:^EW e:^gi-and farmer, 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



PUBLISHED BY GEORGE C. BARRETT, NO. 62 NORTH MARKET STREET, (Agiiicultdral Wabehoosk.) — T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



iroii. 3nv. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 23, 1835. 



NO. 24. 



ADDRESS 



Before the ^lassachusctls Socict;/ for Promoting Ag- 

 riculture. 



BY HENRY A. S. DEARBORN. 

 iConcIuded from our last.] 

 The aiiricultiiral resources of Massachusetts are 

 not inferior to those of Great Britain. Tiie soil 

 is naturally as fertile, and capable of being render- 

 ed as productive. All the cereal grains, vegeta- 

 bles jmd fruits there raised can be here cultivated, 

 and the l.ittcr more perfectlj'. We have in addi- 

 tion maize, one of the most important, if not the 

 greatest staple of New England, and gilk is being 

 successfully introduced, — a product, which is 

 destined to be of as much consequence to the 

 proprietors of land,' as thai of their flocks, and 

 may rival the vast cotton crop of the south in 

 •value. Our domestic animals if not now gener- 

 ally equal, are rapidly becoming so. The facilities 

 of intercommunication, by good roads, canals and 

 rail ways are increasing in a manner which pro- 

 mise especial benefit to the farmers of the interior. 

 Their industry will be encouraged, their prosper- 

 ity advanced, and a more cheering aspect be given 

 to large portions of territory, which have been 

 unable to compete with more favored localities, 

 from the distance of a market and the enormous 

 expense of transportation. But those terrestrial 

 comets, which are traversing every star in our 

 political system, and attract the gaze of the aston- 

 ishea world, as much as that, which now blazes 

 in the heavens, will have an influence on national 

 prosperity more beneficial, than that of the other 

 was ever deemed baneful. By their potent agency 

 distance has become a mere technical term of 

 geographical illustration, and time has been sub- 

 stituted as the only true measure of the space by 

 which places are separated, as well as that which 

 .divides events. It is of no moment what are the 

 ranges of mountJiins, extensive plains, vast rivers 

 and capacious lakes, which lie between the empo 

 rium of demand and the region of supply, — the 

 ■steamboat and rail roads have given them a juxta- 

 position of existence. 



The tide of emigration will be diminished, in 

 proportion as the demand for labor is increased ; 

 and that it must is inevitable, when every water 

 all becomes the site of a Lowell and a Dover, 

 which it requires no gift of prescience to announce, 

 will be realized at no very distant period. Com- 

 merce, navigation, manufactures and the meehan- 

 ical arts have received an impulse, throughout the 

 north, which cannot fail to be experienced in 

 every department of rural economy. Instead, 

 therefore, of seeking eraploymeat in distant re- 

 gions, the sons and daughters of New England 

 will rejoice to dwell among the green hills of their 

 own native land, where :repose the hallowed ashes 

 of their adventurous ancestors. If it should be 

 ur^ed that our population is even now too dense 

 for the successful enterprise of the rising genera- 

 ,tion, it may be proper to inquire what number of 

 inhabitants are maintained on the soil, in other 

 and not more favored portioiis of the globe. 



In England, where there is still so much land 

 imsulxlucd by cultivation there are over two hun- 

 dred and seventy persons to the square mile, 

 which would give to Massachusetts more than 

 two millions of inhabitants, instead of the six hun- 

 dred thousand which it now contains. 



By a census of the Chinese empire taken in 

 1813. the population, all of whom are subsisted 

 upon the products of their own soil, amounted to 

 370,000,000 ; but enormous as it seems, the num- 

 ber to the square mile is not so great as in Eng- 

 land. There are, however, large provinces whose 

 inhabitants are so numerous that they average 

 four, five and six hundred to the mile ; and there 

 is one, whose area is nearly five times that of this 

 State, which has seven hundred to the square 

 mile, which would give us 5,460,000. But as 

 still more conclusive evidence of how many per- 

 sons can be supported from the culture of the 

 soil alone, there is an island on the eastern coast 

 of China, which contains only one thousand square 

 miles, being less than a seventh part of this State, 

 which has a population of 400,000, or 400 to a 

 square mile. There is not a town upon it, the 

 inhabitants living in hamlets and single houses 

 soatteivd all over the surface, and the only articles 

 cultivated are rice, cotton, millet, and culinary 

 vegetables. 



The difl'erence between the number of inhabi- 

 tants to the square mile in the United States and 

 that of China is still more striking, as in the for- 

 mer there are only six while in the latter there 

 are 268. If, therefore, our whole country should 

 be as thickly populated the census would be 589,- 

 600,000, and if the increase should continue in 

 the ratio which it has done, during the last forty 

 years, it would require only 125 for this vast ac- 

 cumulation, a. period, but little exceeding twice 

 that of our brief existence, as an independent na- 

 tion. 



If our climate is as congenial, our soil as teem- 

 ing, and our skies more bright, why is it that a 

 country life is not so fervently desired, — so much 

 the theme of universal dii^quisition, and so much 

 the object of unqualified admiration, as in other 

 and far less propitious lands ? Where, under the 

 broad heavens, have been more lavishly bestowed 

 whatever man can ask of a beneficent Providence, 

 to supply his wants, administer to his comforts, 

 and insure his felicity ? 



The topographical features of Massachusetts 

 are more diversified, more interesting, and can be 

 more speedily and perfectly embellished by culti- 

 vation, than ev.en the northern Jlesperidef- ^T':e 

 state is traversed in all directions, eilher by ma- 

 jestic rivert or co[>ious streams. Lofty mountains, 

 from whose, rugged flanks gush forth perennial 

 springs, and beautiful hills, clothed with forests to 

 their very sum'rnitSj give grandeur to the scenery ; 

 picturesque vallies everv"-*- attention, 



and promise »" ispects as 



those whose loveliness is prcoci , . Grecian 



song ; innumerable lakes, spangled with verdant 

 islets, and floral stars, are scattered over the whole 



area of our territory. The sea coast abounds in 

 capacious bays, broad cstuari'^s, commanding pro- 

 montories, and beetling cliffs ; and in addition to 

 our catalogue of superb forest trees, there is a 

 profusion of shrubs, and wild flowers, which are 

 so unrivalled in variety and splendor, that they 

 constitute some of the most choice collections in 

 the conservatories, sumptuous gardens and rural 

 plantations of Europe. 



The common idea associated with a residence 

 in the country, is that of profit, — that an income 

 should be realized from all expenditures there 

 made. But why, it may be asked, make this dis- 

 tinction, so unfavorable in its eflT;;cts, to the pros. 

 |)erity and im))rovement of the country .' Are the' 

 magnificent edifices, costly furniture, and luxuri- 

 ous indulgcncies in cities and large towns, sources 

 of income ? Are they not, rather, intended to 

 administer to the comfort and gratify the taste of 

 the proprietors, without any regard to the cost, or 

 any expectation of revenue .' Why then should 

 it bo urged, that such investments slioidd yield an 

 income, because the location is on the borders of 

 a river or stream, in the midst of a forest, or em- 

 bowered in some secluded vale ? The answer is 

 difficult. Yet, on the other hand, it can be shown 

 that a less extravagant expenditure in the country 

 will produce infinitely more interesting and impo- 

 sing results. It is not in buildings that money 

 should be expended. The more simple and neat 

 their structure, the better will they comport with' 

 our laws for the distribution of property, the ge- 

 nius of our government, and the habits of the 

 peojile. Here architectural taste should be guided 

 by economy. It is in the improvement of the 

 grounds which surround the establishment, that is 

 so much required, to render the country desirable 

 as a place of residence. Here it is that wealth 

 and intelligence and taste can do so much, — can 

 produce such striking efl^ects, and contribute more 

 to the enjoyment of life, than it is possible to 

 accomplish in the midst of a city, even by the 

 lavish expenditures of a Seniiramis. 



Is not a garden, extensive grounds, umbrageous 

 walks, verdant lawns, and siiarkling cascades, 

 quite as interesting objects, as the massive piles of 

 brick and stone, which are wedged in continuous 

 ranges, on the thronged and dusty avenues of a 

 metropolis. Is not the distant landscape, whether 

 radiant in the rich and various tints of vernal lux- 

 uriance, or clad in the gorgeous draperies of au- 

 tumn, — the melodious concert of the birds, — 

 the sunset splendors of the western sky, — the 

 congenial serenity of summer's bland and dewy 

 eye, — 



The breezy call of incense-bieathing morn, 

 The cock's shrill clarion, and the echoing liorn, — 

 quite as elevating to the mind, soothing to the 

 soul, and congenial to the heart ; as sublime and 

 inspiring as "the stir of the great Babel," and the 

 deafening surge of that living deep, which resounds 

 through all her gates ? 



Refinements of all kinds have a powerful influ- 

 ence in elevating the character of mankind, by 



