every passing breeze, and 

 make vocal even the desert stillness of the star-lit 

 night. These have rendered the whole island 

 precious in the sight and memory of Englishmen, j 

 To them it is, indeed, a holy land, and ere it can 

 become the prize of conquest, like Jerusalem, it 

 must first be made desolate. 



Knowing what has been the salutary influence, 

 in one nation, of comingling wealth, intelligence, 

 and industry over the entire surface of a country, 

 should we not hasten to follow the example. It 

 is an axiom in morals as well as physics, that well 

 authenticated facts constitute the elements of those 

 theories, by which general truths are evolved and 

 principles established. In the history of the past 

 then, we should behold mirrored the future ; and 

 if it is not reflected with that distinctness of out- 

 liue and accuracy (jf detail, by which every object 

 can be readily recognized, — still, the shadowings 

 forth are so palpable to the philosophic eye, that 

 they are confidently proclaimed as ajiproaching 

 realities ; and thus, the revelations of exalted in- 

 telligence assume the imposing character of pro- 

 phecy, when in truth they are but the inductions 

 of reason, from the accumulated facts of ages, 

 [To be concluded in our next. J 





loli'i 



Hints to House-keepers. — Boiling codfish in 

 hard water makes fisli firmer. Soap should be 

 cut up in ideces that it may get hard. A little 

 wet whiting will get oil out of boards. A little 

 wet salt will get ink out of boards. A little white 

 wax will clear starch nicely. To take grease 

 Sj ots oiit of woollen cloths, wash them in gall 

 and water. Milk will take ink out of prints. 



In Spain there are 12 newspapers ; iu Portu- 

 gal 17; in Switzerlaiid, 37 ; iu Belgium 62; in 

 Denmark, 80 ; in Austria, 82 ; in Russia and Po- 

 land, 64 ; in Holland, 150 ; in Great Britain, 274 ; 

 in Prussia, 238 ; in the other Germanic States, 

 305 ; in Australia, 9 ; in Africa, 12; in Asia, 27 ; 

 and in America, 1,138. The total number ot 

 Her mighty | news[)ajiers published in Europe is 2,148. 



