THE FAKMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



93 



n angel's beauty round the dead ; 

 A charm, which not e'en death could sev 

 ;ut ah ! life's roseate hues had fled. 

 And the sweet voice was Iiush'd forever. 



THE SPIRIT LAND. 



Know ye the land afar, in shadowy distance, 



The phantom land hy mortal feet untrod ? 

 Where the free spirit from a frail existence. 



Springs from its fetters, and returns to (Jmi ^ 

 Man roams the earth, its do. tt-. niM i;,] moui 



From the bright Tropic 1.. li . Vntu ^. , ; 

 Tracks to their'hidden soum thi' uu.^ijiii.' Ii.uiita 

 • But vain his search,. O Spirit Land, lor tine I 

 JSor e'er hath bark old ocean's waste exploring, 



Its coasts descried, nor mariner by night 

 Hiil'd from aloft, when winds aii.l waves were ro; 



The warning lir;.. I' :<- >^ ■- li-lower light. 



Yet have the nui-' ,1. '■ ! irtur'd vision, 



Caught from .li . ! 1 ■■_' eye, 



Bi-iL'ht, !rlorious.:l,,:i| .,, ,r , ; ,, ,| FJvsian, 

 tav'd by the Oi-ean of Etrmity. 



A land of peace, within whose hallow'd bowers 

 The weary pilgrim of the earth rnay rest ; 



A land of cooling shades, and blooming flowers, 

 And trees of life in deathless foliage drest. 



Then never more may weeping minstrel borrow 

 The harp of Hope, to soothe the ear of pain ; 



Nor shape of death in all the broad domain. 

 Tell me ! some Spirit from the blue arch bendinf 



in America. Our country, as a general thing, is 

 amply provided witli water privileges, and our 

 soil in most places can be greatly Improved by 

 tbem. Arid and apparently worthless land can 

 be rendered arable, even without manure,in many 

 instances, by appropriating water to this purpose. 

 We daily observe situations, naturally offering 

 this advantage, without the smallest attempt be- 

 ing made to retain or lead the water aside, — 

 Flowing not unirequently from some considera- 

 ble elevation, it glides with velocity through low- 

 lands, in one direct coinse, while the soil, a little 

 more remote, might be doubled or trebled in val- 

 ue, by the influence of this element. The stream 

 is allowed to pass by imbeeded and is lost in 

 gome marsh or eventually in the ocean. 



Tillage in America has progressed rapidly, in 

 point of improvement, for the last few years. — 

 Superior inventions in agricultural instruments, 

 are of almost daily occurrence,and it .seems rath- 

 er astonishing that this particular branch of cul- 

 tivation should be so generally* overlooked. Ir- 

 refragable are the testimonies of its benefits 

 wherever it has been adoptetl. T. D. S. 



■ and ■ 



'ell !— e'en in dreams, a balm 1 

 ir my sof( buds of beauty bio 



Ung, 



And oh! when earth's lost flowers, once more rene 



Their bloom and beauty, grace the fair domain ; 

 Heaven's balmy air with deathless odors strewing. 



Shall 1 not greet my long lost flowers again ? 

 Could I but clasp them, feel their pure hearts beatii 



If in those eyes remembrance linger yet ; 

 Heaven — heaven itself, were in that blessed meetin 



My own — my Hampden — and my Hf.nriette ! 



From the JN. E. Farmer. 

 Irrigation. 

 This important branch of agricultural business, 

 has not received its merited attention. In Ai7ier- 

 ica it is, as yet, a novel practice ; but on the east- 

 ern continent, lias been miderstood from the ear- 

 list times. The ancients highly commended this 

 art, and attributed much to the great benefits re- 

 ceived from it. The iinniorlal Homer, in his Iliad, 



" The peasant with his spade, a rill 

 Conducts from some pure fountain through his grove 

 Or garden, clearing the obstructed course." 

 Again, in his Odyssey, when describing the beau- 

 ties of the garden of Alcinoiis— 



The lovely scene, two fountains swelling forth. 

 One visits, into every part diffused, 

 The garden round." 

 So, also Virgil, in his Georgics, expresses liim- 

 self in much the same terms — 



[The quotation, untranslated, would be of no 

 service to our readers generally, and we omit it.] 

 But not by the poets alone, has this improve 

 rr.cnt been spoken of as particulaily beneficial to 

 the soil. Sirabo and a multitude of historians, 

 have recorded numerous instances of its adop- 

 tion : in oriental countries, especially, often has 

 been mentioned the feriility occasioned by canals 

 led from the Tigris and Eiijiliratcs. 



Among the Chinese, it lias been in use up to 

 the earliest dates oltheir records. They proceed 

 on a magnificent scale, dividing their canals into 

 frequent channels, whereby they secure immense 

 returns. In Asia and Africa, much is attributed 

 to their aqueducts, and a bountiful harvest relied 

 upon wherever they exist. In some portions of 

 the former country, particularly at Mysore, this 

 subject is under the express auspices and control 

 of government. 



In the Milanese territory, a greater expanse of 

 irrigation is exhibited than upon any other por- 

 tion of Europe. Canals are seen running in every 

 direction, and the lands adjacent present a scene 

 of uncommon fecundity. Cenlu-ies ago, canals 

 were established there, and the continuance of 

 watering them, is an object of general solicitude. 

 There also, they are kept in operation by the au- 

 thority and protection ofgovernniiiel. 



It seems to be a matter of surprise, that at- 

 tempts to irrigate are not more frequently made 



For the Farmer's Monthly Visitor. 



The Farmer is the most noble and independ- 

 ent man in society. He has ever been honored 

 and respected from the days of Cincinnatus, — the 

 Roman tarmer, to the present time. This love 

 and respect becomes more strong and ardent, as 

 the country atlvances in learning, prosperity and 

 refinement. He is not placed in that station 

 ;h requires him ever to be seeking or court- 

 ing popular tiivor, bowing and bowing to this or 

 that man to gain their iiivor; but he looks upon 

 the earth and the indulgent smiles of Heaven to 

 crown his efforts, resting with the fullest assur 

 ance that "seed time and harvest" shall ever con 

 tinue through all coming time. His heart Is less 

 tainted with that false and foppish pride that too 

 often is allowed to corrupt and debase men in 

 other walks of life. He breathes the balmy breez- 

 es of noon — he inhales the invigorating air of free- 

 dom — he can sing the sweet song of contentment, 

 and shout happiness and good-will without envy 

 to every member of the great family of man 

 Such, reader, are some of the i)leasures enjoyed 

 by the "lords of the soil." His life, like the sea- 

 sons, is a continued round of enjoyment. One 

 employment succeeds another, and all are pecu 

 liarly delightfid in their own time and season 

 Variety gives beauty, taste and color to his whole 

 course of existence. At each division ofthe year 

 some new enchanting prospect is presented, 

 which cannot fail to delight, arouse and elevate 

 the mind, and render him of all mankind the 

 most independent and happy. 



HOMAST. 



North Goffstown, June, 1841. 



" Now we maun totter down, John, 



But hand in hand we'll go. 

 And we'll sleep together at the foot, 

 John Anderson my joe." 

 No individual living si.Kteen years ago who was 

 present at the reception of Lafayette at the 

 Capital of New Hampshire, who was then em 

 phatically designated as the "Natio.n's Guest," 

 will fail to be highly gratified and entertained by 

 the graphic description of that event published in 

 this number ofthe Vi.sitor from the pen of Col 

 Carrigain. When we reflect how many ofthe 

 happy group then assembled in this town, some 

 of them younger and in better health than others 

 who survive, have since mingled their dust with 

 dust, we are ready to adopt the language of tli 

 patient Patriarch, and say: "Man that is born of 

 a woman hath but a short time to live, and is 

 full of misery. He cometh forth, and is cut down 

 like a flower: he fleeth as it were a shadow.' 

 This language ajiplies as well to those who re- 

 main as to those who have gone the way of all 

 the earth : si.vteen years more will take many 

 more of those who "survive than the la.st sixteen 

 years did of those who met the great Lafayette in 

 1825. There were then present a joyous and a 

 vigorous group of soldiers of the revolution, nine 

 tenths of whom are already no longer numbered 

 with the living. Since then tottering age has 

 come over some of the men and woineii, horn 

 since the great events occurred which shine 

 brighter upon the historic page as time recedes; 

 and when we meet our old friend who was all 

 life and animation as it were but a few days 



since, who until late in life scarcely ever experi- 

 enceti sickness or pain, but has watched oft with 

 the sick and dying afflicted with diseases that 

 never reached him — his shortened step and trem- 

 bling limbs admonish us that man "fadetli 

 suddenly as the grass. In the morning it is 

 green and groweth up— but in the evening it 

 shall be cut down." 



To the individual who has honored our Month- 

 ly Visitor with the partiality of this communica- 

 tion is due the credit of having given this State 

 its characteristic cognomen, the Granite State. 

 We had forgotten that this appellation had its or- 

 igin in the Ode which Col. C. furnished for that 

 occasion. No man of the State has caught so 

 much of enthusiasm for our mountains — no man 

 so early sought out their grand and magnificent 

 scenery — no man now talks about them with so 

 much spirit as does he who lias rambled over 

 and slept upon them in the days of activity and 

 vigor, and who was the first to present a map of 

 our Stale from the actual survey that was unri- 

 valled by that of any other State of the Union at 

 the time of its publication. Of this friend to our 

 State who has done so much lo its honor, whose 

 candor and good nature were ever ready to do 

 justice to friend and foe, and who deserves in the 

 decline of life the sympathies of all, we are ready 

 to express the hope that what of life to him shall 

 remain may be smooth and unruffled as " the 

 summer's sea when not a breath wafts over its 

 surface," and ttiat he may find laid up for him a 

 crown of rejoicing in that sinless, endless future 

 estate to which all are hastening. 



PRODUCTIVE FARM. 



Through the politeness of Capt. Chandler, su- 

 perintendent of the House of Industry at South 

 Boston, we have received the Report of the Di- 

 rectors of that institution lor the year ending 

 May 31st 1841, from which we copy the follow- 

 ing statements, showing the 



Produce of the Fann in 1840. 

 17 tons English hay, $289 00 



5 " Straw, 60 00 



204 bush. Barley, 142 80 



8 1-2 tons Mangel VVurtzel, 66 00 



51 btish. Ruta Baga, ii 20 



4000 lbs. Canada Squashes, 40 00 



.310 bush. Potatoes, 108 50 



1520 " English Turnips, 194 40 



253 " Blood Beets, 126 50 



395 " Sugar Beets, 110 60 



73 " Turnip Mangel VVurtzel, 18 25 



568 " Carrots, 170 40 



50 " Parsnips, 25 00 



850 " Onions, 425 00 



4 « Quinces, 12 00 



104 bbls. Apples, 156 00 



500 Cabbages, 20 00 



22 tons green fedder, 132 CO 



Vegetables used before harvest, 210 00 



Sales of vegetables and fruit bofore har- 

 vest, not included in the above, 845 85 

 Garden seeds sold, avails not collected, 711 94 

 Garden seeds on band, 63 00 



Produce of dairy and pigs. 

 Avails of oakum picking, 



44 

 •1,775 46 

 2,297 23 



Total, $8,012 14 



Being $1313 19 more than last year. 



(JJ=The above farm consists of less than thirty 



Use of Li.me. — After several years of experi- 

 ence and carefid observation, 1 am convinced 

 that lime, when applied to a sandy soil, renders it 

 more compact, and much 4nore productive; and 

 that manure, when applied to it after a dressing 

 of lime, will have a much more lasting influenee 

 than it would have had before its application. 

 Upon heavy soils, lime should be applied only in 

 such proportions ae will render it most mellow 

 or friable ; any thing beyond this, will be found 

 to be injurious. 



Leonard Farley, Esq. Representative in the 

 Legislature from Holli.s, has left With the editor of 

 the Monthly Visitor a head of Rve raised last 

 year in an old field, full eight inches in length, 

 and which contained ninety-lhree kernels of full 

 grown rye. 



