£l)c .farmer's illontljlij Visitor. 



15 j 



Dr. Holmes' Kcport on the Berkshire Plough- 

 ing Jlatcli. 



The committee on the ploughing match aie 

 fully sensible of the dignity and ini|ioi'tance of 

 the office entrusted to their judgment. To rje- 

 cide upon the comparative merits of so many 

 excellent specimens of agricultural art is a most 

 delicate, responsible and honorable duty. 



The plough is a very ancient ifripTetnetit. Ii 



is written In the Ihiglish language p-t-b-fr-g-h, 



anil by the Association of Free and Independent 



Spellers, p-l-o-w. It may be remarked that the 



gentlemen can, by a similar process, turn 



their Roughs into cows, Wlricu would he the 



ehenpenl mode of raising live stock, but it is to 

 be leaved that rtiej (referring to the cows'; would 

 prove but low hied animals. Some have rli riv- 

 ed the English word plough from' the Greek 

 ■ploxdos — the wraith which comes from the form- 

 er suggesting its relation to the latter. But such 

 resemblances between different fangnages may 

 he carried too for, as, tor example, if a man 

 should trace the name of the Alataniaha to the 

 circumstances that the lirsl settlers were all 

 tomahawked on the mttrgin of that river. 



Time and experience have sanctioned the cus- 

 tom of putting only plain, practical men upon 

 this committee. Were it not so, the most auk- 

 ward blunders would be constantly occurring. 

 The inhabitants of our cities, for instance, who 

 frequently visit the country during the fine sea- 

 son, would find themselves quite at a loss, if an 

 overstrained politeness should place them in this 

 position, Imagine a trader or a professional 

 man from the capital of the State unexpectedly 

 called Upon to act in rural matters. 



Plough-shares are to him shares that pay no 

 dividends. A coulter, he supposes, has some 

 thing to do with a burse. His notions of stock 

 were obtained in Faueuil Hall Market, where 

 the cattle look funnily enough, to he sure, com- 

 pared with the living originals. He knows, it is 

 true, that there is a difference in cattle, and 

 would tell you that he prefers the sirloin breed 

 to all others. His children are equally unen- 

 lightened. They know no more of the poultry 

 yard than what they have learned by having the 

 chicken pox and playing on a Turkey carpet. 

 Tli ir small amount of knowledge of wool- 

 growing is lam(l))entable. 



The history of one of these summer visitors 

 shews that his rural education must be very im- 

 perfect, lie no soonor establishes himself than 

 he commences a series of experiments. He 

 tries to drain a marsh, hut only succeeds in drain- 

 ing bis own pockats. Ibssoffers to pay for hav- 

 ing a compost heap carted ollj but is informed 

 that it consists of corn and potatoes ill an unfin- 

 ished state. lie sows a'. an, I. niily, but leaps lit- 

 tle or nothing, except with the implement le- 

 nses in shaving, a process which is Ireepieilllj 

 performed for him by other people, tine. ' 

 pays no barber's bill. lb; builds a wire tree, 

 and paints it green, so that nobody can see it. 

 But be forgets to order a pair or spectacles a 

 piece for bis vow*, who, taking offence at some- 

 thing else, take his fence in addition, and make 

 an invisible one of it, sure enough, in no time. 

 And finally, having bought a m idiine to chop 

 fodder, which chops off a good slice of his divi- 

 dends and two or three children's fingers he 

 concludes that instead of culling feed, he will 

 cut farming, and so sells out to one of those 

 plain practical farmers, such as you have honor- 

 ed by placing on your committee, whose pockets 



are not go full when he starts, but have fewer 

 holes and not so many fingers in them. 



Clear the brown path to meet 'lie cou.lter's .'leam ! 

 I. ', en . iind lotting team, 



Willi toil'.-; Iin. ;hl dc'-v-ili nn . mi Ins sun- burn t brow, 



The lord el' earth, the hero lough 1 



Firtl in thelield before the redi 



I. l-t el Lie .i ■ ! . ■ (lonO, 



I me -tiler line along the burning - l I 

 Marks the broad acres whore bis feet has trod ; 

 Still where fie treads the stubborn clods divide, 

 'I'll ■ smooth, fresh furrow opens deep and wide ; 

 Matted and dense the tangled turf upheaves. 

 Mellow and dark the ridgy cornfield cleaves ; 

 fp the steep hill-side where the laboring train 

 Slants the long track that scores the level p! 

 Through the moist valley clogged with oozing clay, 

 The patient convoy breaks its destined w iji ; 

 At every turn the loosening chains resound, 

 The swinging ploughshare circles glistening round, 

 'fill the wide field one billowy w ete appears, 

 And weaned hands unbind the panting steers. 



These are the hands whose sturdy labor brings 

 The peasant's food, the gild n pomp of kings, 

 'fins is the page whose letters shall be seen 

 Changed by the sun to words of living green ; 

 This is the scholar whose immortal pen 

 Spells the first lesson hanger taught to men ; 

 These are the lines. O Heaven commanded toil, 

 That liil thy deed — the charter of the soil ! 



O gracious Mother) whoso benignant breast, 

 Wakes us to life and lulls us all to rest, 

 How sweet thy features, kind to every clime, 

 Mock with their smile the wrinkled front of time ! 

 We stain thy flowers — thy blossom o'er the dead ; 

 We rend thy bosom, and it gives us bread; 

 O'er the red field that trampling strife has torn, 

 Waves the green plumage of thy tasseled corn ; 

 Our maddening conflicts scar thy fairest plain, 

 Srill thy soft answer is the growing grain. 

 Yet, O our mother, while uncounted charms 

 Round the fresh clasp of thine embracing arms, 

 Let not our virtues in thy love decay. 

 And thy fond weakness waste our sLrength away. 



]So! by these hills whose banner-, now displayed, 

 In blazing cohorts Autumn has arrayed ; 

 By yon twin ciest, amid the sinking sphere, 

 Last to dissolve, and first to re-ap -ear ; 

 By these fair plums the mouiil.iiu circle screens, 

 And feds in silence from Us dark ravines; 

 True to their home these laithlul anus shall toil 

 To crowj] witii peace their own untainted soil; 

 And true to God, to freedom, to Mankind, 

 If her chained bandogs Faction shall unbind, 

 These stately forms, that bending even now, 

 Bowed their strong manhood to the humble plough, 

 Shall rise erect, (lie guatdi.itis of the land, 

 Tfie same stem iron in the same right hand, 

 'fill Greylock thunders to the parting sun 

 The sword has rescued what the pie von I 

 s£^— 



What a Farmer should be. — A farmer 



should be well instructed in chemistry generally, 

 more particularly as applied to agriculture ; he 

 should be well versed in mineralogy, geology, 

 botany, and in the physiology of seeds, plants, 

 is, and animals, including the species of bi- 

 mana; he should learn geometry, mensuration, 

 fitc. : he should study political i canomy so fat- 

 as ti have a clear conception of the sources of 

 wealth and prosperity. 



In our republican government he should be 

 instructed in his constitutional rights, and taught 

 to vindicate them by a terse and condensed elo- 

 cution. It will be a happy event for our country 

 when our farmers, so educated, shall have the 

 ascendency in our halls of legislation, and there- 

 by put a stop to the fallacious special pleadings 

 of demagogues who have already reduced our 

 cpuntry, possessing all the means of prosperity 

 in a pre-eminent degree, to a most pitiable con- 

 dition, by their miserable legislation. — North 

 American Farmer. 



from Hunt's Merchants' Magazine. 



The Considerate Merchant; or, Payiug an Old 

 Debt. 



There is a moral In tie anecdote, 



which we consider too instructive lo he loW 1" 

 the readers of' the Merchants' Magazine. It was 

 originally published, we believe, in the Boston 

 Transcript. We give it as we find it in the 



Home Journal of N. 1*. Willi.- I Geiternl Geo. 



1'. Morris. We have reason to believe that the 

 slur', maybe taken by our readers as substantial- 

 ly true : 



A merchant, very extensively engaged in com- 

 merce, and located upon the Long Wharf, died 

 February 18, 1806, at the age of seventy-five, in- 

 testate. His eldest sou administered upon the 

 estate. This old gentleman used pleasantly to 

 say thai, for many years, he had fed a very large 

 number of the Catholics on the shores of the 

 Mediterranean during Lent, referring to his very 

 extensive connection with the fishing business. 

 In his day he Was certainly well known ; and, to 

 the present time, is well remembered by some 

 of the " old ones down along shore," from the Gur- 

 net's Nose to Race Point. Among Ins papers, a 

 package of very considerable size was ibtind af- 

 ter his death carefully tied up, and labelled as 

 follows: "Notes, due-bills, and accounts against 

 sundry persons down along shore. Some of 

 these may be got by suit or severe dunning. 

 But the people are poor: most of them have had 

 fisherman's luck. My children will do as they 

 think best. Perhaps they will think with me, 

 that it is best to burn this package entire." 



"About a month," said my informant, "after 

 our father died, the sous met together, and, after 

 some general remarks, our elder brother, the ad- 

 ministrator, produced this package, of whose 

 existence we were already apprized, read the su- 

 perscription, and asked what course should be 

 taken in regard to it. ■ Another brother, a few 

 years younger than the eldest, a man of strong 

 impulsive temperament, unable at the moment 

 to express his feelings by words, while be brush- 

 ed the tears from his eyes with one hand, by a 

 spasmodic jerk of the oilier towards the fire- 

 place, indicated his wish lo have the package put 

 into the flames. It was suggi .-!< d by another of 

 our number, that it might be well, first, to make 

 a list of the debtors' names, and of the dates, 

 and amounts, that we might lie enabled, as the 

 intended discharge was fur all, to inform such as 

 might offer payment, that their debts were for- 

 given. On the following day, we again assem- 

 bled — fhe list had been prepared — and all the 

 notes, due-hills, and accounts, whose amount, 

 including interest, amounted to thirty-two thou- 

 sand dollars, were committed to the flames. 



" It was about four mouths after our father's 

 death," continued my informant, •■ in the month 

 of June, that, as I was silting in my eldest bro- 

 ther's counting-room, wailing for an opportunity 

 to speak with him, there came in a hard-favoTi d 

 little old man, who looked as if time and rough 

 weather bad been to windward of him for sev- 

 enty years. He asked if my brother was not ihe 

 executor. He replied, that he was administra- 

 tor, its our father died intestate. 'Well,' said 

 said the stranger, 'I've come up from ihe 

 Cape to pay a debt I owed the old gentlemen.' 

 ' My brother,' continued my informant, ; request- 

 ed him to lake a seal, being at ihe moment en- 

 gaged with other persons at the desk. 



"The old man sat down, and pulling on bis 

 glasses, drew out a very ancient leather pocket- 

 book, and began to count over his money. When 

 he bad done — and there was quite a parcel oi 

 bank notes— as he sat, waiting his turn, slowly 

 twisting his thumbs, with his old gray meditative 

 eyes upon the floor, he sighed ; and I knew tin; 

 money, as the phrase runs, came hard, and se- 

 cretly wished the old man's name might be 

 found upon the forgiven list. Mj brother was 

 soon at leisure, and asked him the common 

 questions — his name, etc. The original debt 

 was four hundred and forty dollars — it had stood 

 a long time, and, and with the interest, amounted 

 to a sum between seven and eight hundred dol- 

 lars. My brother went to his desk, and, after 

 examining the forgiven li-i attentively, a sudden 

 smile lighted up his countenance, and told me 

 the truth at a glance — the old man's name was 

 there! My brother quietly took a chair by his 

 side, and a conversation ensued between them 



