154 



SILK MANUAL, AND 



monument of art, or some developcincnt of mind. 

 Every hill top and vale, every forest, ijrove anri 

 glade, — the ocean which i)atlies its rock bound 

 shores, — each islanil, river and stream, each 

 sequestered dsil and shaded fountain, — tlie daily 

 life and evenin':^ pastimes, from jtrattling child- 

 iiood 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 wiiose thousantl 

 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 thO'Sight and memory of Englishmen. 

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

 become the prize of conquesr, 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 

 princi|)les 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- 

 line and accuracy of detail, by which every object 

 can be readily recognized, — still, the shadowings 

 forth are so palpable to the philosopiiic eye, that 

 they are confidently jiroclaimcd as approaching 

 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. 



The agricultural resources of Massachnsetts are 

 not inferior to those of Great Britain. The soil 

 is naturally as fertile, and cajable of being render- 

 ed as productive. All the cereal grains, vegeta- 

 bles and fruits there raised can be here cultivated, 

 and the latter more perfectly. . We have in addi- 

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

 greatest staple of New England, and silk is being 



successfully introduced, a prod'uct, which is 



destined to be of as much consequence to the 

 proprietors of land, as that of their flocks, and 

 rnay 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 lo the farmers of the interior. 

 Their industr}' will be errcouraged, their jirosper- 

 ity advanced, and a more cheering aspect be given 

 to large portions of territory, which have been 



nnab'e 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 systen), and attract the gaze of the aston- 

 ished world, as much as that, which now blazts 

 in the heavens, will have an influence on iiational 

 prosperity more beneficial, than that of the other 

 was ever deeuied baneful. By their ])otent agency 

 distance has become a mere technical term of 

 geograjdiical illustration, and lime has been sub 

 stituted as the only true measure of the space by 

 which places are separated, as well as that whicii 

 divid s events. It is of no moment what are the 

 ranges of mountains, extensive plains, vast rivers 

 and capacious lakes, which lie between the einjjo- 

 rium of demand and the region of sup|)ly, — the 

 steand>oat 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 

 fall becomes the site of a Lowell and a Dover, 

 which it rcqnires no gift of prescience to announce, 

 will be realized at no very distant period. Cojn- 

 uierce, navigation, manufactures and the mechan- 

 ical arts have received an impulse, throughout the 

 north, which cannot fail to be experienced in 

 every department of rural economy. Inslead, 

 therefore, of seeking employment in distant re- 

 gions, (he 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 ^ 

 urged that our pojjulation is even now too dense 

 for the successful enter[ rise of the rising genera- 

 tion, it may be proper to inquire what )Hmd)er of 

 inhabitants are maintained on the soil, in other 

 and not more favored portions of the globe. 



In England, where there is still so much land 

 unsubdued by cultivation there are over two hun- 

 dred and seventy j'ersons to the square mile, 

 which would give to Massachusetts more than 

 two millions of iidiabitants, instead of the six hun- 

 dred thousaiHl which it now contains. 



By a census of the Chinese em[)ire taken in 

 1813, the poj)ulation, all of whom are subsisted 

 upon the i>roducts 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 |)rovinc<'S whose 

 iidiabitants are so numerous that they average 

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

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

 State, which has seven hundred to the square 

 mi'e, which woidd give us 5,460,000. But as 

 still njore conclusive evidence of how inany per- 

 sons can be supported from the culture of the 

 soil alone, there is an island on the eastern coast 



