186 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



April 



appearances of these old trees, among their most 

 cherished treasures. 



One of the attributes with which nature has en- 

 dowed us, and one which contributes much to our 

 happiness, is a love of beauty. A tree, or a group 

 of trees, is in itself a beautiful object. By select 

 ing and setting out beautiful and symmetrical 

 trees, we have them always before us, and thus 

 gratify and cultivate cne of the most pleasing in 

 stincts of our nature. And then, in surrounding 

 our dwellings with shade ti'ees, there is a peculiar 

 fitness. They are associated in our minds, with 

 shelter, protection, comfort, and are most appro- 

 priate to each other. 



The moral effdct of surrounding ourselves Avith 

 these beautiful objects, is by no means to be over- 

 looked, especially when interspersed with trees 

 are flowers, and flowering shrubs. These last are 

 peculiarly beautiful in their season. The fragrant 

 lilac with its modest blush, the creamy white se- 

 ringa peeping from the deep green of its foliage, 

 the hawthorn, the sweet briar and the wild rose, 

 filling the air with sweetness, the snow-ball, with 

 its clustering petals, the delicate hues of the al- 

 thea and the pearls of the snow-drop mingle their 

 beauties and their fragrance with the scene. And 

 while our sight and our smell, our love of beauti- 

 ful forms and sense of fitness are gratified, and a 

 spirit of clieer fulness and contentment steals over 

 us, we can rejoice that this is our home, and our 

 hearts swell with gratitude for so many pleasant 

 gifts. Contrast the possessor of such a group of 

 flowering shrubs and beautiful trees, with the man 

 whose home knows no cooling shade, no sweet 

 scented flower, no graceful forms waving in the 

 wind or murmuring in the breeze, and say if the 

 latter would not make a cheap purchase could he 

 secure the pleasure which the former is enjoying, 

 at many times its actual cost. 



Our fathers set out many elms and sycamores 

 and maples, and there are in many of our villages, 

 fine trees of these kinds, the monuments of their 

 taste and foretliought. We can only regret that 

 they did not plant a greater variety, and plant 

 them in greater numbers. Were all the villages 

 of New England ornamented with avenues of elms, 

 oaks, maples, ash, horse chestnuts and English 

 elms, interspersed with firs, pines and arbor vitas 

 trees, and the immediate vicinity of our dwellings 

 adorned with flowering shrubs, as is the case with 

 some villages in the near vicinity of the metropo- 

 lis, and beauty and taste thus combined with Yan- 

 kee thrift and enterprise. New England would be 

 unsurpassed for attractiveness, by any part of our 

 country. A judicious mingling of trees adds much 

 to the beauty of a rural scene. Evergreens growing 

 under the shelter of more lofty deciduous trees, 

 add to the cheerfulness of tke picture, and aSijrd 

 a useful screen from the wtuTry blasts, when they 

 can be planted upon the n&rih side of avenues, 

 yards and gardens. Trees planted in groups as 

 they grow in the forest prevent in some degree the 

 evaporation of moisture from the soils, and are 

 more likely to thrive than when standing alone. 

 In their native forests, nature provides for the nu- 

 triment of the trees, by the annual decay of their 

 leaves. But when trees are set singly, or in small 

 groups, their falling leaves are mostly dispersed by 

 the winds, and the ground must be made rich by 

 other means, if we expect them to thrive rapidly. 

 Probably the best manure for forest trees is a col-] 



lection of their own leaves, covered with sufficient 

 soil to prevent them from blowing away. The cul- 

 tivation of forest trees has been but little attend- 

 ed to ; it has been thought quite enough to set them 

 out. But there is no doubt that forest trees, as 

 well as fruit trees, will tlirive better under suita- 

 ble culture, and will amply repay judicious care. 

 I intended to speak of the proper methods of re- 

 moving and setting trees, but mast defer it to 

 another time. 



Concord, Feb. 17, 1853. 



A SONG FOR THE MILLION. 



The following beautiful song was written by request of the 

 Hon. Zadock Pratt, ofPratlsville, N. Y. It is one of those 

 productions which never grow old, — for as long as there is oc- 

 cupation for men, and Iheir hearts beat, there will be found a 

 sentiment in it to touch the heart and encourage it. 



BV HO.\. D. B. FRENCH. 



Am — The Hunters of Kentucky. 



The noblemen of Nature are 



The hardy working classes, 



The tillers of the yielding soil, 



The blouses and the masses. 



The stalwart farmer drives his team, 



And while he turns the sod, sir, 



He sings his song of happiness. 



And puis his trust in God, sir ! 



O, the Farmer, the independent Farmer- 

 O, the Farmer, the independent Farmer ! 



lie to the soil commits the seed, 

 The fruits spring forth and thrive, sir; 

 lie gathers in the harvest, and 

 He keeps the world alive, sir. 

 Then bless the Farmer in your prayers, 

 And neither thwart nor flout him; 

 Be grateful to him always, for 

 You cannot live without him ! 

 O, the Farmer, &c. 



The Blacksmith— how beneath his sledge 



The sounding anvils ring, sir; 



Amid the flying sparks he stands 



More sovereign than a king, sir : 



The heated mass assumes a shape 



Beneath his swinging blow, sir — 



The coulter, and the scythe, and spade, 



Within his furnace glow, sir. 



O, the hammer, the anvil and the hammer — 

 O, the hammer, the anvil and the hammer I 



Blacksmiths are men — "aye, every inch" — 

 Their sinewy arms behold, sir; 

 They, solid as their anvils, are 

 Of Nature's purest mould, sir. 

 The Blacksmith takes the precedence — 

 Of trades it is the trade, sir — 

 The haft is worthless till it holds 

 The keen and glittering blade, sir .' 

 O, the hammer, &c. 



Next in the scale of workingmea 



The hardy Taimer see, sir, 



Delving amid his hides and bark, 



As busy as a bee, sir : 



His art converts the unseemly hide 



Into the polished leather, 



Which sparkles in the mazy dance 



Or brushes through the heather. 



i>, the Tanner, the busy bustling Tanner — 

 O, the Tanner, the busy bustling Tanner 1 



Should enemies invade our soil. 

 Their force we would repel, sir, 

 By calling all the Tanners out, 

 To tail the rascals well, sir; 



