April, 1842. 



I'HE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR 



61 



For the l-'armer's Jlonthly Visitor. 

 Mr. Hill— Forty-eight years .igo our friend, the late 

 Co). C.4RRIGAI.V, wrote, and delivered at Dartmouth 

 Colleije Cominenceinent,a Poem on Agriculture. It was 

 thou;^ht to possess so much merit that I understood ex- 

 tr.icts from it, as puiilished at that time here, were repub- 

 lished soon afterwards in England. I never recollect to 

 have seeh any of it in print, — and your readers roay per- 

 haps peruse with pleasure the following concluding ex- 

 tract. The allusion to Blanchard and his balloon, then 

 ted espec 

 itempor'aiics of Col. C. 

 Hail AanicuLTCRE, hail ! thy chastening ray 

 Converts the midniglit of the soil to day ; 

 Like Spring tlie fetters of the globe unbinds, 

 Dispels the mists, and purifies the winds. 

 Then health ambrosial blooms where poisons bred, 

 And plenty smiles where famine droop'd her head. 

 The wealth of nations, and their social laws, 

 Behold in thee their origin and cause ; 

 By thee the rolling wheel of Commerce runs, 

 And hence she peoples oceans with her sons. 

 Thee their sole prop — town, city, country, see — 

 And all the living world depends on thee. 

 With thee reign innocence, content and peace. 

 And the sweet cherubs of romantic bliss ; 

 Thy votaries' breasts no torturing crimes alarm— 

 The vulture vices shun the peaceful farm. 

 On Quixote wings let mad ambition soar, 

 .\nd strive for arts transcending mortal power j 

 Let Blanchard launch his airy bark, and rise 

 O'er the light surges of the shoreless skies j 

 And — thought some angel by astonished crowds, 

 Cradled in winds and pillowed upon clouds — 

 Sail from the lessening earth, with dauntless breast, 

 To where the lightnings sleep, the thunders rest. 

 But know, rash artist ! Heaven's omniscient plan 

 Design'd this globe the best balloon for man ; 

 Taught him, while o'er its whirling a.\is hurl'd, 

 To delve the surface of his rolling world. 

 And till that dust that garbs our spheric bourne, 

 From whence we sprang, to where we must return. 



.\nd may the present age those honors give, 



Due to that art by which all others live 3 



Twine the green laurel round the Farmer's brow, 



And learn to use and venerate the plough. 



Its rugged sons a country's bulwark form — 



'Twas such whodar'd to brave oppression's stona; 



Twas such, Columbia, when a tyrant's hand 



Spread death and darkness o'er th' indignant land, 



Who bade on high thy starry banners wave, 



And fought the battle, of the free and brave. 



To Prepare Veget.^ble Mould Quickly.— As 

 early in November as the leaves of trees can he 

 collected, let them ho brought in a considerable 

 quantity, into a close place, and dressed up there 

 in the form of a hot bed. Let this be well satu- 

 rated with the draiiiinfjs from the duiigheap, with 

 the suds from the wash-house, and with the urine 

 from the stable and cow-house, where this lat- 

 ter article can be procured. Lot this bed or heap 

 be covered and lined with fresh stable dung to 

 make it heat. When the heat is sufficiently sub- 

 sided, let the leaves be uncovered and turned 

 over, to mix the dry and wet well together, and 

 if moisture be required, let them have it of the 

 same description, repeating the process till all be 

 reduced to a fine mould. This will be ready for 

 use in two months from the time of collecting the 

 leaves, and to prevent any waste of the liquid re- 

 commended, a layer of maiden earth, two feet 

 thick, should be made the suhstrautum, which 

 would receive any of the valuable liquid that 

 would otherwise run to waste. Leaves of slow 

 decomposition should be avoided, as those of the 

 oak, &c. which, howevei', are the best for retain- 

 ing heat in hot beds and pits. The leaves of Fir 

 should also be avoided, but those of the Sycamore, 

 Elm, Alder, Maple, and all the soft kinds are 

 * best suited tor the pin-pose. This compost should 

 lie kept dry in an airy place, and ridged up, so 

 that the rain cannot wash out the salts with which 

 it abounds. — Dorjle^s Practical Gardening. 



House Plants, 



Are an article in whose culture, to our shame 

 Ik; it said, we have tiever had much experience. 

 Yet we do admire them — vastly anil sincerely 

 love them, and wherever we see their cultivation, 

 we must in spite of ourselves and the little pre- 

 judices which sometimes intrude themselves up- 

 on our feelings, entertain kind charitable feelings 



towards the indwellers. What cheerfulness 

 they present in the gloom of winter when 

 the world without lies sorrowing under the 

 influence of decay and the elements are heav- 

 ed in commotion by the rocking storm ? Then 

 they lifted their bright smiling heads an reminded 

 iisof summer past, and awaken strong ho|)es 

 and bright expectations of smiling sims and 

 flowery scenes in summers to coine. For so 

 much pleasure as they afford, they require but 

 l-rltle attention, and this little time, if not employ- 

 ed in their behalf might be much worse sj)ent. 



The propagation and culture of house plants is 

 very simple and easy in the process. Though 

 each variety may require a somewhat different 

 soil to suceed well ; yet as a general rule, a mix- 

 ture of pond-mud, sand and common soil, about 

 one third of each, answers a good purpose. 

 We have found mould taken from "the woods and 

 from around roots of trees blown down, where 

 the soil is considerably mingled with sand, to be 

 very useful. Some require altiiost a pure sand, 

 and in putting out slips this is probably valuable 

 as it is loose, allowing the feeble roots to strike 

 freely, and lets off the superfluous water which 

 is often injurious and fatal to the young plant. 



In selecting slips for putting out, the beauty 

 of the plant will be more effectually secured by 

 taking those of upright growth. Sire h rise high- 

 er and from better heads, while iflaternal ones 

 are chosen, a bushy uuseemingly plant may be 

 expected. Pruning should be carefully attended 

 to, both as regarcb the top and roots. The top 

 may be pruned into any form to please the fancy. 

 Pruning the root is a matter of much importance, 

 both as respects the growth and the flowering of 

 the plant. We have a beautiful and varied Pom- 

 egranate, which in 1840, gava .so few flowers 

 that we found that if some expedient were not 

 adopted, it would be of little value. In the au- 

 tumn of that year, we took it out of the box and 

 found that the roots had increased so much there 

 was no more room for them to grow. We took 

 away about one half of them and replaced it in the 

 box with new earth. In the spring of '41, the 

 leaves atid new wood came out vigorously. In 

 June it commenced blossoming, and notwith- 

 standing the dry eeason and frequent neglect of 

 watering, (it is a thirsty plant,) it continued in 

 full bloom until September, producing hundreds 

 of its large elegant critnson blossoms. We last 

 fall pruned a sickly Geranium in the same way 

 and a like good effect was produced. This root 

 pruning should be performed when the plant is 

 not gi'owing, and it should be kept shaded for a 

 few days imtil the new roots begin to strike. 



Mount Osceola, Feb. 1824. W. B. 



From Colman's Fourth Report. 

 Forest Trees. 



The ])rincipal growth of the county is white 

 and yellow oak, pine both white and yellow, 

 hickory, soft-maple and white birch. Very little 

 if any wood is standing, which is not compara- 

 tively recent. The original forests have long 

 since disappeared. The value of wood in the 

 county as fuel makes its increase and preserva- 

 tion of great importance; and I shall merely 

 recur to such facts having a bearing upon this 

 subject as have come within my knowledge. 



Edmund Parker, of Reading, m whose state- 

 ments entile confidence may be placed, s.ays that 

 he had occasion to sell 40 acres of woodland in 

 Wilmington, on which the wood was of only 20 

 year's growth. The wood ou one half acre of 

 this land was cut and measured, and produced 

 ;iri cords, 5 of white and yellow (or pitch) pine. 

 This was at the rate of 73 cords 2 feet to the 

 acre. The whole lot averaged more than 40 

 cords to the acre. The pitch-pine had ceased 

 its growth ; the white was still growing when 

 cut. The soil was sandy ; and, it is evident, pe- 

 culiarly favorable to the growth of this kind of 

 %vood. 



Addison Flint, of Reading, states upon his own 

 knowledge that a lot of wood in Andover of 33 

 years' giowth, consisting of fifty acres, yielded 

 900 cords of wood. Tsvo thirds of the wood 

 were walnut and maple; one third was pitch- 

 pine. 



The value of standing wood in Reading, is 

 from 2 to 3 dollars per cord. The price of cut- 

 ting and cording it, where it grows, is from 58 to 

 t)2 cent?. Mr. Flint speaks of four iarins within 

 his vicinity devoted entirely to wood. On one 



of them the greater part of the wood then stand- 

 ing was blown down in the tremendous gale or 

 whirlwind of 1816. It now yields wood to the 

 value of 100 dollars per acre. -A white pine with- 

 in his knowledge, 39 years old, produced 15i 

 cubic feet of wood. 



A lot of 40 acres was, seventy years ago, com- 

 pletely strijiped excepting 110 trees. Since that 

 time 200 cords have been blown down upon it 

 and sold. In this time the owner has, besides, 

 obtained the fuel necessary for the family, and 

 sold 20 cords per year. It is judged that there 

 are now 1500 coids standing upon the lot. He 

 is of opinion that no property furnishes a more 

 productive investment of capital than wood land 

 thus situated. The facts in this case would seem 

 fully to confirm this opinion. The land after the 

 wood is ent off is usually sold for ten dollars an 

 acre. I have found it a prevalent conviction, 

 both in this and Norfolk and Plymouth counties, 

 in all which much land has been thrown out of cul- 

 tivation and devoted to the raising of wood, that 

 in general it may be cut over once in twenty 

 years, and yield in that time at least 20 cords. 

 The return therefore upon the purchase at ten 

 dollars per acre, may be considered as equal to 

 one cord per year standing, which can seldom in 

 any situation be rated at less than $2,50 per cord. 

 This would be at the rate of 25 per cent per 

 year, without any risk of being indicted for tak- 

 ing usurious interest ; and without any of those 

 compunctious visitings which some men must 

 feel, if such men had any conscience, whose ac- 

 cmnulations are wrung fi'oni the sweat and toil 

 of the oppressed and defenceless, the over-work- 

 ed and half-fed victims of avarice. 



Wm. Blanchard, one of the oldest farmers in 

 the county, and since my visit to him called by 

 Pi-ovidence, I trust, to a higher field of labor, 

 gave it as the observation of a very long life, that 

 a thin and exhausted soil will give 25 cords of 

 wood to an acre in 25 yeai-s, and that good land 

 in 30 years will give 50 cords to an acre. Three 

 years previously, from a lot of seventy acres he 

 cut 3000 cords of wood. 



Elpalet Loring, of Hingham, Plymouth county, 

 states that oak wood may be cut once in 15 or 

 20 years, and that he obtains 30 cords of wood 

 to the acre. Nathaniel Brooks, of Scituate, in 

 the same county, cuts his oak wood once in 15 

 to 20 years. This subject is, in my opinion, of 

 so tnuch importance that I shall subjoin the 

 opinions and experience of some farmers, whose 

 authority is entitled to respect and confidence. 



Elijah Atherton, of Stoughton, Norfolk county, 

 writes me thus : — 



" Wood land is considered to be the most pro- 

 fitable in our vicinity. Land that is favorable to 

 the growth of wood, with proper care will pro- 

 duce twenty cords of wood per acre in twenty 

 years; (to wit,) one cord per year per acre, for 

 twenty years, at which time it is generally fit to 

 cut off. The price of good oak wood in the 

 centre and westerly part of the town, is $5,50 

 per cord, and in the easterly part, $6,00 per cord. 

 Pine wood is about two thirds that sum. There 

 are nearly a thousand acres of land in Stoughton, 

 which twenty years ago, were either mowed or 

 pastured, but are now turned out and growing' 

 up to wood. The raising of wood has now be- 

 come a subject of great importance with us. 

 We consider it almost as injurious to allow cattle 

 to go into our young sprouts and browse, as into 

 our cornfields. Pine wood may easily be raised 

 in our old, worn-out fields and pastures of light 

 land. Some of our farmers have already begun 

 to sow the pine seed, and transplant small pine 

 trees. Where this has been done, the prospect 

 of a fine growth of wood is very flattering. It 

 often happens that when the seeds fall from the 

 large pine trees, the young trees come up five or 

 ten times as thick as they can grow to advantage. 

 In this case a large portion of them may be pull- 

 ed up without injury to the others ; afid if the 

 ground is properly prepared, a man may trans- 

 plant as many of them in a day as he could of 

 cabbage plants, and with as sure success. In 

 doing this, with a very little pains, he may have 

 his trees completely in rows, which will add 

 much beauty to his forest, and to his convenienc* 

 when the wood is cut off." 



Morrill Allen, of Pembroke, Plymouth county 

 among the farmers in Massachusetts most dis 

 tiuguished for intelligence, practical skill an» 



