April, 1842. 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



56 



served to presei'vo moisture for the roots ami 

 gave Jikewise in their iiilerstices room for the 

 roots to extend themselves. No farmer need 

 complain that his land is not suitable for an or- 

 chard; because he may make it suitalile at an ex- 

 pense wliich the fruit of the tree after it conies in 

 bearing will soon compensate. 



James Cutter, of Weston, has been remarka- 

 bly successful in transplanting trees of more than 

 ordinary size. He has removed pear trees of 

 8 and 10 inches in diameter. His practice is 

 to clean the dirt entirely from the roots of the 

 tree ; to cut off all the roots, at a distance of four 

 or five feet from the tree ; and to put no manure 

 in the hole. 



1. M. Gourgas, of Weston, a farmer of much 

 experience and intelligence, disapproves of ap- 

 plying white-wash or any caustic wash to the 

 trees ; but lie has found great advantage in the 

 application of ashes to them at the roots. To 

 my inquiries of one of the best farmers in the 

 county, whose trees were in the most healthy and 

 perfect condition possible, what wash he applied 

 to the bark, he answered the only wash he ap- 

 plied was to the roots ; that is, he kept the trees 

 themselves enriched and cultivated in as careful 

 a manner, as he would if they had been the most 

 delicate and valued exotics. An apple-tree grow- 

 ing in Kingston, Plymouth county, and planted 

 in the year 1660, the year of Philip's war, bore, 

 in 1838, thirty bushels of good fruit. It is a high- 

 top sweeting, a favorite apple among the settlers 

 of the Old Colony. Many of these "trees, plant- 

 ed many long years ago, still remain, productive, 

 and of a large size. They resemble the pilgrim 

 fathers and their early descendants in the vigor 

 of their growth and the energy of their endur- 

 ance ; and the virtues of the good men whom 

 they have survived, in the sweet and precious 

 fruit, which they continue to yield. 



The largest apple-tree, which I recollect, I 

 found in Duxbury, in the same county ; audit 

 was evidently an early settler. On measuring it, 

 I found its girth at the smallest part six feet seven 

 inches, at the dividing of the limbs, twelve feet 

 five inches, and the girth of one of the limbs, 

 two feet live inches. It produced in one vear, 

 laid bushels. 



The fine orchards in the highly cultivated dis- 

 tricts of West Cambridge, to which 1 have refer- 

 red, have been, in a great degree, exempt from 

 the scourges of the canker-worm, from which 

 others, in places not very far distant from them, 

 have suffered. Some of the farmers have given 

 as a reason for this exemption, thai they make 

 friends with the birds, never suffering one of 

 them to be disturbed, or scared, or killed.* The 

 birds, grateful for this hospitality, destroy the 

 canker-worms, who are much like pirates, who 

 plunder tlie cargo and burn up the vessel. I am 

 not convinced that the birds are entitled to all 

 the credit in the case, though, undoubtedly, they 

 should have a due share of it; but the protection 

 which these good farmers show to the innocetit 

 and defenceless, is as creditable to their humani- 

 ty as to their discretion. The birds are, in gen- 

 eral, good friends to the farmer ; and the man 

 who can wantonly destroy tlie life of one of tliese 

 beautiful creatures can hardly with safety be 

 tru.sted with a diild. 



The crows who come into the field when the 

 corn is just coming out of the ground, destroy 

 the only means of supply, and strangle all the 

 hopes of the hnsbandman in their birth, are not 

 entitled to the same indulgence. If any f.ffjnce 

 should be made capital, this would seem to be 

 one. O. M. Whipple, however, of Lowell, sug- 

 gests a protection, which is effectual and harm- 

 less. 



" A quart of corn soaked in strong saltpetre 

 liquor, and sown upon the surface of an acre of 



*The practice at that point has clmnged within the last 

 fifty years. The first eight years of the life of the editor 

 of the Visitor were expended in that charming neighbor 

 hood. Early recollection carries us back to the last 

 Wednesday in May — " election day" — the great holiday 

 of the year, in which young and old used to turn out for 

 the destruction of bobolinks, blackbirds and other birds 

 considered mischievous, which were bred in myriads on 

 the swampy grounds (now reclaimed) in the vicinity of 

 Fresh pond and the Spy ponds. The boys made no less 

 havoc with the breed o£ birds in hunting their eggs, than 

 the grown men in shooting them. The sagacity of the 

 West Cambridge farmers, at length, discovered that these 

 birds did much more good than harm ; and with the civil 

 treatment they receive , the birds of that neieborhood are 

 almost as tame as the domestic fowls.— Kd. F. M. Vis. 



ground at the time the corn is coming out of the 

 ground, or at the time the crows commence pull- 

 ing it up, will serve as a sure protection against 

 their interfering at all with the corn. I have 

 practised it for fifteen years without ever know- 

 ing a hill of corn being touched after the corn 

 was sowed upon the field."f 



t If the depredations of the crows can be prevented 

 by Mr. Whipple's simple process, we beg leave to put in 

 a plea in behalf of that colored race ; for although thi 

 crow, when very hungry, sometimes takes a lamb or j 

 chicken, yet he deserves much more indulgence than thi 

 hawk : his destruction of field vermin, innumerable worm 

 and bugs, much more than compensates for the injury ht 

 does to cornfields, &c. Wo are opposed to any legisla 

 tive bounty upon the heads of crows. — Ed. F. M. Vis. 



For the I'armers' Monthly Visitor. 

 A Lecture. 



Delivered before the Hopkinlon Lyceum, March 16, 

 1842. 



BY DR. CHARLES A. SAVORY. 



From the great variety of subjects which pre- 

 sent themselves as appropriate for an occasion 

 like this, I have selected one which should be of 

 interest to every young man preparing himself to 

 become an actor on the stage of life. 



As this association is composed mostly of 

 young men preparing to enter or having just en- 

 tered upon tills great stage, I deemed that no 

 subject could be more interesting than an enqui- 

 ry into some of those causes by which men have 

 risen to eminence in any of the varied pursuits 

 which occupy the attention of mankind. 



In each of the different callings of life, we find 

 some few individuals, (few when compared with 

 the many engaged in the same pursuits,) emi- 

 nently conspicuous; conspicuous in consequence 

 of the greater amount of knowledge, tact and 

 skill they possess. 



And, although it does not always follow that 

 a man excelling in his particular vocation meets 

 with a success proportionate to his merits, yet it 

 is certainly true that if by an unusual combina- 

 tion of circumstances he" be placed in a promi- 

 nent situation before the public for which he is 

 unfitted either by nature or education, or both, he 

 cannot retain it; — he may have friends, wealth, 

 advantageous location and all other extraneous 

 facilities, desirable adjuncts to rapid success, and 

 f that success is dependent upon individual 

 qualification and public opinion for support, he 

 must fail. 



It matters little with an intelligent man when 

 involved in legal difficulties and seeking counsel, 

 that the lawyer of his town is the son of a popu- 

 lar advocate or of some other great man : he 

 wants advice and asks it of one who he feels as- 

 sured is competent to render it. True, at the in- 

 stance of some influential person, he may con- 

 sult one of whose abilities to render him the as- 

 sistance he needs he may not be able to judge 

 correctly at the time, yet if in the final issue he 

 finds that his case was lost in consequence of 

 the incompetency of his counsel, rest assured he 

 will never employ him again; but such will be 

 his chagrin and his vexation towards liim that he 

 will allow no opportunity to pa.=s. where, by dila- 

 ting upon the unfortunate termination of his own 

 case, he can bring the luckless attorney into dis- 

 repute. 



So mankind judge and act in regard to the la- 

 borer, the mechanic, the divine and the physician. 

 Certain qualifications are, by common consent 

 considered necessary in each ; when these are 

 found wanting the pretender is discarded. 



It is not enough that the impression of the coin 

 is seemingly fair : the wise man tests the mefai ; 

 if, on letting it fall upon a hard and elastic sur- 

 face it sends forth the ringing soiind peculiar to 

 the true coin, he is satisfied ; if this test lie unsat- 

 isfactory, the aid of chemical re-agents or the 

 fiery ordeal of the crucible at last determines the 

 question — a spurious coin and an incom|)eteTit 

 public man may both be palmed upon communi- 

 ty and meet with general acceptance for a time, 

 but sooner or later the proper tests will be appli- 

 ed ; if there be any doubts on superficial exam- 

 ination one goes into the crucible of iiublic opin- 

 ion, the other into that of the silversmith, and in 

 the end both are appreciated at iheir true value. 

 True greatness of character is not conferred 

 by any occupation, profession or office,— it may 

 exist in the humblest labors of life and it may 

 adorn the throne of an emperor. Titled distinc- 



tion may extend the sphere of its influence, may 

 herald its advent to an admiring world, notwith- 

 standing this, 



"Rank is but the guinea's stamp, 

 The man's the gow'd for a' that." 

 "Every man is the architect of his own fortune," 

 observes some one, the truth of which we most 

 heartily believe. "Good luck," in its general ac- 

 ceptation, is a phrase vThich should he banished 

 from the vocabulary of every youthful aspirant ; 

 it contains the germ of the destructive doctrines 

 of fatalism, and assigns to the province of blind 

 chance what is the true prerogative of human 

 exertion : — it makes man a mere automaton upon 

 the chess-board of life, moved by the directing 

 impulses of his destiny; it paralyses individual 

 exertion and looks upon hini like a vessel at sea 

 without rudder, chart or comjiass. "Good luck" 

 may drive her into the destined port, but the 

 frightful odds are, that the unfortunate vessel with 

 all its inmates must be 



"In the deep, dark bosom of the ocean buried." 

 A correct [ihilosophy looks upon him' as a well 

 trimmed bark upon the ocean of lite, containing 

 all necessary nautical instruments with reason in 

 command. This ocean abounds in rocks and 

 quicksands, maelstroms and icebergs, all of 

 diicli threaten her well-being, but the chart re- 

 eals the location of the former, and vigilance 

 the vicinity of the latter— ability and attention to 

 " ity on the ])arf of the commander alone can af- 

 ford her any safety, alone can bring her into the 

 iesired haven. 



There are those who believe that in certain oc- 

 cupations, men are qualified by intuition to act 

 their parts in the great drama; this opinion ob- 

 tains chiefly in relation to two of the professions, 

 divinity and medicine. 



It is most confidently believed by some, that the 

 ly qnalific-atiion necessary for the ministry is a 

 igious convi'Ction on the part of a believer that 

 is his duty to instruct his fellow men in things 

 pertaining to their eternal welfare : this is a cher- 

 ished opfuron, nor should it be examined irrever- 

 ently. 



If preaching be one of the natural means em- 

 ployed by the Almighty to reconcile the world 

 unto himself, does it not presuppose that means 

 are to be used to prepare the preacher? Will it 

 be contended that a deaf and dumb man is as 

 well qualified to exhort a congregation as one 

 o.ssessing the sense of hearing aud use of the 

 vocal organs? I take it for granted that it will 

 not. If then these organs, by which the mind re- 

 ceives and expresses thought, are so essential in 

 the preacher, how much more necessary is it that 

 the mind itself should be properly trained to 

 think deeply, understand fully, and impart cor- 

 tly tliose great truths contained in Divine Rev- 

 elation. This view of the case is compatible 

 with the belief "that in and of ourselves we can 

 do nothing," but it requires the religious teacher 

 to improve and invigorate by long and constant 

 exercise the difficult faculties of the mind, so as 

 to enable him to search out fully, and set forth 

 truly, the will of our Creator as revealed to us in 

 s word — to distinguish truth from error, right 

 from wrong, promised good and impending evil, 

 and to enn!]ie him to present the fruits of his la- 

 bor to his flock by teaching them truth, exposing 

 error, advocating the right, denouncing the wrong, 

 entreating them to lay hold of the proffered goo'd 

 and warning them against threatening evil. As 

 in divinity, so is it in medicine. We have our 

 "natural born doctors," qualified at birth for the 

 responsible office of taking in charge the health 

 and lives of their fellow men. 



The profiessional mantle of the sire descends 

 upon the son, and without any initiation into the 

 mysteries of Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology or 

 Chemistry, he, armed to the teeth with saddle- 

 bags full of the most potent drugs, sallies forth 

 upon a credulous world, and by a confident as- 

 sumption to a knowledge of which it cannot cor- 

 rectly judge, deals out disease and death. 



This evil owes its continued existence to the 

 fiilse idea that a physician may possess intuitive 

 knowledge of disease. And yet how far is this 

 from the fact. Should any man of common sense 

 believe that a physician can form a correct opin- 

 i<iii of a disease in an organ when he is ignorant 

 of the very existence of that organ ? As well 

 might you ask of the wild savage of the forest 

 his advice in relation to some defect in the oper- 

 ation of a complicated steam engine, and expect 



