THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



not doubt, ill some families, costs hundreds of 

 dollars in a year. 



The richest man in Massachusetts forty-five 

 years ago was Thomas Russell. A native of the 

 same town and neighborhood, we knew something 

 of that man and his family when a child. The 

 great estate of this amiable and excellent man 

 was gained by a duo regard to the strictest econ- 

 omy and system in the management of a success- 

 ful mercantile business ; but it was with him as it 

 has been whh thousands of others who "ate the 

 bread of carefulness," and labored hard and long 

 to gain estates for iheir children — the arnple pro- 

 vision for the education and comfort of the off- 

 spring, taught to rely exclusively on others, made 

 them only anxious to feast upon the abundance 

 which was before them, insensible utterly that 

 there could be any limit to the supply. The mer- 

 chant died — when the sons of his family gave lull 

 swing to their propensities. It was about the time 

 of the first appearance of bank notes as a medium 

 of circulation, the old paper money of the revolu- 

 tion having gone into utter worthlessness. The old 

 Massachusetts Bank was then the only bank in 

 New-England, and its bills were looked upon as 

 good as gold. The eldest son,to show his contempt 

 for property, is reported to have spread a fifty 

 dollar bank note upon his morning's bread and 

 butter, and ate it to shosv that he could afford an 

 expensive meal. Whether this be true or not, 

 the fact that in tlie establishment kept up by the 

 two sons much more was wasted daily than was 

 consumed was then made evident to our extreme 

 youth, our family being next door neighbors. 

 What has been the result? The great estate left 

 to these sons was soon dissipated: the eldest and 

 most extravagant soon run out hisiiatriniony and 

 his life. The younger son, of a different temper- 

 ament, but still a stranger to domestic economy 

 and management, lived the longest : indeed it is 

 only a few months ago that we saw announced 

 the death of "John Miller Russell" — a man who 

 had the advantage of a noble and generous dispo- 

 sition, of natural talents equal to almost any oth- 

 er man, and who had the honors of Harvard Uni- 

 versity as its graduate nearly half a century ago. 

 This man also suffered the wastage of the exten- 

 sive estate left him, and lived in entire obscurity 

 for the last thirty years of his life, being support- 

 ed by an annuity made him by a provision in the 

 will "of his step-mother who after the death of his 

 father went to Europe and became the wife of a 

 British lord. 



We have insensibly slid into this digression. 

 Our object was to preface the verses which will 

 be found below with such remarks as might call 

 the attention of the mass of our readers to them. 

 They are homely in attire ; but they are the words 

 oftiuth, and will wear well. They were brought 

 to us by a member of the Legislature, who, as 

 we did three weeks since, visited the Canterbury 

 United Brethren on Saturday, and spent the Sab- 

 bath, a witness to their customs and their devo- 

 tions. The beauty and the excellence of the Slia- 

 ker system is, that with them all is practii'-al — 

 "their doctrines and their lives coincident exhibit 

 lucid proof that they are honest" in whatever they 

 undertake and carry out. 



We think it would be impossible to find any 

 class of people who better enjoy the comforts of 

 life, who make the objects of living more sure, 

 than do the Shakers. Small in numbers, and re- 

 siding at different and distant points of the coun- 

 try, they are every where alike : the same comely 

 and convenient attire unaltered by the fashion of 

 the day — the same destitution of unnecessary 

 trimmings and ornament — every thing neat — ev- 

 ery article of food palatable — the most minute 

 conveniences furnished in every item pervading 

 domestic arrangements; there is an admirable 

 fitness of evei7 thing to its true intent and desti- 

 nation. 



The "Table Monitor" given below is found at 

 the office in Canterbury where persons travelling 

 on business or pleasure sometimes call for enter- 

 tainment While waiting to be served with a 

 meal, the stranger has an opportunity to take the 

 modest hint by reading the Monitor which hangs 

 before him enclosed in a glass frame. 



The injunction of the "Saviour of lost Man to 

 " gather up the fragments" is here applied to an 

 affair of practical life where it will be exceeding- 

 ly useful. The person who imrchases a meal at 

 a taveiii, although much more is set before him 

 jban he can consume, can gain no possible bene- 



fit by wasting what he does not eat : if the Sha- 

 ker doctrine should be adopted by the mass of 

 mankind, at least twenty-five per cent, might be 

 deducted from the cost of tavern supplies, and 

 Ibis proportion from the price of the entertain- 

 ment to the traveller. When we reflect upon the 

 hundreds of the children of want who starve and 

 suffer from the destitution of what is thrown 

 away by the profligate and the wasteful, then may 

 we learn to appreciate that there ^ wisdom in 

 Shaker maxims and some sense in Shaker poe- 

 try. — Ed. Visitor. 



TABLE MONITOR. 

 Gatukr up the fragments that remain, that 



NOTHING BE LOST. — Christ. 



Here then is the pattern 



Which Jesus lias set j 

 And his good example 



We cannot forget : 

 With thanks for his blessings 



His word we'll obey ; 

 But on this occasion 



We've somewhat to say. 



We wish to speak plainly 



And use no deceit; 

 We like to see fragments 



Left wholesome and neat ; 

 To customs and fashions 



We make no pretence ; 

 Yet think we can tell 



What belongs to good sense 



What we deem good order, 



We're willing to state ; 

 Eat hearty and decent, 



And clear out our plate : 

 Be thankful to heaven 



For what we receive, 

 And not make a mixture 



Or compound to leave. 



We 



oftlu 



Which heaven does give. 

 That some live to eat, 



And, that some eat to live- 

 That some think of nothing 



But pleasing the taste, 

 And care very little 



How much they do waste. 



Tho' heaven has bless'd u« 



With plenty of food; 

 Bread, butter and honey 



And all that is good j 

 We lothe to see mixtures 



Where gentle folks dine, 

 Which scarcely look fit 



For the poultry or swine. 



Wc often find left. 



On the same China dish, 

 Meat, apple-sauce, pickle, 



Brown bread and minc'd fish ; 

 Another's replenish'd 



With hutter and cheese ; 

 With pie, cake and toast. 



Perhaps, added to these. 



By peasant, by lawyer 



Or king on the throne. 

 We freely will forfeit 



Watever we've said, 

 And call it a virtue 



To waste meat and bread. 



Let none be offended 



At what we here say ; 

 We candidly ask you, 



Is that the best way ? 

 If not, lay such customs 



And fashions aside. 

 And take this monitor 



Henceforth for your guide. 



From tlie Farmer's Cabinet. 

 Cheap Times. 

 Mb. Editor, — It is customary to consider the 

 present times as awfully severe upon the flirmer; 

 " every thing that is raised upon tlie farm i^ so low 

 in price; "and truly so it is; but tell me is not every 

 thing else cheap also ?— except, perhaps, the sin- 

 gle article of manual labor, the comparative bigji 

 price of which has often and again been proved 

 to be an advantage, rather than otherwise. It is 

 true that food for the body is cheap, and so is 

 food for the mind ; books of every description, 

 and instruction for oui families ; clothing of all 

 kinds was never before so cheap and good ; while 

 every article in grocery, and all kinds of machiue- 

 ry, with domestic and imported goods, are un- 

 precedentedly low in value and plentiful in the 

 market : so that the farmer should put this and 

 that together, and by striking the balance, he will 

 find that things are not so bad us they appear. , 



Besides, it is a law of nature, that the cheaper an 

 article can be affordiil in tlie market, the greater 

 will be the consiiiiipihiji .hhI i1m' larger will be the 

 ilemaiid ; — it is (iiil\ tin r( I.t'' liii- ihe producer to 

 find some less (.■.\|nii,-iM' iikhIc uf raising the ar- 

 ticles which he supplies, and llic exchange will 

 be in his favor ; the same end will he obtained 

 by increasing his crops by an improved mode of 



management. 



And there is noth 



ig which offers 



such fiacility, as the production, on a large scale, 

 of winter Ibod for cattle, especially the cultivation 

 of root crops: by these simple means, he may 

 double the quantity and quality of his butter and 

 cheese, his beef, and mutton, and pork, the value 

 of his young stock, and the size of his dung- hill — 

 articles abundantly more than sufficient to make 

 up for the low prices at present to be obtained 

 for the few articles which are generally cultivated 

 upon om- fiiriiis. I say fiw articles, and really 

 when one considers the numerous articles which 

 are impoi'ted into our markets from abroad, most 

 of which might be grown and furnished by our- 

 selves, it would almost appear that the subject 

 must now be noticed for the first time, else the 

 general attention would long ago have been di- 

 rected to the importance of increasing the num- 

 ber of our productions, aud furnishing our own 

 markets with articles — brought at present from 

 the four quarters .)f the earth — at a price that 

 would amply remunerate the producers at home. 



I am led to think on these things, by the [icru- 

 sal of an interesting article al the head of the Cab 

 inet far the last month, recommending the growth 

 of flax and flax-seed: and there are many other 

 crops which could be grown amongst us, which 

 would, at the same time, afford the means of man- 

 uliicluring therefrom, the articles which are now 

 introduced from foreign countries, at prices 

 which would amply repay the necessary invest- 

 ment of capital. And amongst the first of these 

 may, ])erhaps, be mentioned the growth and mao- 

 ufactine of the vegetable oils. In France, this 

 branch of industry is carried on to a great extent 

 and without difficulty; hundreds of acres of land 

 are sown with the poppy, from which the finest 

 oil is drawn, most of which goes to Marseilles to 

 be mixed with the otive oil, and from thence it ia 

 sent to difterent parts, and sold as the best Flor- 

 ence oil at extravagant prices ; even to Paris aud 

 to London. This oil is worth about 50 cents a pint 

 (French) for the use of the painter; while (or burn 

 ing in lamps,it is allowed by all to be a cry superior 

 The cultivation of the crop is the sim()lest imag- 

 inable, so also is the harvesting of the seed, which 

 always sells for ready money direct from the field, 

 requiring neither housing or cleaning; the cost 

 of seed for sowing is the merest trifle, which is 

 another advantage, as is also the circumstance 

 that the croji does not require manure, but only 

 to be kept clean ; the cakes remaining after pres- 

 sure are found to be one of the most fattening ar- 

 ticles that can be fed to cattle and ."lieep. Here, 

 then, is a single crop, which would make up a 

 considerable portion of the losses which fanners 

 incur by the present low prices of the market. 



Then there is the rape crop, which might be 

 made valuable either as green food (or cattle, or 

 for oil, or both — the first cutting being generally 

 taken for the former jiurpose, and the second for 

 the seed ; from which, vast quantities of oil are 

 pressed for various purposes, yielding large re- 

 turns of profit. And to this purpose might the 

 simflower bo applied, to very great advantage, an 

 has often been shown : while the castor-bean 

 plant has been foimd to flourish in this climate 

 and to yield oil of the finest quality ; from all 

 which might be drawn sufficient quantities of oil 

 for our own supplies, as also for exportation, the 

 dry and wai-m climate of the middle states being 

 peculiarly adapted for the developement of oils, 

 aroma and saccharine. 



Here, then, is one branch of agriculture which 

 is unwrought, and only requires to he taken up 

 with judgment and a [iroper degree of spirit, to 

 render it a most lucrative employment, subsei-v- 

 ing at the same time tho mamifaclnring interest 

 of the country, and givingemidoymeiit of the le- 

 gitimate and" healthy kind lo thoijsand.s of our 

 people. Other resources are still on hand, and 

 may be pointed out in some fiiture number of the 

 Cabinet. 



Philadelphia. JAMES EATON. 



Wm. H. Sotiiam on Cattle. — 1 see, by many 

 of the agricultural panels, notices of large calves 



