142 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



March 



For the New England Farmer. 

 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Since the est:il>lish)iient of this paper, by Mr. 

 Cole, I have Ijeen a constant reader of it, first in 

 its book form, and latterly as a weekly paper. A 

 few days since, I concluded to take the monthly, 

 as the tiles of the weekly, Avhich I have carefully 

 preserved, are much less convenient for reference. 

 Well, the January number, after having been 

 stitched into a cover and the leaves cut, now lies 

 before me, having been looking it over. 



By what can the progress of the world be more 

 strikingly illustrated than by this same New Eng- 

 land Farmer J In 1274, less than six hundred 

 years ago, a single copy of the Bible cost about 

 $1G0, although the standard of value was so dif- 

 ferent then from that of our times, that the ordi- 

 nary price for a day's work by a common laborer, 

 was three cents, — that of a bushel of wheat ten 

 cents ; so that a Bible was equal in value to about 

 300 barrels of flour ! And only about 400 years 

 ago, a man in England gave a load of hay for a 

 single leaf of St. James' Epistle. So say the re- 

 cords. Now, in 1853, half a bushel of wheat will 

 pay for twelve numbers of the Farmer, each con- 

 taining reading matter equal to a volume of some 

 135 pages of ordinary book printing. A single 

 pound of butter will buy four times as much read- 

 ing matter in Boston, A. D. 1853, as the whole 

 yearly salary of the king's physician Avould, in 

 London, A. D. 1359. Yet some people who really 

 would be glad of the Farmer can't afford to take 

 it! 



But these reflections are carrying me away from 

 my purpose, which was to take a bird's-eye view 

 of the January Farmer, the first number of the 

 monthly I have seen since the weekly was com- 

 menced. Here then it is. Hold it up. ^^ New 

 England Farmer,'''' — something patriotic and ven- 

 erable in the very name. A pretty frontispiece, — 

 a farmer casting seed upon the well-plowed field, 

 surrounded by his flocks and herds, implements, 

 sheaves, fruit, poultry, bee-hive and farm-build- 

 ings, while in the distance the steeple of the meet- 

 ing-house, where he publicly worships God, and 

 the dim outlines of the school-house are seen, rest- 

 ing against the dark form of the " everlasting 

 hills." Then follow names of proprietors and ed- 

 itors. AVhat a trio occupy the editorial "chair," 

 representatives of three States. The farm of the 

 principal editor lies in a town that was visited by 

 a party of "Good old English Gentlemen," who 

 strolled into that neighborhood on the 19 tb of 

 April, 1775, but who took so little flincy to the 

 agricultural advantages of the section, that they 

 did not stop long enough to make a very thorough 

 analysis of the soil. One of the assistant editors 

 is experimenting upon the soil of the Green Moun- 

 tain State, the other upon that of the Granite 

 State. Let us now look a little closer at the re- 

 sult of their labors, as exhibited in the sheet be- 

 fore us. We will take up the articles successively. 



" TAe New Year.''' — Reflections on the past, sug- 

 gestions for the future. 



"A Valuable Book for Reference. ^^ — Eight char- 

 acteristics of the monthly Farmer. 



^^ Great Yield of Carrots," in Wendell, cultiva- 

 ted by Mr. Cook. Clear profit of $100 on three- 

 fourths of an acre. Detailing particulars of state 

 of land, mode of tillage, price of crop, &c. Infor- 

 mation well worth a ride of a half-day for any 



farmer to obtain, who don't hold to "Books." By 

 the way, Mr. Cook, why not charge manure 1 Out 

 hero it is worth $7 per cord. 



^'■The Season." — Comparing the present with 

 the last. Very acceptable facts, as everybody 

 talks of tne weather. 



"T/te Use of Guano." — Information in relation 

 to its use in Virginia, by one who had tried the 

 article on worn-out lands in that State. The same 

 information might jiave been given to each one of 

 your many thousand subscribers, by letter! 



^'■Profit of Fowls." — An apparently honest ac- 

 count for two years with some 75 biddies, show- 

 ing a profit of about 50 cents a year on each hen. 

 Every body likes to read such accounts ; very few 

 have patience to make them. 



"^4 Remedy for Bots in Horses." — Don't sound 

 quaekish at all. 



'■^Advantages of 'Warm Weather." — Estimate to 

 show that two and a half millions of dollars will 

 be saved in fodder alone by the mild winter, in 

 New Hampshire. Is not the "wind tempered to 

 the shorn laml)?" 



'■'■Peculiar Diff cullies of New England Farm- 

 ing." — Want of system, skill, education, capital, 

 &c., discussed. Comments on some Yankee hab- 

 its, — going West, to California, turning preacher, 

 doctor, ]\lember of Congress or shoemaker ! A 

 spicy article. But are not some of the best homes 

 in the land enjoyed by shoe-making farmers of 

 Massachusetts ? 



'■'■Harvest Hymn." — Alas, how many of us need 

 to alter the last two lines, thus : 



The incense of a grumbling heart, 

 Is all that we do bring. 



'■^Lyceum Lectures." — Endorsing the proposi- 

 tion of the State Board to employ lecturers on Ag- 

 riculture. Can't help saying I have little faith in 

 this project. This lecturing, is it not an attempt to 

 build a sort of "royal road to knowledge." They 

 have to dig for gold in California ; so must we dig 

 for knawledge. That's the price, and it cannot 

 be bought any cheaper. But lectures may stir the 

 waters and open the way for something better. 



'■'■Two Acres." — Grand good hints to those of 

 us who have so much land that we are too poor to 

 cultivate any of it properly. Almost persuaded 

 to sell a part of mine first chance, and then see if 

 I can't do something worth while on what is left. 



" J?P(i Russet»" — Its history and character, with 

 a fine picture of its fruit. When some people get 

 hold of a kind of fruit, or any other thing that 

 sells well, they feel inclined to keep the secret to 

 themselves. Not so the correspondents and edi- 

 tors of the Farmer. 



'■^The Season q/" 1852 at Wilmington and Vicin- 

 ity." — By Silas Brown. Everything from his pen 

 is "twenty-four carets fine." 



^^ State Board of Agriculture." — Proceedings, 

 Dec. 1, 1852. 



Vegetation in California." — Lots of tough sto- 

 ries. To think of eating onions, like apples, when 

 they weigh twentj'-one pounds apiece, almost 

 brings tears to one's eyes, without looking at 

 spruce trees 360 feet high, or solid cabbages seven 

 feet in circumference ! Yet Mr. Shelton tells of 

 many such things. 



''Crops i)i Canada," ''■Whittier's Corn Song," 

 "A Siberian Winter," are short, pithy articles. 



*^ Winter Lectures." — A suggestion to sulisti- 

 tute practical men for professional lecturers consid- 



