Lhcrary Notices. 131 



bears with him the true spirit of Christianity. His book is written with 

 great strength, and thrashing vigor of thought. The reader who may be 

 fomiliar with the sterling old novels of Danikl De Foe will not fail to 

 recognise in the masculine vigor, the great realness, and the practical 

 elevation of its moral tone, a strong resemblance to their leading charac- 

 teristics in the present work, which is remarkable for its graphic and 

 powerful delineations of character, the simplicity, force and directness of 

 its narrative, its striking and satisfying interest, but above all by its 

 originality and pathos. The death of the hero — the Christian — and that 

 of the impenitent, are the most effective and significant pictures of the 

 kind in modern fiction. One idea prominently suggests itself to us in 

 connection with the work : there is no means that we are aware of by 

 which the aims of our religious associations — the Bible, Tract, Home 

 Mission Societies, &c. — could be more advanced and poiyularised than by 

 the circulation of this volume. In it, religion is not ashamed oi-' 



ITSELF. 



AoRrcuLTURE OF MASSACHUSETTS. — By the politeness of Wm. Bacon, 

 Esq., we are in receipt of a copy of the above valuable work for the year 

 1854. As a book for the farmer, its real value is beyond estimate, as it 

 is compiled from the experience of intelligent cultivators who appear to 

 have investigated various favorite theories of cultivation in a thorough 

 and satisfactory manner, not for any credit that might redound to their 

 unrequited labors, but for the purpose of improving the condition of the 

 professional cultivator. Our State could very easily afford a similarly 

 useful work, provided we had such a secretary as Mr. Flint of the 

 Massachusetts Society, to whom the credit of editing the book is due. 



Flowers of the Crimea. — We give with much pleasure the following 

 extract from the Gardeners' Chronicle^ as pertaining to the Flora of the 

 Crimea. We do hope, in common with many thousands, not only to 

 hear of the prowess of the combined armies of Western Europe in this 

 half-civilized portion of the globe, but also of much good resulting to sci- 

 ence from a better knowledge of these half-investigated regions. Not 

 only are our flower-gardens concerned in this perilous campaign, but our 

 very forests also. We have heard enough of the Crimean oaks alone to 

 set us longing for some of their woodland treasures. 



We have a number of very beautiful plants here, and their profusion in 

 rapid succession, grouped in masses, is very striking. I have seen at least 

 one hundred acres of larkspurs and poppies mixed, the larkspurs five feet 

 high ; acres of yellow centaurea ; two or three sorts of boraginere, espe- 

 cially a beautiful echium. But none of these equal the carpet of crocus- 

 es in the spring. I have already found forty-two species of gramineje, 

 many of them peculiar species, with some few wandering Indian ones. 



