I'HE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



in its diversified departments, animal and vegeta 

 ble pliysiology, comparative anatomy, mechanics, 

 meteorology, are all involved in an improved ag- 

 riculture. The nature of eoils has been longa 

 subject of philosophical investigation ; and tl 

 with the ai)plication iind operation of itianures, 

 seems now to be lioiding in reserve for chemistry 

 its most brilliant triumphs. Do I offend a fas- 

 tidious ear I'V a reference to a topic so liumble ? 

 In lookiiig at the master-piece of human renins 

 in sculpture, the Venus de Medicis, the vulgar 

 mind brings away from the contemplation no 

 higher senli/nent than that it is naked. The |)ure 

 and disciplined mind hardly conscious of this 

 fact, and feeling the responsive movements of the 

 divinity within itself, admires with adoring won- 

 der the triumphs of genius in this sensible imhod- 

 iinent of the highest beauties of form in the 

 works of the Creator. So it is with other objects 

 in nature, so much depends upon the eye with 

 which we look at them. The vulgar inind, in 

 the heap of manure by the road side, thinks on- 

 ly of its otfensiveness and corruption. The well 

 disciplined mind regards it as an element in one 

 of the most atfecting miracles of the divine power, 

 and adores that beneficent agency, which, in its 

 mysterious operations, converts this refuse into 

 fiuits and flowers. 



To consider agriculture as mere senile drudg- 

 ei7 is no more doing it justice, than to consider 

 diemistry as only the art of mingling acids and 

 alkalies, and breathing offensive a?id noxious gas- 

 es, and handling pots and retorts and crucibles 

 and filters. Let the man of cultivated and phi- 

 losophical mind approach the subject of agricul- 

 ture, and he finds " sermons in stones and books 

 in the running streams." Let him engage in its 

 humblest labors, and the same fuiiow, which is 

 to bear upon its inverted surface tlic gulden 

 grain to nourish his animal life, will produce 

 bread to eat, which common minds know not of, 

 to iiom-isb his intellectual and moral being. 

 There is not one of the natural or what arc call- 

 ed the practical sciences, which may not have a 

 bearing upon agriculture. It is witli agriculture 

 as in other cases, that mere theoiy ^\ili iniike no 

 man a farmer. The connnon ]in)C(sst s juid ihr 

 successful execution of the connnon lahors of 

 husbandry can be learned only by practice. He, 

 who would handle a plough well, nnisf have been 

 accustomed to walk in the furrow : as the only 

 safe pilot is the man who has been practi.-^cd to 

 stand at the helm. 15iit to think because we 

 have done these things, that therefore we uii 

 stand agricidture, is as wise as for the man, wlio 

 should wnde up to his ankle through some pud 

 die lefl by the receding tide upon the sea shore, 

 to pretend that the ocean is not very.-Ieep. 



The nature and use of soils, the arfhicial-eoiji 

 biuation of them in different cases so as to efi'ect 

 the largest growth and productiveness, the 

 ture of niamu-es, their uses, application, opera- 

 tions, and infinite varieties, their mechanical in- 

 fluences, and their chemical cftects, the varieties 

 of grasses, grains, plants, and fruits, which are or 

 may be cultivated, the habits of vegetables and 

 the propagation of new varieties, the influences 

 of light, and heat, and air, and dew, and rain, and 

 electricity upon vegetation, and liow far they 

 tnay be controlled by human ingenuity or skill, 

 the history and habits of the domestic animals 

 and the modes of rearing them to the highest de- 

 gree of perfection, the construction of farm im- 

 plements so as to combine the greatest effects 

 with the least expense of power, the history of 

 agriculture, its condition and improvements at 

 home and abroad, rural labor, rural architecture, 

 agricultural education, the intellectual and moral 

 improvement of the agricultural classes, the 

 connection of agriculture with national wealth, 

 and with its great sisters, manufactures and com 

 merce, and above all,ii.s bearings upon domestic 

 and public happiness, upon domestic and public 

 morals — these topics, among others which might 

 be named, show thai agricultuie is not destitute, 

 to a philosophic mind, of injittcrs of profound 

 scientific inquiry. 



my honest convictions. There is much in the | perlect distinctness the mil 

 country that is vulgar, rude, and ofiiinsive. 'Jhei e I ests and skies, in the f!owi 

 is no occasion for this. Tliis is not the fiiult oi| eternity, in the n^oinilain 1 



the country. But is there more of this in tl.c 

 country than is to be loiui.l i,. ( ;:1, . ' Tl , , 

 things depend much upon (h: ; , 



cial forms of social interconi i i i i 

 the coimtry as in the town- i !• -t i! \ j 



the.'amc; but it is often delij;litii;l to l".;_i, ... ' . 

 at least for a while, the bnckriun and the" si, . i 

 I have been through life fiimiliar with all d.- > 

 of ])eo])le. I have been many years a cili/i u ni 

 the cities, and a farmer among the fiunieis. I 

 have been a (ictpient visitor in city palaces, and 

 many a time an indwcller of the liumhlest iimu- 

 sions in the secluded parts of the country; and 1 

 must say, without derogating fiom the relinc- 

 ments of the most improved society in the cities, 

 that the comp'ari.son in respect to comlesy and ci- 

 ould not turn out to the disadvantage of 

 the country. Tiue politeness is not matter of 

 mere form or manner, hut of sentiment and 

 heart. There are rude and vulgar people every- 

 where ; but will not a sober judi:u:ent pro- 

 noimce it as great a rudeness to he sent know- 

 ingly avvay fiom the door of one who calls lier- 

 self a friend by a servant with a lie p.ut in his 

 mouth, as to be received by the kind woman- who 

 welcomes us heartily at her \\ash-tub or her 

 sjiinning-whecl, and sweeps a place for us with- 

 out apology to sit down at her kitchen fire. You 

 will pardon the homeliness of my illustrations. 

 You may thread your l)eautiful valley fiom the 

 ocean to the mountains ; you may, as I have 

 done, follow the silver .«tre*am. whose honored 

 name is borne by your Commonwealth, fiom the 

 place where it deposits its contributions in the 

 mighty treasin-y of the sea, to its gushing .sources 

 under the snow clad summits of the north, and 

 traverse evf rj- .State whose borders are laved by 

 its gentle walers, and good manners on yoin- part 

 will be invariably met with a corresponding ci- 

 vility. Excepting among the vicious and de- 

 praved, you will iind no rudeness unless vou are 

 so imiiirtun.Mti! as to provoke it by your own ar- 

 rogance. 

 It is folly to carry city manners .ind customs 

 [o the country. This destroys the simplcitv 

 which constilii-cs ihe charm of rural life. If voii 



lijl- 



lii- of 



top 



ot 



lends, in the boi:iidl,-,ss i,(ii__ 

 lawn, in the gorgeousncss of a sum- 

 I, in ihe minyled spleiulors of the 

 rest, there il every thing to kindle the 



and ddute the heart. When in the 

 spiing the njan of reflecting njind 

 ted taste, at break of day, witnesses 



up of creation, beholds the desola 



rapidly retiring before lli 



le cmpu'e 



of spring, and sees day after dav, ahnost fiom 

 iourto hour, new forms of vegetable and animal 

 hie .MaiiHi^' into existence, and rioting in the 



C()iiMi,,n^i: -~ .., lili', it rerpiireB no violent effort 

 •'' " ' " '■'•!' 1" behold a new Eden rising 



y^'-' ■ I.". .. : .1 I" liear the chorus of the morn- 

 ing i,i^i^, .,iul (lie sous of God shouting f<)r joy." 



MORE ST.-WPATKT, MORE CHARITY, A HJGHER VAL- 

 UE SET UPON HUMAN LIFE IN TUE COU.NTRV 

 THAN IN THE CITY. 



Agriculture, as a pursuit, commends itself to 

 persons of refined ta.ste aiid sentiment. 1 Iviiow 

 how I shall startle the ear of city fastidiousness 

 by sucli an assertion ; but I rely upon your can- 

 dor tbat I sVall not (VffCTid by the expresston of 



lU are afraid of soiling your hands or hrown- 



ynur cheeks; if you can make no friends 

 with the flocks tlitit whiten the fields, nor the 

 birds that make the hills and forests vocal with 

 melody: if you are tmwilling that the earliest 

 rays of the dawn i^hould disturb your rcjjose, 

 and your heart kindles with no enthusiasm in 

 golden sunset, then flee the country as you would 

 the Siberian desert. It woidd be to you only a 

 land of discomfort and solitude. 



AGRICULTURE THE DELIGHT OF GIFTED I.NTEL- 

 LECTS. 



But it is otherwise with many minds. .Agri- 

 culture and horliciiltui-c, far from being disdain- 

 ed, have been of all others, the chosen pursuits, 

 the purest delights X)f some of the most eiiliglit- 

 eued and gifted intellects ; and their enthusiasui 

 in these pursuits burnt with increasing intensity 

 to the close of life. From the turmoils of wai% 

 the struggles of political ambition, the liarrassiug 

 pursuits of successfiil trade, the busiest scenes 

 of life, fiom the forum, the senate, and the throne, 

 they have retired gladly to the liumhlc occupa- 

 tions and jileasures of rural lifis and labor, and 

 have found the precious gem, which they had 

 so long sought, only in this calm philosophy of 

 nature. 



1'hc country is the land of poetry and the home 

 of the v.inged imagination, as much as it is the 

 home of the birds. The charms of the country 

 are unconsciously acknowledged even in cities, 

 when you see how they, who live in cities, love 

 to get a grass jdat, tliongh not larger than a hand- 

 kerchief, btibre their doors; or train a woodbine 

 or a honeysuckle to their piazzas ; or crowd 

 their ^^ indows with flo«ers ; or adorn their per- 

 ■;h a floral wreath. The first offerings of 

 the musts were dedicated to rural life. In the 

 waving of the golden harvest, in the verdant 

 lawn spreading its sn^noth carpet beneath your 

 feet, in the prairie ocean of vridurc radiant m itii 



the richest gems of floral beauty, in the deep and „ 



sole-nin forest, in the mi)TOi-e*l lake iieflcrtinj in ! and for its moral 



In siieaking of tlie moral aspects of agricul- 

 ture, I shall make no invidious com|)arisons. 

 The country pre-senls as few temptations to vi- 

 cious indulgence as any condition in life ; per- 

 haps it may lie said, fewer temptations. Agri- 

 cultural lahor, unless pursued to an eAxess, so 

 far fiom lieing exhausting and destructive like 

 much other labor, is fiiendly to health, and fii- 

 yorahle lo intellectual vigor and length of life. 

 The domestic tics seem stronger in the country 

 than in the city, because wc are more dejiendetit 

 on each other, and have fewer objects to engross 

 our attention. Human life seems more valued in 

 the country than in the city. In a crowded city 

 men drop nut of the stream, and the vacancy is 

 instantly tilled up by the rushing torrent, and 

 scarci ly produces in the spectators a conscious 

 emotion. When a valuable man dies in the coun- 

 try, the whole village mourns the blow. There 

 is more of real kindness and benevolent sympa- 

 thy in the country than in cities. The citfes are 

 full of magnificent charities; the conntrv is fiill 

 of the clKuity of kind offices. In the countiv, is 

 a neighbor sick or afHicted, the whole iiei'^hhor- 

 hood are prompt lo visit him, to aid him liy |)er- 

 sojial .«eivice, and to watch night after night at 

 his Mck bed. In cities it cannot be so. Cities 

 Iiicsent some of the most bitter cases of friend 

 lessness to be found in human historv. Persons 

 suffer, and sicken, and die, without periiajis the 

 cognisance of those living under the same roof 

 and on the s.uiir floor. In the country personal 

 (■ji''!"^'' ':. ;, ij-lier value than in cities. In 

 '■i|i' ■ ' I ilisorbed in the great whirl 



;'•' I " I I Miic; and in crowds, present- 



iiigcM rj. viiM i\ ,,1 character as of costume, men 

 pass along without observation. In the country 

 every man is known, observed, and watched. 

 His idiaracter seems the common property of the 

 village. This is sometimes complained of in the 

 countiy as impertinence and intrusiveness. This 

 may sometimes be the case, and it tnay become 

 annoying ; but it is not so fiequent as the com- 

 plaint of it. That it has a favorable influence 

 upon good morals which, under, the weakness 

 of human nature, need every security, there can 

 be no doubt. 



In the healthfid labors of the country, the ear- 

 ly hours, the simple diet, in the open air, in the 

 virtuous restraints, in the general good morals 

 which iirevail, in the strong symj)athy and mutu- 

 al interest in each other's character and welfare, 

 which bind such communities together, in the 

 absence of multijjlieil temptations and fiicilities 

 of vice, which prevail in more poimlous communi- 

 ties, an agricultural life is highly fiivorable to 

 virtue. 



PHILOSOPHY, REFINEMENT, MORALS, THE CONCOM- ' 

 ITANTS OF AGRICULTURE. 



I hope I shall be excused for dwelling so long 

 upon the advantages of agricultural und rural 

 life. Agriculture has been too long denied the 

 rank which heloncs to it among the pursuits of 

 mankind. I would exert wh.it humble abilities 

 I possess to place it in its true position among 

 the liberal and humane arts, and to show its im- 

 portance. I would speak of it as one of the 

 ■ ghest pursuits of philosophy. I would gladly 

 ntinicnd .it to persons of refined sentiment, as 

 iiiiiniling in scenes, objects, and associations, 

 full of gratification to the most cultivated mind ; 

 ■ secitrities and moral influences, 



