46 



v&ljc JTarntcr's iHoutl)ln Visitor. 



out it is the fanner, who think that all the knowl- 

 edge necessary tor a man to have ahont his busi- 

 ness will come to him by " Nature." This seems 

 to he the disposition of* the great mass of farm- 

 ers, by tlu-it inefficient feeling and spirit which 

 they manifest on all suhjects calculated to elevate 

 their condition. And why is this so? Simply, 

 because that fanners must go on the principle of 

 "every man for himself," and that there is noth- 

 ing worth striving for in this world but the "al- 

 mighty dollar.'' 



I know that a great many farmers complain 

 that they have no time to study and read ; hut if 

 they would say that it was for the want of a dis- 

 position and mind to do, they would probably hit 

 the nail on the head. No ; this want of time is all 

 "gammon'' — you have more time for self-im- 

 provement, and should he the best educated of 

 any class of men under heaven. If a political 

 " caucus " is called to be held at the " tavern " 

 stand, of a winter evening, how eagarly do they 

 all gather in, to talk of Congress, Legislatures, 

 &c. ; and boldly, before adjournment, count 

 "noses" to see how they are coming out at elec- 

 tion. Then just give a " call " fi*r a meeting and 

 organization of a " Fai mer'sCluh" in the district 

 school-house, and then you will see how many of 

 these " patriotic " farmers will attend. Now this 

 is no fancy sketch, but it only shows how much 

 more eager fanners are to run after "demagogues" 

 and office, than they are to seek after cultivation 

 and improvement in their condition as fanners. 



We do not pretend to any spirit of prophecy, 

 and _\et we are well satisfied from personal ob- 

 servation, that there is a great neglect and want 

 of stimulus in the mind of the farmer, for his 

 improvement in agricultural science. In fact we 

 believe that the time has come, when more must 

 be said and written on the improvement of the 

 mind than the soil. Practical agriculture we al- 

 ways have had, and always shall have at some 

 rate or other, though of the kind and quality it 

 will depend on the character of the farmer, of 

 course. But practical farming, does not as a 

 matter of course, bring with it a corresponding 

 improvement of the mind. But alas, " tell it not 

 in ('alb," &c, that the improvement of the mind 

 takes too much time, and does not bring along 

 with it quite so much hard "chink" as the other 

 system, and of course must be dispensed with. 

 As for ourselves, we make no pretensions to sci- 

 ifi • or literary acquirements, more than other 

 young men who have been accustomed 10 labor 

 daily on the farm fur a livelihood: that we feel 

 interested in this matter is very true; but it is 

 only so, because we have for the last ten years, 

 seen the farmer's interest so greatly neglected by 

 himself and other people : jet we do not feel any 

 more so than hundreds of other men, who are 

 now engaged in behalf of the farmer's interest. 

 But alter all that is done and is doing, in behalf 

 of the farmer, it will depend entirely on his own 

 efforts, whether he seek after emulation in his 

 business, or whether he will continue to love 

 money better than anything else. We however 

 hope for the better,- knowing that it is ahvays 

 better to look on the bright side of the picture 

 than on the other. Yours truly, 



L. DURAND. 



Derby, Conn., Ward) 7, 1848. 



A Productive Apple-tree.— It is stated that 

 a" apple-tree in Diixbu'ry, Massachusetts, has 

 yielded one hundred and twenly-une bushels of 

 fruit in a single season, a quantity sufficient to 

 make fifteen barrels of cider. 



Welsh Sayings. — Three things that can never 

 become rusty — the money of the benevolent, the 

 shoes of the butcher's horse, and a woman's 

 tongue. Three things not easily done — to allay 

 thirst with fire, to dry wet with water, to please 

 all in everything that is done. Three things that 

 are as good as the best — brown bread in famine, 

 well-water in thirst, and a gray coat in cold. 

 Three things as good as their better— dirty water 

 to extinguish the fire, an ugly wife to a blind 

 man, and a wooden sword to a coward. Three 

 warnings from the grave — thou knowest what 1 

 was, thou seest what I am, remember what thou 

 art to be. Three things of short continuance — a 

 lady's love, a chip fire, and a brook's flood. 

 Three things that ought never to be from home 

 — the cat, the chimney, and the housewife. 

 Three essentials to a false story-teller — a good 

 memory, a bold face, and fools for an audience. 

 Three things seen in the peacock — the garb of an 

 angel, the walk of a thief, and the voice of the 

 devil. Threethings.it is unwise to boast of — the 

 flavor of ale, the beauty of thy wife, and the con- 

 tents of thy purse. Three miseries of a man's 

 house — a smokey chimney, a dripping roof, and 

 a scolding wife. 



LINES 



ON THE ARRIVAL OF THE REMAINS OF COL. RANSOM IN 

 NEW ENGLAND. 



BY MRS. D. B. ELLIS. 



Ye have borne him back — to his native land 



The toil-spent warrior comes; 

 But ye seem not the same fresh joyous band 



He led from their cherished homes. 



Ye have borne him back, and that form lies low, 

 Which was first in the fearful charge — 



But the laurel rests on his clay-cold brow, 

 And a nation chants his dirge. 



Ye have borne him back with glory's wreath 



Fresh twined about his bier; 

 But oh ! will it soften the widow's grief, 



Or sweeten the orphan's tear ? 



Will it gladen the eye of the lonely one, 



As it turns to the vacant chair. 

 To know New England mourns her son 



With a proud but bitter tear 7 



Ye have borne him back, and your task is done, 



For the loved and honor'd dead ; 

 But neglect not the brave still toiling on, 



Alar where the gallant bled. 



But cfieer ye ! oh. cheer ye those fearless ones, 



And mock not their battle-cry — 

 To yield not the lights of Columbia's sons, 



But nobly confirm them or die I 



Vernon, Conn., Feb. II, 1818. 



At the Farmer's Chib of the American Insti- 

 tute in the city of New York, Feb. 15, a paper 

 was read from Air. .1. P. Downey, furnishing Ins 

 views and experience on the disputed point of 

 the ascension or descension of the gases of ma- 

 nures. His experiment appears simple in the 

 process ami successful in the issue: he ploughed 

 a small patch of ground from eight to nine inches 

 deep, and spread bis manure ill the furrows as 

 he ploughed ; he then took another piece of 

 ground adjoining, ploughed it and spread the 

 manure on the top, harrowing it in thoroughly, 

 the soil being of the same quality. He found the 

 former lo Jfleld twenty per cent, over the other, 

 although on the first start the corn on the first 

 piece did not thrive so rapidly as the latter : mi, 

 in two or tluee weeks after it came up, it began 

 lo gain, and so increased until the time of gath- 

 ering, confirming his belief, that the gases of 

 manure "will not (in bis own language) descend, 

 but ascend,," 



A Fact. — The following is the net product of 

 a single grain of rye, raised at Stanton, a few 

 miles from Ihis place: 113 stalks, 107 heads, 

 6327 grains; in quantity, two gills. Match this, 

 New England, if you can. — Wilmington (Del.) 

 Mirror. From the Lancaster (Pa.) Intelligencer, 

 Aug. 13, 1800. 



We tak^ the foregoing from a newspaper 

 printed in our younger days : if its equal can be 

 produced any where else, v\e will he glad to 

 communicate the fact through the columns of 

 the Visitor. 



The Crops on the Rio Gkande. — From up 

 and down the river we have the most Haltering 

 accounts of the prusp' j et lor abundant crops the 

 present season. The high price which corn has 

 commanded at all our military posts during the 

 past year, (averaging §3 per bushel,) has stirred 

 up the hitherto indolent rancheros,aud they have 

 entered with something like spirit into the culti- 

 vation of the land. Active farming operations 

 greet the eye at almost every turn on the river — 

 old farms have been enlarged and improved, and 

 hundreds of new ones opened. The corn on 

 many plantations already covers the fields with a 

 mantle of green, the late rains having caused a 

 luxuriant growth to early plantings. Such as 

 were backward in planting, have now lo repent 

 of their delay, the present dry weather being 

 against germination ; but as this is the season lor 

 rain, it can hardly be doubled that all who are 

 employing the present time in sowing, will reap 

 abundant harvests from their labors. Several 

 new sugar, cotton, and tobacco plantations have 

 been opened on the river, ami the number of 

 hands engaged in the fields indicate that the 

 spirit of agriculture has been aroused in the 

 Mexicans, and they are determined to see if it is - 

 really the indolence that has been charged upon 

 them that has kept them dependent upon other 

 countries for what they could as well produce in 

 their own. We are satisfied they will find the 

 charge has been just, and that it needs only pro- 

 per cultivation to make the Rio Grande produce 

 sugar, cotton, and tobacco equal to the best lands 

 in Louisiana or Texas. We know that many dif- 

 fer with us in opinion ; hut we shall adhere to 

 our belief until otherwise convinced by fair ex- 

 periment. We have been experimenting in a 

 small way ourselves, and might point lo our gar- 

 den in support of our belief. Fifteen days after 

 planting the seed, our garden produced radishes 

 lit for the table, and in a few days we shall have 

 a mess of peas from seed not a month ill the 

 ground. Lettuce, cabbages, cauliflowers, beets, . 

 turnips, artichokes, tomatoes, beans of different 

 kinds, squashes, melons, and different other vege- 

 tables, are all growing luxuriantly. In due time, * 

 we shan't care if" corn is $40 a bushel," for we. 

 shall have plenty of it, and "praties" too, or we 

 mistake. How independent we shall be, if the 

 thieves only keep away from us; and they'd bet- 

 ter, for we have loaded and capped old " Sacra- 

 mento." for their especial benefit. — .American 

 Flag, of .March. 



,\ Giaht Ship. — The largest ship ever built in 

 the United States, has been recently finished at 

 Portsmouth, N. H., at a cost of 8100,000, for 

 .Messrs. !_). & A. Kingsland, of this city, and in- 

 tended to run as a packet between here and Liv- 

 erpool. She is a three-decker, 1800 tons capact- < 

 ty, carpenter's measurement — that is about 300 

 tons more than any merchant vessel heretofore 

 built in the United Slates. Her length on deck 

 is 18U feet, with 41 feet beam, and 34 feet 6 

 inches hold. The knees between decks, are of 

 white oak, and mould 32 inches in the throat, 

 and 1 1 A inches in the side. She is named the 

 Columbus. — .Y. Y. paper. 



The Delaware Peach Crop. — We gather the 

 following facts from Mr. Burke's report from the 

 Patent Office : 



The peach crop of Delaware, the most impor- 

 tant peach-raising State, is 300,000 baskets — 

 value, $120,000. In 20 days, 4,572 bushels straw- 

 berries sold in New York — 514 in one day. 

 80,000 baskets, equal to 833 bushels, weighing 25 

 tons, were brought in one day over the Erie rail- 

 road. Whole number of bushels sold in New 

 York, equal to 602,1140, being an increase of 

 212,000, or 24 per cent, over last year — value, 

 •■520,000 in a season! Cincinnati is next to New 

 York, tin- gnat strawberry market of the (Jniied 

 Slates. The grape-vine flourishes beautifully in 

 Cincinnati, but it would appear that Texas is the 

 true wine country of the Union ; and that, before 

 long, we shall he furnished with the best table 

 wine, not from France or Germany, but from 

 the western part of Texas. 



Great Yield of Cane. — 74,400 lbs. of sugar 

 from 50 acres of cane were produced upon the 

 plantation of J. II. Madison, in Marion county, 

 Florida, last season. 



